Omnibus
HowStuffWorks
Every week, Ken Jennings and John Roderick add a new entry to the OMNIBUS, an encyclopedic reference work of strange-but-true stories that they are compiling as a time capsule for future generations.
Location:
United States
Genres:
History Podcasts
Networks:
HowStuffWorks
Description:
Every week, Ken Jennings and John Roderick add a new entry to the OMNIBUS, an encyclopedic reference work of strange-but-true stories that they are compiling as a time capsule for future generations.
Language:
English
Episodes
The Dionne Quintuplets (Entry 352.JB0525)
3/13/2025
In which five adorable and identical Franco-Ontarians become an international sensation and then wards of the state, and John doesn't know what to call the bulb of Canada. Certificate #31042.
Duration:01:34:52
Pedestrianism (Entry 913.PS1833)
3/6/2025
In which the first great sporting fad of the 19th century springs from great feats of British walking, and Ken isn't sure how to use protozoa as a metaphor for time. Certificate #21218.
Duration:01:27:46
The Battle of the Sisters (Entry 104.GE3008)
2/27/2025
In which Hollywood's greatest case of sibling rivalry begins with a swimming pool injury and ends at the Oscars, and John rediscovers pop music thanks to the Queeb. Certificate #30747.
Duration:01:35:54
The Golden Age of Porn (Entry 537.1C0618)
2/20/2025
In which we celebrate the post-Valentine's season by looking back at the sleazy 1970s when adult films briefly became mainstream chic, and Ken avoids a Y2K for his marriage. Certificate #25369.
Duration:01:25:13
The Oracle of Delphi (Entry 872.1S0911)
2/13/2025
In which a veiled, fume-huffing priestess tells the ancient world what to do for over a millennium, and John only knows what time it is from his truck clock. Certificate #25192.
Duration:01:08:15
Balloon Man (Entry 094.DE1501)
2/6/2025
In which a Disneyland-trained dreamer invents a new art form with the help of a cookie entrepreneur and a jellybean innovator, and Ken has a theory about the worst balloon vendors. Certificate #32691.
Duration:01:29:01
The EGOT (Entry 398.AC2810)
1/30/2025
In which an inescapable awards-season acronym is jump-started twenty-five years earlier by an eccentric TV cop actor and a pop reference book, and John's family would like to kick in hotel room doors. Certificate #42952.
Duration:01:35:46
Martin Luther King, Sr. (Entry 688.PR1301)
1/23/2025
In which an Atlanta pastor changes his name after a very inspiring visit to Germany and begins an American civil rights dynasty, and Ken gets to make a chart. Certificate #45274.
Duration:01:13:48
Spontaneous Combustion (Entry 1206.PR0627)
1/16/2025
In which scientists and paranormal investigators puzzle over a string of mysterious deaths beginning with a "dull and heavy" Italian countess, and John learns about the peat of the Maldives. Certificate #40714.
Duration:01:26:44
Canal Mania (Entry 178.PR0516)
1/9/2025
In which British investors power the Industrial Revolution with arguably too many waterways for the nation's barges, and Ken thinks escalators are not cheating. Certificate #27217.
Duration:01:27:41
The Carrington Event (Entry 189.2P0312)
1/2/2025
In which a solar storm in 1859 leads to eye-popping auroras and a harboring of technological doom, and John compares gold pan and pizza sizes. Certificate #54094.
Duration:01:09:06
Elf on the Shelf (Entry 404.PR1503)
12/26/2024
In which the childhood Christmas tradition of two Georgia twins becomes a cultural tug-of-war over surveillance psychology, and Ken is going to buy a light blue tree. Certificate #45509.
Duration:01:20:50
Space Contraband (Entry 1194.JB1312)
12/19/2024
In which astronauts and cosmonauts smuggle sandwiches, golf clubs, harmonicas, collectibles, and ashes into orbit, and John wants to blow bubbles on the Moon. Certificate #54825.
Duration:01:15:24
Lazy Susans (Entry 706.LK1237)
12/12/2024
In which a Cantonese restaurant in San Franciscos's Chinatown spreads American revolving-table technology worldwide, and Ken wonders how long it takes to get sick of a musician in your spare bedroom. Certificate #43576.
Duration:01:14:56
The Tooth Fairy (Entry 1317.SS0606)
12/5/2024
In which ancient sorcery, changeling myths, and Edwardian fads combine to create America's only homegrown childhood rite of passage, and John's dentist turns teeth into boats. Certificate #19230.
Duration:01:25:06
411 (Entry 495.LK2003)
11/28/2024
In which telephone users once had access to a surprising array of helpful and informative services, and Ken got rid of his landline to spite Al-Qaeda. Certificate #26038.
Duration:01:15:47
Whistling (Entry 1427.DE2323)
11/21/2024
In which an ancient linguistic and religious practice becomes a jaunty, ambulatory musical form before falling into decline, and John does not want to see condors in a hospital. Certificate #45133.
Duration:01:24:44
The Population Bomb (Entry 966.GE2803)
11/14/2024
In which centuries of sterilization-happy doomsayers fail to predict a game-changing revolution in wheat, and Ken thinks Pakistan wants John to clean out his fridge. Certificate #2037.
Duration:01:27:05
The King Under the Mountain (Entry 688.RO1311)
11/7/2024
In which dozens of national sleeping guys with long beards wait in caves for their countries to need them again, and John thinks Tom Cruise should not be in a courtyard. Certificate #53610.
Duration:01:21:41
New Urbanism (Entry 835.SS0711)
10/31/2024
In which conservative Sun Belt retirees and progressive urbanists agree on a nostalgic but radical revolution in city design, and Ken does a Norman Rockwell impression. Certificate #34959.
Duration:01:26:09