Episode 44: Checkerboarding (Entry 210.NU2653)

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Episode 44: Checkerboarding (Entry 210.NU2653)

FromOmnibus

ratings:

Length:

43 minutes

Released:

Apr 26, 2018

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

In which the U.S. government pixelates the American West with land grants to railroads. Certificate #6798. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

Released:

Apr 26, 2018

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

An encyclopedic reference of strange-but-true stories compiled as a time capsule for future generations.

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Omnibus: Trailer: Twice a week, Ken and John 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. by Omnibus
2 min listen
The Tesseract (Entry 1291.EP0318): In which Ken and John struggle to imagine four-dimensional space with the same ease that the inventor of the pitching machine once could. Certificate #28910. by Omnibus
48 min listen
Mummy Brown (Entry 817.PR0716): In which the bodies of ancient kings are ground up to fertilize lawns, power locomotives, and paint portraits. Certificate #37891 by Omnibus
43 min listen
The Olympic Marathon of 1904 (Entry 865.1C0924): In which the world's most prestigious sporting event goes disastrously wrong, and a Cuban mailman takes a nap. Certificate #28924. by Omnibus
57 min listen
Defenestration (Entry 326.2K0933): In which throwing people out of windows is strongly endorsed by many hot-headed Czechs, but opposed in no uncertain terms by Ken's great-great-great-great-grandfather. Certificate #32146. by Omnibus
36 min listen
Smell-O-Vision (Entry 1177.AM0521): In which the aromas of tobacco, coffee, and lavender, meant to revolutionize the motion picture industry, end up nauseating audiences instead, and Ken spoils a 57-year-old surprise cameo. Certificate #18585. by Omnibus
59 min listen
The Rachel (Entry 1024.GN2917): In which John opines that Jennifer Aniston's ubiquitous 1990s-era cut was America's "last hairstyle." Certificate #24193. by Omnibus
56 min listen
Heil Honey I'm Home! (Entry 577.PR1413): In which an upstart British television producer finally answers that age-old question: why don't more classic sitcoms star Adolf Hitler? Certificate #42615. by Omnibus
38 min listen
Megafauna (Entry 772.JB4015): In which we learn which Ice Age animal is named after the human nipple, and which modern animal fills John's soul with bloodlust. Certificate #47448. by Omnibus
43 min listen
Mutual Assured Destruction (Entry 820.JE5022): In which the human race barely survives the 20th century. (Well, not all of it, obviously. Picasso didn't, for example.) Certificate #27008 by Omnibus
45 min listen
The Noid (Entry 840.PR0415): In which a claymation terrorist with inexplicable bunny ears disrupts pizza, takes hostages, and wins America's heart. Certificate #29250 by Omnibus
49 min listen
Oneida (Entry 866.MT2230): In which a socialist preacher invents a tricky birth control technique he calls "male continence," leading directly to the lazy Susan and the assassination of an American president. Certificate #34322. by Omnibus
42 min listen
Water Wars (Entry 1414.PS6301): In which Los Angeles stands revealed in all its unquenchable thirst, and is pronounced by John and Ken several times the fun, old-timey way, with a hard 'g'. Certificate #33935. by Omnibus
59 min listen
Gadsby (Entry 511.PS6928): In which our two hosts study a book that runs fifty thousand words without a solitary display of our writing plan's fifth symbol. Certificate #6442. by Omnibus
51 min listen
The Bellamy Salute (Entry 112.HE0616): In which Ken blames a crucial bit of fascist iconography on the most successful magazine premium in American history, and John knows the lyrics to "Alaska's Flag" but refuses to sing it. Certificate #37863. by Omnibus
39 min listen
Monrovia, Moravia, Moldova, Moldavia (Entry 805.GN1032): In which John shares the soothing geographic mantra that has got him where he is today: sitting in a bunker teaching 30th-century cockroach-people how to tell medieval Central European principalities apart. Certificate #18088. by Omnibus
54 min listen
The Pig War (Entry 939.MK0511): In which the United States and Britain take up arms over one potato-hungry pig. Certificate #43259. by Omnibus
53 min listen
Secret Order of the Double Sunrise (Entry 1122.EC0105): In which QANTAS begins a top-secret 33-hour nonstop flight between Australia and Ceylon at the height of World War II, right under the noses of the Empire of Japan. Certificate #12248. by Omnibus
40 min listen
Paris Syndrome (Entry 901.JS1002): In which twenty tourists a year have a psychological breakdown because the most magical city in the world is a little disappointing. Certificate #507 by Omnibus
45 min listen
The Omnibus Project: Ken and John provide a time capsule of whimsical recordings for future generations, commemorating the human race's triumphant achievements and its beautiful mundanities. There's no way you want to miss out on these strange-but-true stories. by Omnibus
11 min listen
The European Starling (Entry 431.PS8403): In which an eccentric Shakespeare buff releases two birds in Central Park, and thereby screws up an entire continent's ecosystem. Certificate #27603. by Omnibus
42 min listen
Kohoutek (Entry 692.JU0113): In which a Czech astronomer is hailed as the hero of 1973, only to have his discovery flame out by not flaming out. Then he gets very seasick on a cruise. Certificate #31644 by Omnibus
39 min listen
Thomas Midgley (Entry 786.ZC0508): In which the world's worst chemist gives everyone lead poisoning, and then puts a hole in the ozone layer as an encore. Certificate #25185 by Omnibus
46 min listen
The Zuider Zee (Entry 1458.NA0104): In which the Dutch battle their oldest enemy: the Waterwolf. Almost certainly the Omnibus's last entry (alphabetically). Certificate #31078. by Omnibus
46 min listen
S.S. United States (Entry 1213.JB0926): In which an aluminum-heavy cruise liner falls on hard times, and John and Ken can't decide if "Blue Riband" is actually French or not. Certificate #39390. by Omnibus
47 min listen
Father Coughlin (Entry 284.MT2309): In which a fiery Canadian gets 30 million Depression-era listeners for his little fascist radio show, and Ken and John pledge fealty to Martian invaders. Certificate #29423 by Omnibus
48 min listen
Death Discs (Entry 319.MK1610): In which the gruesome deaths in early 1960s teen ballads are variously blamed on capitalism, Marlon Brando, chastity, and giant clams. Certificate #34312. by Omnibus
50 min listen
The Darien Gap (Entry 315.EZ3328): In which a single highway is paved all the way from Alaska to Argentina--except for one pesky 66-mile gap right in the middle. Certificate #14458. by Omnibus
32 min listen
Vending Machines (Entry 1387.DE0228): In which Ken runs down the list of everything that could ever be bought by putting coins in slots, from religious awe to banned books to pancake mix. Certificate #16697. by Omnibus
48 min listen
London Bridge Is Down (Entry 733.2K0934): In which we make plans for the longest-awaited death in human history, and wonder how many Welsh corgis it takes to pull a gun carriage. Certificate #34884. by Omnibus
51 min listen

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Episode 589: The Earth from Space (Entry 391.GN0115): In which centuries of inaccurate illustrations of our planet are abruptly upended by satellites and awestruck astronauts, and John never drew spaceships, just Japanese fighter planes. Certificate #35817. by Omnibus
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Episode 588: The Food Pyramid (Entry 487.MT0611): In which budget-conscious Swedes rearrange American ideas about nutritious eating, and Ken is pretty sure M&Ms are not getting smaller. Certificate #54063. by Omnibus
82 min listen
Episode 587: The Guano Islands Act (Entry 554.PS10407): In which we celebrate 167 years of Americans being able to claim any island they like as long as it has enough bird poop on it, and John thinks you can dip a pole in liberty. Certificate #39867. by Omnibus
66 min listen
Episode 586: The Great Idaho Beaver Drop (Entry 548.JL0202): In which a remote part of Idaho solves its beaver dam problem with some surplus parachutes and an even more remote part of Idaho, and Ken applies the transitive property to mules and culverts. Certificate #31297. by Omnibus
81 min listen
Episode 585: Naturism (Entry 827.GE0225): In which German health nuts give the world the idea of social nude recreation before the Nazis can tell them not to, and John thinks of something that is better than itching. Certificate #53668. by Omnibus
79 min listen
Episode 584: The Ice Trade (Entry 615.PS14717): In which the ponds of New England become the wellspring of a new worldwide web of perishable foods, and Ken learns that gum is a forest treat. Certificate #23725. by Omnibus
71 min listen
Episode 583: Einstein's Brain (Entry 399.JB1909): In which the estate of the century's greatest scientist becomes a $200 million enterprise even as his brain tissue languishes in a cider box, and John compares it to pastrami. Certificate #21917. by Omnibus
78 min listen
Episode 582: Warren Miller (Entry 789.IS5707): In which a ski bum with dad jokes explores new frontiers of film distribution and extreme sports, and Ken is a water machine. Certificate #48941. by Omnibus
78 min listen
Episode 581: Yu-Mex (Entry 1455.1C1408): In which the rift between two Communist dictators leads to a blooming of mariachi culture in the fertile soil of the Balkans, and John is baffled by Vietnamese karaoke. Certificate #46465. by Omnibus
70 min listen
Episode 580: Prodigies, Failed (Entry 990.LK0240): In which the smartest people in the world bloom early but often struggle to live up that promise later in life, and Ken's phone thinks he lives at the zoo. Certificate #50285. by Omnibus
80 min listen
Episode 579: The Eggnog Riot (Entry 398.RO1313): In which a late-night Christmas party in a West Point barracks gets out of hand, almost changing the course of the Civil War, and John is not anti-Julius. Certificate #32683. by Omnibus
79 min listen
Episode 578: The Caning of Charles Sumner (Entry 180.PR2314): In which tensions over slavery and its westward expansion boil over into an assault on the floor of the United States Senate, and Ken does not have a single cloak. Certificate #46116. by Omnibus
71 min listen
Episode 577: Legal Baby Names (Entry 710.LK0160): In which governments around the world deliberate on how creatively parents may name their children, and John thinks "Tilden" sounds like a kind of cheese. Certificate #26934. by Omnibus
83 min listen
Episode 576: Jellyfish Blooms (Entry 671.PS10425): In which the world's overfished oceans begin to teem with a sudden surplus of ancient and puzzling invertebrates, and Ken just wants sex tourists not to pee on his bunion. Certificate #23757. by Omnibus
76 min listen
Episode 575: Winamp (Entry 1433.PR2603): In which a teenaged slacker from Sedona with a love for llamas jump-starts the digital music age, and John explains why large people prefer old things. Certificate #38550. by Omnibus
92 min listen
Episode 574: London Bridge (Entry 733.LK1626): In which the successor to one of the great medieval bridges is shipped to the Arizona desert by an American tycoon, and Ken is skeptical about product placement in slasher movies. Certificate #28472. by Omnibus
73 min listen
Episode 573: Cryonics (Entry 302.1C1535): In which a science fiction-loving professor dreams of conquering death with the cold, hard science of low-temperature preservation, and John just wants to be a brain with a nose. Certificate #48643. by Omnibus
91 min listen
Episode 572: Christian Rock (Entry 220.EP0519): In which evangelical Christians wrestle with the problem of whether rock music is inherently good, evil, or neither. and Ken wonders about angel monkeys. Certificate #34822. by Omnibus
81 min listen
Episode 571: Lodge Night (Entry 731.GN2922): In which the rituals of Masonry and its more casual offshoots produce a "golden age of fraternalism" for American men, and John is discomfited by noisy day care teachers. Certificate #35320. by Omnibus
71 min listen
Episode 570: Uranium Cubes (Entry 1376.1K0710): In which the remains of a useless Nazi "chandelier" unexpectedly emerge in Maryland and Washington, and Ken thinks about Bilbo Baggins too late. Certificate #35410. by Omnibus
70 min listen
Episode 569: Raised by Wolves (Entry 1028.GE4927): In which the legend of feral children is traced from ancient mythology all the way up to Smurfs and Russian street dogs, and John cannot recommend the Madrid Zoo. Certificate #22714. by Omnibus
73 min listen
Episode 568: Tom of Finland (Entry 1315.EX0402): In which an adman who survived Nazi and Soviet invasions goes on to reinvent gay eroticism, and Ken wonders which Founding Father looked best naked. Certificate #7136. by Omnibus
77 min listen

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Episode 44: Checkerboarding (Entry 210.NU2653)

Episode 44: Checkerboarding (Entry 210.NU2653)

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from Omnibus

Related podcast episodes