Omnibus

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.

The MGM Auction (Entry 783.JB2813)

In which wheeler-dealers and Debbie Reynolds pillage a priceless trove of movie treasure for pennies on the dollar, and Ken has never been in his own conference room. Certificate #38661.

09-04
01:35:33

Allan Bakke, M.D. (Entry 093.SS0510)

In which a Marine vet and NASA engineer changes the course of American public policy when he fails to get into medical school, and John has no pith. Certificate #29277.

08-29
01:33:39

Radioactive Boy (Entry 1026.JB4132)

In which a Detroit-area teen overachieves in Boy Scouts by trying to build a nuclear reactor in a potting shed, and Ken only wants capitalized toys. Certificate #50176.

08-21
01:57:21

Dollar Princesses (Entry 370.NU3603)

In which a generation of English peers and their sons look to fix their leaky castle roofs by marrying wealthy American "buccaneers," and John has never kidnapped anyone in Bulgaria. Certificate #33143.

08-14
01:43:54

Teddy Girls (Entry 1283.PR3122)

In which the dandyish vintage finds of postwar British teens set a blueprint for the rest of 20th-century youth fashion, and Ken keeps getting hit in the head by nose flutes on the bus. Certificate #13953.

08-07
01:24:00

The Integratron (Entry 650.SS0117)

In which a 700-year-old Venusian designs a mysterious whitewashed dome in the Mojave Desert, and John would like to change history at the mutiny on the Bounty. Certificate #13181.

07-31
01:24:06

Chemtrails (Entry 212.AM0407)

In which internet-era conspiracy theorists become convinced that jet contrails are weather control masterminded from Fairbanks, Alaska, and Ken thinks John sounds like a Muppet for exactly one syllable. Certificate #52946.

07-24
01:42:42

Ex-Millionaires (Entry 438.EC0514)

In which some of the bankers who lost their shirts in the Great Depression find a cushy retirement in the Bronx instead of jumping out windows, and John will never say anyone isn't gay. Certificate #35727.

07-17
01:17:32

Margarine (Entry 759.JU0525)

In which butter substitutes have to overcome scientific hurdles, dairy-friendly laws, and bad news about trans fats, and Ken thinks Germany is trying to control olive oil. Certificate #34384.

07-10
01:18:44

Chopin's Heart (Entry 218.JB4124)

In which Poland's most famous exile partially returns to Warsaw to posthumously annoy both tsars and Nazis, and John's restaurant idea has some light cannibalism. Certificate #31277.

07-03
01:30:01

Hostile Architecture (Entry 601.PR2907)

In which today's cities face tough choices on how to guide urban behavior with incredibly uncomfortable-looking design features, and Ken would pee on a fly but not a bee. Certificate #19421.

06-26
01:24:09

The War Between the States (Entry 1409.IS1902)

In which it takes decades for America to decide whether its civil war was an insurrection or an invasion, nomenclature-wise, and John walks very erratically on his orange shag carpet. Certificate #26478.

06-19
01:28:33

The Dreadnought Hoax (Entry 380.PS6831)

In which six bored, Cambridge-connected bohemians con their way onto the British Empire's naval flagship by dressing as African royalty, and Ken thinks John is either Batman or a Karen. Certificate #19722.

06-12
01:33:57

The Comics Code Authority (Entry 248.2CH2115)

In which a crusading social psychiatrist drums up the moral panic that gets two mega-popular comic book genres banned from America's newsstands, and John agrees that punching Hitler is unmissable. Certificate #44894.

06-05
01:33:57

Gorillas, Discovery of (Entry 540.PS10420)

In which it takes Europe over two thousand years to figure out that the greatest of the great apes is not just Carthaginian folklore, and Ken would like to be considered merciful. Certificate #46468.

05-29
01:15:07

Victorian Hairwork (Entry 1394.LK2118)

In which the popularity of "mourning bequeathments" and the death of the Prince Consort lead to an explosion of morbid family handicrafts, and John gives away the same piano twice. Certificate #50902.

05-22
01:21:00

Hawaiian Guitar (Entry 572.PS14409)

In which a Honolulu teenager discovers a rusty bolt by the side of the road and changes the face of 20th-century music across multiple genres, and Ken is surprised to learn what Aerosmith, Paul Shaffer, and Harvard have in common. Certificate #35281.

05-15
01:19:55

Vows of Silence (Entry 1403.PS10730)

In which a famed monastic tradition is revealed to be a modern misunderstanding of the chattiness of religious life, and Ken does not want to know what a Robot Guitar really is. Certificate #38497.

05-08
01:25:28

Rock Paper Scissors (Entry 1079.1CH2613)

In which an ancient Chinese game of intransitive balance changes the world as both a children's pastime and a decision-making method, and John has the candy tastes of a pioneer child. Certificate #23611.

05-01
01:19:07

Lemmings (Entry 711.MK1503)

In which the documentary films of the Arctic are revealed to be full of lies, leading to one misunderstood rodent, and John thinks about a vole in a bowl. Certificate #25575.

04-24
01:13:13

Coco

South Dakota postcard

09-05 Reply

Coco

53 min buffalo

09-04 Reply

Coco

Melted the ice wall that protected us from Bluejays fans came down

09-04 Reply

Coco

wall drug, corn palace

08-01 Reply

John J Edmund

3rd culture kid thing is a thing? Born in Panama, grew up in the Pacific Northwest and have never heard of the Left Bank Bookstore. I am still lost living in Florida.

06-03 Reply

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