Omnibus

In which we study the history of oversized roadside advertising all the way from ancient Egypt to Blade Runner, and Ken is skeptical about yellow-and-green election posters. Certificate #50861.

In which a century of German diplomacy is repeatedly hamstrung by their inept telegraphy-related decisions, and Ken has some notes about the poster for Jaws 2. Certificate #51969.

In which the dark days of the 1980s are brightened by the sudden appearance in Sunday newspaper supplements of the world's smartest person, and John tries to buy a mean t-shirt about Ken. Certificate #51993.

In which the we learn that that story of America's most famous false teeth is upsetting for reasons that go way beyond dental pain, and Ken calls George Washington the ultimate NIMBY. Certificate #35120.

In which puzzled medieval rabbis decide that it's not Adam and Eve—it's Adam and Lilith and Eve and Eve, and John wonders if anyone ate beets in the Garden of Eden. Certificate #14309.

In which a kitchen gadgeteer harnesses the power of late-night television to create a new American art form, the infomercial--but wait, there's more! Ken thinks music shouldn't come from a scarf. Certificate #32041.

In which a stubborn Yugoslavian air hostess sets a world record by surviving a six-mile fall from the sky, and John misplaces the Carpathians. Certificate #33008.

In which America's forests and suburbs are ravaged by a strange invader brought by bark beetles, and Ken insists on comparing tree sap to mucus even though no one wants that. Certificate #27612.

In which post-war trauma and idealism inspire world cities to try a new kind of diplomacy, and John has big plans for Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Certificate #39656.

In which the CIA becomes convinced that acid-laced cocktails are the solution to all our Cold War intelligence problems, and Ken suggests a new variant of foosball. Certificate #28598.

In which a Victorian parlor game about poultry and tweezers blossoms into a tongue twister, a comedy act, and a broadcasting test, and John tunes a guitar because Frank Zappa isn't available. Certificate #34596.

In which an evil cabal of lightbulb manufacturers realizes they can sell more product if bulbs burn out faster, and Ken decides he invented Teddy Ruxpin. Certificate #24473..

In which a Siberia-obsessed Russian mystic counts a future U.S. vice president among his acolytes, and John offers up our softest poets to the mosquitoes of Alaska. Certificate #43738.

In which we look back at the complex and clandestine history of sexual signaling in gay culture, and Ken thinks a lot of decades have the wrong adjectives. Certificate #34366.

In which a Victorian food faddist persuades America and Europe to chew each bite of onion over seven hundred times, and John discovers what Woodrow Wilson would look like if he were an embezzler. Certificate #32596.

In which a patriotic young colonist serves bravely in the American Revolution without anyone realizing she's secretly a woman, and Ken accuses a lot of deadbeat dads of doing murders in Maine. Certificate #37232.

In which children's love of model trains is reinvigorated in our era by an odd British TV property with an odd British ideology, and John thinks helicopters are probably hippies. Certificate #49600.

In which surprisingly large mussels provide the world's finest cloth to a shrinking number of old Mediterranean women, and Ken wonders what a Tibetan antelope smells like. Certificate #29379.

In which the Carter Administration waffles so long on a groundbreaking civil rights law that disabled protestors take over a federal building for almost a month, and John considers building a maze full of wolverines. Certificate #30708.

In which a French baker discovers an unusual muscular ability that makes him an international star, and Ken works on his Kegels mid-recording. Certificate #22584.

In which the discoverer of neutron stars is largely ignored for her achievement, and John wonders about the precise verbiage to summon "Beetlejuice." Certificate #52246.

In which the BBC employs a high-tech surveillance fleet to find out if Britons are seeing Doctor Who illegally, and Ken watches Monday Night Football on Tuesday nights. Certificate #48968.

In which fifteen men in a dirigible, to say nothing of the dog, conquer the North Pole while arguing all the way, and John wonders if there are Italians on the Moon. Certificate #23607.

In which we examine the secondary market for Olympic medals, Nobel Prizes, game show trophies, and other awards, and Ken and John struggle to remember if Watson or Crick is the bad one. Certificate #2504.

In which one press-ganged sailor's quick thinking and bravery ends an invasion of Ireland and changes the course of history, while John and Ken disagree over the meaning of Elton John lyrics. Certificate #50975.