Omnibus

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.

In which Alaska chooses to make a cheerfully lawless gold rush villain into a beloved folk hero, and Ken wonders if he's married to a dice-rolling confidence artist. Certificate #35570.

In which history's most widely read theologian is revealed to be an eccentric Los Angeles cartoonist and conspiracy theorist who looks like Slim Pickens, and John notices that religious pamphlets mostly appear in places where bad things happen. Certificate #31387.

In which a Listerine label-printing company publishes what goes on to become the most popular cookbook in American history, and Ken imagines Wall Street Journal portraits of seafood. Certificate #38738.

In which one of the great Pop Art geniuses of his century accidentally becomes a one-hit wonder with an iconic bit of typography, and John regrets never entering into an arranged marriage. Certificate #37350.

In which we are reminded that the modern global communication network still relies on unwiedly physical cables running along the sea-floor, tempting Russian spies and itchy whales, and Ken enjoys the word "gutta-percha." Certificate #34332.

In which the phenomenon of "illusory superiority" causes a gradual creep of ratings and reputations in every field, from maple syrup to dunks to dress sizes, and John is universally praised by his rideshare drivers. Certificate #45417.

In which a consortium of gemologists tries to persuade vacationers of the hottest new thing in jewelry, which Ken considers to be the Sammy Hagar of birthstones. Certificate #48596.

In which filthy Restoration comedy, Horatio Alger, and a sensational murder trial conspire to create a very odd pick-up line, and John requires an extra syllable in "Tijuana." Certificate #2793.

In which John Wayne buys a decommissioned minesweeper as his luxury yacht and it outlasts its more famous French sister ship, which is probably now full of slugs. Certificate #28232.

In which a failed periscope inventor predicts the greatest disaster of his time with apparently paranormal accuracy, and special guest Aimee Mann is warned away from the supernatural in no uncertain terms. Certificate #27264.