The Absurd

Starting off this episode with the story of Julian Hernandez. A 5-year-old boy who went missing in 2002 only to be found 13 years later. Thing is, Julian didn’t know he was missing. Next we’ll learn about a situation that can make any parent freak out. A mother’s car disappeared from a school parking lot with her 10-year-old son still inside the car. Mel will then tell us about an AI teddy bear wh...

We’ll start off this week in India, where a guru commanded his follows to offer a lot more than some change in the collection plate. Then Mel will tell us about several bizarre incidents surrounding a painting known as The Crying Boy. We will then meet a corgi named Fu Zai who is an explosives detection dog with Chinese police. Lastly, a sad incident in which a man died after he ended up in a dino...

We’re going to start off this week with a look at Larry Flynt, a true hustler. While reviled by many, he was actually a rather moral person who set out to expose hypocrisy. Then we’re off to the border of Albania and Greece where researches have discovered the largest spider web ever. Next, Mel will tell us about a truly horrifying incident in Laos where a father and son died while zip lining. But...

We start off today with a sad and disgusting historical incident which too few know about. Mans inhumanity to man plumbs new depths. Then Mel will tell us about a terrifying incident in which a pet chimpanzee attacked a friend of it’s owner with truly terrifying results. Then we’ll lighten the mood a bit when Rod tells us about a woman who is suing Disney after she was injured on a roller coaster....

This is our Hallowe’en special, and we begin with a telling of an axe murder in 1912 Iowa where an entire family along with two guests were murdered in their beds. Next we’ll learn about the basis for the famed Annabelle doll in which a boy’s doll is reported to be possessed and it is responsible for causing terror. Next, Mel will tell us a truly haunting ghost story from the deep woods of New Bru...

A lot of sports fans will know about this first story in which a 4-year-old boy was struck by a foul ball back in 1982, and a quick thinking player may well have saved his life. Plot twist, this story is connected to one of our show hosts. No doubt many of you were fans of the show Dexter and are aware of it’s premise. Here’s a tale about a Canadian wannabe Dexter. Next, we’ll learn about the Pari...

Are you afraid of clowns? Even though they are meant to elicit laughter, many people find them terrifying. Especially when the clown is trying to scare you. Surgery can be a stressful experience, causing many people to feel vulnerable. We expect medical staff to have decorum and respect. This doctor missed the memo. Mel will take us to her home province to tell us a terrifying tale about a headles...

Tylenol has been in the news a lot as of late, but nothing like back in 1992 when several deaths were associated with the medication. But not how you think. Have you ever wanted to be shorter? Mel will tell us about a radical treatment available in Turkiye to reduce the length of a patient’s legs. I hope we all know the name Amelia Earhart and how she and her copilot went missing without a trace i...

Mel will tell us about Dr Ignaz Semmelweis, who determined that the washing of hands was key to preventing a myriad of issues in the hospital. Sound obvious? Everything is, after it’s been discovered. Then Rod brings a story about a man who had a rare and bizarre medical condition which … well. It’s weird. Staying in the field of medicine, we’ll learn about an 82 year old woman who went to the doc...

We’ll start off this episode with a trip back to 1939 Italy and meet a woman who believed that the only way to prevent one of her few surviving children was through human sacrifice. She also did a little baking. Then Mel will take us to Russia where we’ll learn about a man’s utterly horrific efforts to not be alone. The ick factor is big in this one. Rod will then lighten things up with a woman wh...

Mel will start us off with a trip to Sumatra where we will meet a boy who was a chainsmoker at the age of two, smoking as many as 40 cigarettes a day. Next we’ll learn about a doctor who left in the middle of an operation to have sex with a nurse. His explanation is … annoying. Then we’ll learn about the life of Frane Selak, a Croatian man who has survived an incredible series of serious accidents...

We’ve got a story from right here in southern Ontario where human remains found 45 years ago in Algonquin Park have finally been identified. Next, Mel will tell us about a woman who made and collected plaster casts of rock star’s penises. Rod will then bring us a terrifying and mysterious incident that happened to a police officer in Argentina. Lastly, we’ll go to China and meet a woman who lost b...

They say necessity is the mother of invention, and transportation can certainly be considered a necessity. But this method of doing so in Turkey sure sounds like a pain in the back. We hate animal poachers and we especially hate people who buy parts of endangered animals for stupid reasons. Now, there is a new approach to help protect animals from poachers. Mel will tell us about a truly harrowing...

Ever have a chest or head cold? We all have. And many of us have used the good old Vick’s rub to relieve those hideous symptoms. But how did it come about? Next, we’ll meet a woman who paid a high price when a bat flew into her mouth. Mel will then tell us about a man who left this world in a very weird way. But at least he had a great tan. Lastly, we’ll meet a 10 year old girl whose quick recogni...

There are an estimated 20 quadrillion ants on earth, and they are very warlike. One species is very nearly taking over the planet by wiping out all other species of ants. We’re both glad that we’re not ants. Then, Mel will take us to Mexico to learn about Ines Ramirez, a woman with no medical experience, successfully performed the first and only documented self C-section. Who the heck doesn’t love...

Mel will start us off this week with a trip to Italy where we will learn of a bizarre bit of history. The mummies of Venzone are a collection of mummies discovered in Venzone, Italy, in the 16th century. Although similar mummies may be found elsewhere, the reason for the Venzone mummies’ preservation is still unknown. They were mummified by natural processes. Next, Rod will tell us about a bizarre...

We start with a listener submitted story about the root of garden gnomes. Real people who were paid to live on the premises of the wealthy, remain unwashed and unshorn for years to play the role of a resident hermit. Next we’ll learn about a German man who at the age of 22 began a quest to visit every country on earth on his bicycle. Then Rod will tell us about the reason we as humans are able to...

We’re going to start this episode with looking at some strange and even scary rites of passage practiced around the world. Next, Mel will tell us about a woman whose parachute failed and she fell 4,000 metres and landed on a colony of fire ants. But hold on, there’s more. Then Rod will look at a news story in which a man died in his hotel room while travelling with the supposedly possessed Annabel...

Ed Gein was a serial killer whose crimes inspired the films Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Silence of the Lambs. Need we say more? Next we’ll meet an Iranian man who lived at the airport in Paris for 18 years! Then we’ll meet Myrtle Corbin who was born with four legs and two pelvises but sure didn’t let that stop her from having an interesting life. Ever been caught in a traffic jam? Miserab...

In a notable medical case, doctors in China temporarily grafted a man's severed hand to his leg to preserve it while his arm injury was treated. The man, Xiao Wei, lost his hand in a work accident and doctors grafted it to his ankle to maintain blood supply. Next, we’ll learn about another absurd Tiktok thingy wherein people are doing their own botox injections at home. As you should be aware, it’...

Medical scientists in France have found a woman with a brand new blood type. Even more interesting, she is the only person in the world with that specific blood type. We all need to sleep, and many of us love to sleep. But did you know that there are different approaches to sleeping among the world’s cultures? Next we’ll learn about the carnivorous New World Screwworm Fly, whose young (maggots) po...

We’re going to start off with a trip down to New Zealand where a man had a very unpleasant experience with some compressed air. We honestly didn’t know something like this was even possible. Next, Mel takes us to India where we learn about the terrifying ritual of baby tossing. Then we’ll visit an event in which people named Josh fought over the right to retain the name. Lastly, we’re going back t...

Welcome to our Canada Day episode in which all the stories are Canadian in origin. To start, Mel will tell us a truly shocking and awful story about a maternity home that operated in Halifax from the 1920’s to the 1940’s. This is not a happy story, folks. Next, while remaining in Halifax, Rod will tell us about the largest man-made explosion prior to the atomic bomb, when in 1917, two ships explod...

To start off, Rod will take us back to 1976 when three men abducted a school bus full of children, and buried them alive inside a bunker along with water and food in hopes of securing ransom money. Yikes! Next, Mel will tell us about the practice of punishing people for playing bad music by means of the “shame flute”. Not gonna lie. Could still be used today. Then we’ll meet Gunther VI, a German S...

Mel will take us back to olden times where we’ll meet Xerxes the Great, a Persian ruler. While trying to get his invasion force across the Bosporus strait (between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, things went very wrong. So, he decided to take out his anger on the sea. Yup. Then Rod will tell us a very strange yet somewhat hilarious story about a man whose female boss told him he must stop wea...