The Twenty-Seventh Amendment (Entry 1352.GE3028)
In which a constitutional change finally happens after a two-hundred-year delay just to spite one Texas poli sci professor, and Ken likes it when scriveners get away scot-free. Certificate #43079.
1hr 15m Oct 03, 2024
1hr 15m
The Teddy Bear Shipwreck (Entry 1283.PR2433)
In which the toy market is revolutionized by a faddish stuffed animal that would be priceless today if it hadn't disappeared, and John buys the concept of a rabbit. Certificate #24398.
1hr 19m Sep 26, 2024
1hr 19m
Sea Peoples (Entry 1120.1K2248)
In which the great Mediterranean civilizations of the late Bronze Age collapse virtually overnight due to some mysterious visitors, and Ken knows a lot about white broccoli. Certificate #9795.
1hr 9m Sep 19, 2024
1hr 9m
The Coconut Revolution (Entry 239.JE0207)
In which Melanesian eco-revolutionaries fight off helicopter gunships with literal slingshots and homemade diesel, and John makes a shocking announcement about all scientists. Certificate #54146.
1hr 13m Sep 12, 2024
1hr 13m
Poutine (Entry 973.PS10709)
In which a curd-heavy side from central Quebec belatedly becomes the national dish of a land with no real national cuisine, and Ken learns so much about Sacramento culture. Certificate #30037.
1hr 9m Sep 05, 2024
1hr 9m
The Fenian Raids (Entry 461.DE2849)
In which a secret society of plucky Civil War veterans hatches a plan to return Ireland to the Irish by—wait for it—invading Canada, and John doesn't think the people who sold him wine coolers actually exist. Certificate #12129.
1hr 14m Aug 29, 2024
1hr 14m
Comic Sans (Entry 248.2C1009)
In which even the most hated typeface in the history of desktop publishing has its defenders, and Ken isn't sure why he owns cargo shorts. Certificate #54861.
1hr 4m Aug 22, 2024
1hr 4m
Oh, You Kid! (Entry 862.GA0519)
In which a flirty but forgotten Tin Pan Alley song leads to the first great moral panic in pop music history, and John sneakily borrows someone else's shanty town. Certificate #12960.
1hr 27m Aug 15, 2024
1hr 27m
Pickleball (Entry 937.EZ4621)
In which a state politician's lack of badminton equipment leads to the invention of the hottest sport of the 21st century, and Ken is slightly present. Certificate #42131.
1hr 18m Aug 08, 2024
1hr 18m
Stradivarius Violins (Entry 1231.PS9203)
In which researchers squabble for centuries about the secret ingredient that made one Cremonese craftsman the greatest musical instrument-maker of all time, and John seasons guitars under a bus. Certificate #36611.
1hr 6m Aug 01, 2024
1hr 6m
The Forbidden Island (Entry 489.LV2523)
In which a king agrees to hand over his seventh-best island in the hopes of creating a haven for his native Hawaiian language and culture, and Ken does not want to greet Zach. Certificate #43273.
1hr 17m Jul 25, 2024
1hr 17m
Fermi Problems (Entry 462.MK0819)
In which the last universal physicist demonstrates to his students that ballpark estimates in math can be as powerful as precision, and John isn't sure if Romanians can count tomatoes. Certificate #46480.
1hr 12m Jul 18, 2024
1hr 12m
Love Canal (Entry 737.PR2526)
In which an ill-advised utopian scheme to bypass Niagara Falls becomes America's first toxic waste catastrophe, and Ken knows the main thing that water does. Certificate #42025.
1hr 20m Jul 11, 2024
1hr 20m
Turtle Soup (Entry 1351.SS0212)
In which the great gourmet food of 19th-century "frolics" suddenly disappears from American menus, and John thinks humankind often looks to weasels. Certificate #32793.
1hr 14m Jul 04, 2024
1hr 14m
Harambe (Entry 567.JM0506)
In which the tragic death of a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo launches a tidal wave of viral content on social media, and Ken explains bad table manners as an accident of birth. Certificate #23616.
1hr 28m Jun 27, 2024
1hr 28m
The Brushy Mountain Prison Breakout (Entry 159.AC0523)
In which the most notorious convict in America attempts no fewer than four separate escapes from the Alcatraz of the Cumberland Mountains, and John would never disparage the banjo. Certificate #1746.
1hr 37m Jun 20, 2024
1hr 37m
The Western Washington Windshield Epidemic (Entry 1422.RV0613)
In which a mysterious outbreak of "glass pox," possibly a result of nuclear testing, hits the Pacific Northwest, and Ken doesn't think Sherlock Holmes knows any teenagers. Certificate #40197.
1hr 19m Jun 13, 2024
1hr 19m
Talking Drums (Entry 1275.1C1407)
In which the Yoruba people of Nigeria create a new kind of "speech surrogacy" for news and storytelling using a versatile percussion section, and John only needs two pedals to get to Sounds-Like-Garbage-Land. Certificate #51913.
1hr 24m Jun 06, 2024
1hr 24m
The Antarctic Snow Cruiser (Entry 052.1K0732)
In which a polar expedition builds a massive RV to road-trip around Antarctica but brings the wrong tires, and Ken wonders if admirals like sexy calendars. Certificate #23408.
1hr 11m May 30, 2024
1hr 11m
Electroculture (Entry 401.MT1308)
In which the earliest discoverers of electricity disagree on whether it helps flowers, turnips, and myrtle shrubs to grow, and John punishes himself with sprouts. Certificate #27338.
1hr 16m May 23, 2024
1hr 16m
Somerton Man (Entry 1189.PS7902)
In which a clue-filled dead body appears on a beach in Adelaide, Australia, sparking a tantalizing 75-year mystery, and Ken is not a team of seventh graders. Certificate #35821.
1hr 39m May 16, 2024
1hr 39m
Kim's Video (Entry 687.MT0542)
In which the collapse of the video rental industry sends one valuable and eccentric archive to an obscure and disaster-plagued town in western Sicily, and E. coli is no match for John. Certificate #43318.
1hr 31m May 09, 2024
1hr 31m
Kilroy Was Here (Entry 687.EZ0810)
In which a mysterious World War II inscription marries image and text to create the modern meme, and Ken does not think gangrenous limbs are a meme. Certificate #25622.
1hr 19m May 02, 2024
1hr 19m
The Rainbow Bridge (Entry 1028.EC0319)
In which the bountiful gifts of American advice columnists include a now-ubiquitious happy afterlife for pets, and John might lose a swordfight because he's too heavy for a chandelier. Certificate #29810.
1hr 31m Apr 25, 2024
1hr 31m
The Principality of Sealand (Entry 987.IS6022)
In which a self-crowned prince founds his own nation on a tiny piece of concrete in the North Sea, complete with commando raids, and Ken is only in favor of 3-D awards. Certificate #6611.
1hr 9m Apr 18, 2024
1hr 9m
Stickball (Entry 1225.MK0608)
In which a village pastime for Sussex dairymaids gets urbanized into an exciting neighborhood pick-up sport in American inner cities, and John wants to pick the bittle up. Certificate #13472.
1hr 1m Apr 11, 2024
1hr 1m
Bioplastics (Entry 124.EZ3629)
In which attempts to replace petrochemical plastic with corn and sawdust face fatal challenges of scale and efficiency, and Ken has never made a Prius. Certificate #32944.
1hr 10m Apr 04, 2024
1hr 10m
The Push Button (Entry 1012.DE0611)
In which the influence of spinet pianos and telegraph keys produces a satisfying new device interface for the electric age, and John thinks aliens just want a cuddle. Certificate #42007.
1hr 15m Mar 28, 2024
1hr 15m
Jersey Barriers (Entry 671.IS5714)
In which the development of guardrail and concrete divider technology makes highway driving massively safer over the decades, and Ken lies under oath in a deposition. Certificate #40991.
1hr 17m Mar 21, 2024
1hr 17m
Joanna Southcott's Box (Entry 673.GN4910)
In which twenty-four bishops refuse to open the secret prophecies that will save Britain from war and banditry, and John wants to be called "Dicebox." Certificate #49596.
1hr 34m Mar 14, 2024
1hr 34m
Vanity Plates (Entry 1383.EC1208)
In which car registration numbers become modes for personalized creative expression and eventually a multimillion-dollar commodity, and Ken does not say "auto." Certificate #37808.
1hr 30m Mar 07, 2024
1hr 30m
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.
1hr 15m Feb 29, 2024
1hr 15m
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.
1hr 22m Feb 22, 2024
1hr 22m
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.
1hr 6m Feb 15, 2024
1hr 6m
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.
1hr 21m Feb 08, 2024
1hr 21m
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.
1hr 19m Feb 01, 2024
1hr 19m
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.
1hr 11m Jan 25, 2024
1hr 11m
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.
1hr 18m Jan 18, 2024
1hr 18m
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.
1hr 18m Jan 11, 2024
1hr 18m
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.
1hr 10m Jan 04, 2024
1hr 10m
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.
1hr 20m Dec 28, 2023
1hr 20m
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.
1hr 19m Dec 21, 2023
1hr 19m
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.
1hr 11m Dec 14, 2023
1hr 11m
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.
1hr 23m Dec 07, 2023
1hr 23m
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.
1hr 16m Nov 30, 2023
1hr 16m
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.
1hr 32m Nov 23, 2023
1hr 32m
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.
1hr 13m Nov 16, 2023
1hr 13m
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.
1hr 31m Nov 09, 2023
1hr 31m
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.
1hr 21m Nov 02, 2023
1hr 21m
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.
1hr 11m Oct 26, 2023
1hr 11m