The Box of Oddities

What would you do if a human skull fell out of your wall?

During a routine renovation in 1978, homeowners in Batavia, Illinois, uncovered something no one expected to find behind plaster and beams: a human skull. What followed was decades of unanswered questions. Who was she? How did she get there? And why had no one come looking?

With no clear identity and limited forensic tools at the time, the case went cold—until modern DNA technology reopened it in the early 2020s. What investigators uncovered was both heartbreaking and deeply unsettling.

But that’s only half the story.

Kat then brings us back to 1776—where a young Quaker named Jemima Wilkinson died… and then didn’t stay dead. What emerged from that feverish illness wasn’t the same person, but a self-declared divine entity known only as the Public Universal Friend. Rejecting gender, identity, and even their own name, the Friend preached radical ideas of equality, abolition, and spiritual autonomy—decades ahead of their time.

Was this a case of religious awakening, psychological transformation, or something far stranger?

From human remains hidden in walls… to a prophet who claimed not to be human at all… this episode explores the thin line between history, mystery, and the truly unexplainable.

Also in this episode:

* The bizarre reality of 19th-century grave robbing

* How modern DNA is solving centuries-old cold cases

* A “Thing in the Middle” featuring the internet’s funniest reactions to a bizarre deep-sea creature

* And why Kat’s mom may be the most chaotic phone caller alive

If you love true crime, historical mysteries, and stories that make you say “wait… WHAT?”, this episode is for you.

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Can a Brain Live Without a Body? | Digital Immortality, Ancient Curses & the World’s Most Brutal Race

What if the first creature to outlive its own body… wasn’t human?

In this episode of The Box of Oddities, Kat and Jethro dive into one of the most unsettling scientific breakthroughs in recent memory: researchers have successfully mapped and simulated the entire brain of a fruit fly—every neuron, every connection—and brought it to life inside a computer.

Is it thinking? Is it aware? Or is it something stranger—something in between?

From digital consciousness and the eerie implications of “connectomes” to the philosophical nightmare of uploading the human mind, this story blurs the line between science and science fiction in a way that’s hard to unsee.

But that’s just the beginning.

We also crack open the ancient world to explore chilling Egyptian tomb curses—warnings etched in stone that promise everything from fiery deaths to supernatural retribution. Were they symbolic… or something more? And why do so many of them involve birds with a serious attitude problem?

Then, in a completely different flavor of human endurance (or madness), we explore the Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race—an almost incomprehensible ultramarathon where competitors run the same city block in Queens… for up to 52 days straight. No scenery. No escape. Just miles, repetition, and whatever starts to surface in your mind when there’s nowhere left to hide.

Is it spiritual enlightenment… or psychological unraveling?

This episode asks big questions:

* Can consciousness exist outside the body?

* Are we inching toward digital immortality?

* What happens when the brain becomes data?

* And why would anyone willingly run 3,100 miles in circles?

If you like your science unsettling, your history cursed, and your human behavior just a little unhinged… you’re in the right place.

Inside this Box:

* The first fully simulated fruit fly brain (and why it matters)

* The disturbing implications of digital consciousness

* Ancient Egyptian tomb curses that still haunt modern imaginations

* The world’s longest certified footrace—and the minds that survive it

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It’s May Day, and the Inbox of Oddities is blooming with the strange, the heartfelt, and the hilariously unhinged. In this listener-driven episode, Kat and Jethro dig into real-life stories that blur the line between coincidence and something… else.

A simple phrase—“that’s just the way the ladder leans”—echoes across generations in a way that feels like more than chance. A child mysteriously knows lyrics to a decades-old folk song he’s never heard. And one listener shares a deeply moving story of loss, love, and what might be a loyal dog refusing to say goodbye. Are these just quirks of memory and timing… or something we don’t fully understand yet?

Along the way, the Inbox delivers its usual mix of chaos and charm: neurodivergent minds and perseveration, possible paranormal “boo effects,” skeptical takes on viral UFO footage, and a shelter dog named Igor who may—or may not—be a cursed Victorian entity in fur form. (We’re leaning yes.)

Plus: organ donation stories that are equal parts fascinating and unsettling, bizarre lawn décor traditions, and the kind of listener creativity that reminds us why this community is the absolute best.

If you love true strange stories, unexplained moments, and dark humor wrapped in humanity, this episode of The Box of Oddities is for you.
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What if the voices we hear in modern ghost hunts… were already being heard long before recording devices even existed?

In this unsettling episode of The Box of Oddities, Kat and Jethro explore the eerie origins of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP)—decades before microphones, tape recorders, or digital audio ever entered the picture. During the height of 19th-century Spiritualism, inventors and experimenters used crude devices—vibrating wires, acoustic horns, and chemically treated plates—in an attempt to capture something impossible: the voices of the dead.

And according to their journals… they may have succeeded.

Across multiple accounts spanning countries and decades, early researchers reported hearing faint but structured responses—names repeated, urgent pleas, and chilling phrases like “Help me,” “I am lost,” and “Don’t leave.” These weren’t dramatic or theatrical. They were flat, mechanical… and disturbingly consistent. Even more unsettling? Some messages suggested confusion—voices that didn’t seem to realize they were dead at all.

So what does it mean that modern EVP recordings—captured with advanced technology—report the same exact types of messages?

Is this proof of something trying to reach us across time? Or has the human brain been playing the same trick on us for over 150 years?

Then, in a sharp turn from paranormal to profoundly bizarre, the episode dives into one of medicine’s strangest real experiments: milk transfusions. In the mid-1800s, desperate doctors battling deadly diseases like cholera attempted to replace lost blood… with milk injected directly into the veins.

Yes. Milk.

At first, some patients appeared to improve—just enough to give doctors hope. But what followed was often catastrophic: chills, labored breathing, shock, and death. Without understanding blood types or human biology, physicians clung to the idea far longer than they should have—until science finally caught up and revealed just how wrong they were.

This episode blends eerie historical accounts with jaw-dropping medical missteps, reminding us that the line between science and the unknown has always been thinner than we think.

And sometimes… dangerously so.

🎧 If you love strange history, paranormal mysteries, and the unsettling space where fact meets the unexplained, this is one you won’t want to miss.
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What if the last thing your brain said… was the only thing it could ever say again? And what if the person sent to protect you… was the one you needed protection from?

In this unsettling episode of *The Box of Oddities*, Kat and JG explore the eerie neurological phenomenon known as **perseveration**—a condition where the brain locks onto a word, phrase, or action and repeats it endlessly, like a record skipping in a groove. But this isn’t just a medical curiosity. It’s something caregivers witness in real life… and sometimes, the phrases being repeated aren’t random—they’re urgent, emotional, even terrifying.

From patients who can only say “Tuesday” to those who fill entire pages with “I don’t know,” the brain’s inability to move forward becomes something far more haunting when the words carry weight. What does it mean when someone looks you in the eye and calmly repeats, “I’m not here”… or worse… “help me”?

Drawing on real neurological cases and insights from works like The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, this episode dives into how brain injury, dementia, and trauma can trap a person inside a loop of their own last coherent thought. It’s not conversation—it’s echo. And somewhere beneath that repetition, there may still be awareness trying to break through.

But that’s only half the story.

In a chilling true crime segment, we shift from the mysteries of the mind to a real-life nightmare. In 1995, a young woman named Jennifer Mori returned home to what should have been a safe, secure apartment. What happened next was a brutal, life-threatening attack that tested the limits of human survival. With extraordinary presence of mind, she fought back, stemmed her own bleeding, and made a desperate 911 call that would ultimately save her life.

But the most disturbing twist?

Her attacker wasn’t a stranger.

This gripping survival story highlights not only the resilience of the human spirit but also the terrifying reality that sometimes the people we trust most can become the greatest threat.

From neurological loops that trap the mind… to a real-life escape from unimaginable violence… this episode will stay with you long after it ends.

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