The Box of Oddities

Something 15,000 light-years from Earth is sending out a mysterious signal every 44 minutes. Astronomers can't explain it, and just when they thought they were beginning to understand it, something changed.

In this episode of The Box of Oddities, Jethro explores the baffling discovery of ASKAP J1832−0911, a mysterious object in the Milky Way emitting synchronized radio waves and X-rays unlike anything scientists have observed before. Could it be an exotic dead star, an entirely new cosmic phenomenon, or something even more extraordinary?

Then, Kat takes us back to September 3, 1967, when Sweden attempted one of the most remarkable traffic experiments in history: switching an entire nation from driving on the left side of the road to the right. With thousands of road signs, redesigned buses, a nationwide publicity campaign, and millions of nervous drivers, what could possibly go wrong?

Plus, the bizarre secret lives of queen ants, including royal coups, brain-changing promotions, and an ant species whose reproductive strategy seems almost impossible.

Mysterious signals from deep space, Sweden's Great Traffic Switch, and the astonishing biology of queen ants. All this and more on The Box of Oddities.

The Box of Oddities. Curated weirdness for curious minds.

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What do a 7,200-year-old underwater cemetery and 17 miniature coffins hidden inside a Scottish volcano have in common? Both are archaeological mysteries that raise some very uncomfortable questions about what happens to us after we die.

First, Jethro takes us beneath the Gulf of Mexico, where a Florida diver searching for prehistoric shark teeth accidentally discovered a human jawbone. What archaeologists uncovered next was extraordinary: an ancient Indigenous burial ground, complete with human remains and wooden stakes, preserved beneath the ocean for more than 7,000 years. How did an entire cemetery end up underwater, and what else might be hiding beneath Florida's coastline?

Then Kat heads to Edinburgh, Scotland, where a group of boys hunting rabbits on Arthur's Seat in 1836 stumbled upon 17 tiny wooden coffins, each containing a carefully dressed miniature figure. Nearly two centuries later, their purpose remains unknown. Were they instruments of witchcraft, mysterious good-luck charms, or symbolic burials connected to the notorious Burke and Hare murders?

Plus, a spirited debate about whether coconut crabs could have eaten Amelia Earhart, some deeply questionable Mountain Dew flavors, and a theory involving deceased shoemaker elves that probably deserves no further investigation.

Ancient burial rituals, unsolved historical mysteries, strange archaeological discoveries, and the occasional giant crustacean. It's another wonderfully peculiar episode of The Box of Oddities.

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Freak Family Favorite (2022): The Great Stink of London and Yemen’s Mysterious Well of Hell

What happens when an entire city becomes so overwhelmed by human waste that the smell actually forces Parliament to take action? And what lies at the bottom of a mysterious desert sinkhole rumored to imprison evil spirits?

In this Freak Family Favorite from 2022, Kat and Jethro revisit two wonderfully strange stories from the archives of The Box of Oddities.

First, the Great Stink of 1858, when London's River Thames became a foul mixture of sewage, animal carcasses, and industrial waste. The stench was so unbearable that it helped inspire one of the most ambitious engineering projects of the Victorian era.

Then, deep in the desert of Yemen, a massive sinkhole known as the Well of Hell has terrified locals for centuries. Legends tell of imprisoned djinn, mysterious screams, and supernatural forces lurking beneath the earth. But when explorers finally descended into its depths in 2021, they discovered something extraordinary.

Ancient superstitions, bizarre history, hidden ecosystems, and a surprising amount of discussion about poop. All fueled by beer, donuts, and an ill-advised quantity of ice cream.

It's a Freak Family Favorite from 2022, on The Box of Oddities.

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An ancient curse buried beneath a Dutch town square. A bathtub hoax that fooled America for decades. This week on The Box of Oddities, Kat and Jethro explore two remarkable stories about supernatural revenge, historical deception, and humanity's impressive willingness to believe just about anything.

First, archaeologists in Heerlen, Netherlands, uncover a nearly 1,900-year-old Roman curse tablet inscribed with mysterious Greek writing, Egyptian magical symbols, and the names of four enslaved people. Who buried it, and what terrible fate were they hoping to unleash? The discovery opens a fascinating window into ancient Roman magic, binding spells, and the surprisingly personal grudges people once entrusted to the gods.

Then, the bizarre true story of journalist H. L. Mencken and the Great American Bathtub Hoax of 1917. What began as an amusing piece of fabricated history involving a Cincinnati businessman, suspicious doctors, and President Millard Fillmore became an accepted historical fact. Even after Mencken confessed, the story refused to die.

Plus, an ongoing Macarena-related medical emergency, questionable presidential facial hair, and a reminder that some things are considerably harder to get rid of than others.

The Box of Oddities — strange history, bizarre discoveries, unexplained mysteries, and the wonderfully weird side of being human.

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What if you woke up from a month-long coma with five years of memories from a future that hasn't happened yet?

Kat and Jethro explore the extraordinary story of Rubí, a young Mexican woman who claims she lived an entirely different life while unconscious in a hospital in 2025. In her experience, time continued normally until 2031, in a technologically advanced world where Mexico had become a global powerhouse and people were actually spending less time staring at their phones. But when she suddenly returned to 2025, she found herself grieving a life that everyone insisted had never happened. Was it an elaborate coma dream, an alternate reality, or something we don't yet understand about consciousness and time?

Then we're heading 250 miles above Earth to discover the surprisingly disgusting realities of living aboard the International Space Station. From floating tears and recycled urine to wet burps, questionable underwear experiments, and the disturbing etiquette of removing your socks in zero gravity, astronaut life is considerably less glamorous than NASA's recruitment materials might suggest.

Two journeys beyond ordinary reality. One through time, the other through space. Both raise some deeply uncomfortable questions about what happens to the human body when things get weird.

It's the strange, the bizarre, and the unexpected. It's The Box of Oddities.
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