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The Box of Oddities — Comedy
The Box of Oddities

The Webby Award-winning “Box of Oddities” is a podcast that delves into the strange and mysterious aspects of our world, exploring topics ranging from bizarre medical conditions to unsolved mysteries, and from paranormal phenomena to strange cultural practices from around the world. With a focus on oddities, curiosities, and the macabre, each episode is a journey into the unknown, where hosts Kat and Jethro Gilligan Toth share their love for unusual stories and inject their humor and commentary. From the strange history of medical practices to chilling true crime stories, to natural (and unnatural) events, “The Box of Oddities” satisfies your thirst for the weird and the unusual, offering an informative and entertaining look into the dark and mysterious corners of our world.
JIMMY KIMMEL, ABC-TV says, “Should you be the type who has an interest in weird stuff, this is a fun thing to allow in your head!”

“Truth is stranger than fiction, and the Box of Oddities is the strangest of all!” -SLUGGO, SIRIUS XM LITHIUM

“Kat & Jethro wring humor from bizarre, macabre and perplexing places.” -BOSTON MAGAZINE

Copyright: © 2023 Eleven Eleven llc

Latest Episodes:

Sphinx Secrets & Oddball Animals Nov 19, 2025

Show notes

What lies beneath the Great Sphinx of Giza—and why does it continue to fuel global obsession? In this episode of The Box of Oddities, Jethro uncovers the strange history, disputed radar scans, ancient legends, and modern controversies surrounding the Sphinx. From Edgar Cayce’s “Hall of Records” prophecy to seismic anomalies beneath the limestone, this deep dive explores why some experts insist it’s just geology while others believe an untouched vault—or even a lost city—still waits beneath those ancient paws.

Then, Kat flips the script on the animal kingdom with a celebration of Earth’s rule-breakers—creatures that defy everything we expect from their species. Meet the herbivorous jumping spider, the underwater-breathing diving bell spider, mudskippers that drown in water, axolotls that never grow up, the egg-laying electrified platypus, the “Jesus Christ” lizard that walks on water, the immortal jellyfish, and more. These misfit marvels prove evolution has a wonderfully weird sense of humor.

If you love ancient mysteries, bizarre biology, strange science, and the delightfully unexpected, this episode delivers maximum oddity.

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Carnival Corpses & Swiss Ogres Nov 17, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of The Box of Oddities, JG resurrects one of America’s strangest carnival legends: the so-called “Mummy of John Wilkes Booth.” What begins with a mysterious deathbed confession unravels into a 60-year sideshow tour involving embalmed drifters, Civil War conspiracy theories, broken limbs, arsenic preservation, and a carnival circuit that cashed in on America’s morbid curiosity. Was the assassin of Abraham Lincoln secretly living under an alias in Texas? Or was his mummified “corpse” just another brilliant piece of ballyhoo? JG digs into eyewitness accounts, bizarre examinations by 1930s physicians, and the odd legacy of Memphis lawyer Finis L. Bates—whose obsession might have created the blueprint for modern macabre tourism.

Then, Kat travels to Bern, Switzerland, to explore one of Europe’s most unsettling—and surprisingly misunderstood—public monuments: the 16th-century Kindlifresserbrunnen, the “Child-Eater of Bern.” Is this towering baby-devouring ogre a warning rooted in antisemitism? A Renaissance reinterpretation of the Greek titan Cronus? Or simply a nightmare-inducing way to keep children from misbehaving? Kat dives into competing theories, Renaissance symbolism, and the long, strange history of fear-based folklore carved into stone.

Stick around for weird Google search stats, existential cat-judgment queries, and why Icelandair may be your gateway to ogre-themed tourism. It’s history, horror, hilarity, and human oddness—exactly what you come here for.

This Box contains the following ingredients: John Wilkes Booth mummy, Finis L. Bates, David E. George, carnival sideshow history, American oddities, Kindlifresserbrunnen, Child-Eater of Bern, Swiss folklore, Cronus statue, Renaissance sculpture, weird history podcast, bizarre monuments, true oddities.

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Inbox Of Oddities #64 Nov 14, 2025

Show notes

This week’s Inbox of Oddities brings a rapid-fire mix of weirdness, heartfelt moments, and full-blown BoO Effects. A listener questions whether Kat’s chicken-arm pistol props make a rooster “half-cocked,” another finds community through the story of activist Brownie Mary, and someone offers a critical PSA about the flavor of gummy anatomy.

We get a dream-driven BoO Effect involving an unsolicited testicle donation, a listener who spots cosmic parallels between Robert Temple and The Kybalion, and a powerful message from someone who found comfort in the show on the day her father passed.

Plus, a musician shares a chilling paranormal encounter in a Salt Lake City apartment filled with sentient breezes, phantom smells, and one final eerie goodbye.

Short, strange, heartfelt, and perfectly Freak Fam.

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Donuts for the Dead Nov 12, 2025

Show notes

In this chilling and hilarious episode of The Box of Oddities, Jethro unwraps the eerie legend of Albuquerque’s haunted KiMo Theatre and its resident ghost—a little boy named Bobby whose tragic death in a 1951 boiler explosion left more than scorch marks behind. From phantom footsteps to mysteriously vanishing donuts, discover why local performers never dare take the stage without leaving sweets for Bobby. Then, Kat dives headfirst into one of pop culture’s most persistent conspiracies: Is Elvis Presley really dead? From DEA badges and bathroom mysteries to witness protection plots and alien abduction theories, this deep dive separates fact from fever dream.

Join The Box of Oddities for an unforgettable mix of history, hauntings, and hilarity, where the paranormal meets pop culture.

This Box contains the following ingredients:
KiMo Theatre ghost story, Albuquerque haunted theater, Bobby KiMo ghost, Elvis Presley conspiracy, Elvis is alive theory, haunted theaters, ghost legends, paranormal podcast, The Box of Oddities, Jethro and Kat Tabor, ghost stories, pop culture mysteries, Elvis death theories, weird history podcast

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God Is a Lightbulb (and Other Bright Ideas) Nov 10, 2025

Show notes

In this mind-bending episode of The Box of Oddities, Jethro dives into Robert Temple’s electrifying theory that the universe might actually be alive—and trying to talk to us. Could plasma—the same substance that fills stars, powers lightning, and glows in neon lights—be a living intelligence? Temple suggests that the mysterious orbs, pillars of fire, and UFO-like lights seen throughout history might all be manifestations of the same cosmic consciousness reaching out across the galaxy. Kat and Jethro explore the parallels between deep-space structures and the human brain, the eerie beauty of ball lightning, and how ancient prophets may have witnessed plasma phenomena long before science had a name for it.

Then, Kat switches gears to set fire to your curiosity—literally—by investigating the latest in fire science. From sound-wave extinguishers to DARPA’s plasma-bending experiments, she reveals how modern tech is rethinking the way we fight flames. Plus, we discover what happens when your upstairs neighbor doubles as a weight-lifting thunder god, why Kat owns a crystal vase for questionable reasons, and how chickens got arms for Christmas.

This Box contains the following ingredients: Robert Temple, plasma intelligence, ball lightning, crop circles, afterlife physics, intelligent universe, sound-wave fire extinguisher, DARPA fire suppression, Box of Oddities podcast, Kat and Jethro, paranormal science, weird science, cosmic consciousness.

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Inbox of Oddities #63 Nov 07, 2025

Show notes

Poltergeist burritos, haunted pants, divine toast, and a skeleton named Orge — it’s another delightfully deranged Inbox of Oddities! From Tucson to Milwaukee, the Freak Family shares spine-tingling tales and wonderfully weird coincidences. One listener’s burrito unrolls itself in a supernatural act of culinary shame, and another’s Alexa picks fights with vintage corduroys.

There’s also a toast that channels either Jesus or Kenny Loggins (jury’s still out), battery-free toys that come to life, and a heartwarming letter from a medium who first saw a ghost in bright blue coveralls at age ten. Plus, we learn about Kat’s evolving Chambord cocktails, Brian’s possibly undead venison, and a listener’s lifelong confusion about the Poconos being tropical.

It’s proof that the Freak Family never disappoints — from supernatural snacks to spectral fashion choices, this Inbox is packed with laughter, goosebumps, and glorious absurdity.

This Box contains the following ingredients: paranormal stories, listener submissions, Box of Oddities podcast, ghost encounters, funny paranormal podcast, spooky listener stories, BOO effect, haunted objects, and weird coincidences.

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DNA Says What Now?! Nov 05, 2025

Show notes

Want to listen to The Box of Oddities ad-free and early? ⁠Become a patron ⁠by joining The Order of Freaks!

Episode 750: The Man Who’s Older Than Time & The Babies Born Without Bits

In this mind-bending episode of The Box of Oddities, JG delves into the incredible genetic history of one man whose lineage stretches back further than anyone else alive—revealing what ancient proteins can tell us about humanity’s earliest roots. Meanwhile, Kat explores a strange evolutionary twist: the modern baby body parts that are quietly disappearing! From prehistoric proteins to future humans, this episode connects the oldest of us to the newest in ways that are both hilarious and humbling.

This Box contains:

Ancient DNA, human evolution, disappearing body parts, vestigial traits, genetic ancestry, proteins, evolution of humans, bizarre science, the box of oddities podcast, Kat and Jethro, weird facts, human adaptation

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Til Death—or Dinner—Do Us Part Nov 03, 2025

Show notes

In this darkly fascinating episode of The Box of Oddities, Kat and Jethro explore the bizarre world of Victorian starvation contests and the tragic tales of the Starving Brides of Blackpool—young women who became public spectacles in a disturbing blend of endurance, showmanship, and societal obsession with purity. Then, Jethro takes us back to 17th-century England for the unsettling trials of Thomas Hogg and George Spencer, where superstition and Puritanical paranoia turned alleged sin into criminal conviction. Were these men victims of early witch-hunt hysteria—or living symbols of a community’s moral panic?

Expect laughter in the darkness, uncomfortable truths, and that signature Box of Oddities blend of macabre history, weird culture, and unexpected humor.

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Halloween Night: The Ghosts Who Came Home with Us Oct 31, 2025

Show notes

🎃 A chilling Box of Oddities Halloween celebration!
Kat and Jethro rewind time to revisit the very first Halloween Special, recorded on a dark and stormy Halloween night years ago. In this fright-packed collection of true listener encounters, we dive into some of the most unsettling paranormal moments ever shared by the Freak Family — including ghostly apparitions, haunted highways, Civil War spirits, and the terrifying Grey Lady of Tasmania.

👻 Featured encounters include:

A spectral homeowner still roaming the halls after a fatal accident 😨
A “Utah backroad” where vengeful ghosts try to run travelers off the road
A haunted Gettysburg field echoing with wagon wheels and marching soldiers
San Diego’s notorious Whaley House — footsteps from beyond the grave
Tasmania’s Grey Lady — and a night of screams, possession, and rotting-orange phantom stench

With creepy first-person recordings, eerie real-life locations, and that signature blend of humor and horror, this is the perfect Halloween audio ritual. Whether you believe in ghosts or not… these stories just might believe in you.

Grab your candy, dim the lights, and enjoy this spooky trip down memory lane with Kat and Jethro — and the ghosts who came with them… 👁️👁️

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8th Annual Halloween Special Oct 29, 2025

Show notes

The Box of Oddities: 8th Annual Halloween Special

Step into the shadows for our 8th Annual Halloween Special—where the veil thins, the lights flicker, and the stories come straight from you, the Freak Family. This year, listeners share their most chilling real-life encounters: a music box that plays from beyond the grave, a midnight sprint through a haunted cemetery, a towering white figure that defies explanation, a windowless room hiding something unspeakable, and a Tucson hotel room that fights back.

From eerie coincidences to full-blown paranormal panic, these tales remind us why October is our favorite time of year—and why some things are better left unexplained. Lock the doors, dim the lights, and prepare for a night of true listener-told horror—because in this episode, you are the Box of Oddities.

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