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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:

Horse Manure, Dead Whales & LSD Jul 25, 2025

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Tickets for The Box of Oddities Live Tour Here!

In this Freak Family Favorites episode of The Box of Oddities, we investigate three very different ways humans have tried to solve very different problems—with wildly questionable success.

First, we ride back to 1894, when the streets of major cities were ankle-deep in horse poop and people feared civilization would be buried in a literal pile of its own progress. What was the solution to the Great Horse Manure Crisis? Spoiler: it wasn’t a bigger shovel.

Then, we dive into the squishy, grotesque, and oddly therapeutic world of Victorian medicine with a "cure" for rheumatoid arthritis that required the patient to crawl inside a dead whale carcass. You read that right. It’s less “spa treatment,” more “Jonah fan fiction.”

And finally, we pedal straight into psychedelic history with a celebration of Bicycle Day—the trippy anniversary of the world’s first intentional LSD journey in 1943. A chemist. A bike. And a brain on technicolor fire.

From poop-pocalypse panic to whale-based healing rituals and accidental acid trips, this episode is a wild ride through the absurd corners of human history.

🧠✨ Curiosity is a gateway drug.

#LSDHistory #WhaleTherapy #HorseManureCrisis #BicycleDay #VictorianMedicine #WeirdHistory #OdditiesPodcast #BoxOfOddities #HumanityIsWeird #StrangeButTrue

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Ghost Ships & Drowning Pools Jul 23, 2025

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LIVE SHOW TIX HERE

Set sail into the strangest corners of history and mystery in this episode of The Box of Oddities! First, we weigh anchor in 18th-century Dublin to explore the baffling disappearance—and even more bewildering reappearance—of the Ouzel Galley, a “ghost ship” that vanished without a trace… only to return five years later with a tale that’s either the greatest cover story of all time or a nautical glitch in the Matrix.

Then: tropical paradise meets paranormal peril. We dive into the eerie legend of The Babinda Boulders, an idyllic Australian swimming hole with a deadly secret—where a string of mysterious drownings has locals whispering about a vengeful spirit and a tragic love story carved in stone.

Shipwrecks, spirits, and spooky swim spots—what more could you want?

Subscribe now for your weekly dose of bizarre history, paranormal oddities, and uncomfortable laughter.

#GhostShip #OuzelGalley #BabindaBoulders #ParanormalPodcast #TrueCrimeWeirdness #BoxOfOddities #HauntedWaters

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Postmortem Chic Jul 21, 2025

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Box of Oddities Live National Tour September 10 - October 31, Halloween Night. Learn More Here!

In this episode of The Box of Oddities, Kat and Jethro raise a glass to history’s most unsettling happy hour.

First, a post-mortem fashion icon: the corpse of Countess Virginia Oldoini, a.k.a. the Countess of Castiglione—19th-century Italian aristocrat, secret agent, fashion influencer, and full-time narcissist. She posed for over 400 photos, staged her own haunting re-creations of operas, and spent her final years obsessively preparing to be seen dead just right. Spoiler: her afterlife aesthetic was more “ghost of Versailles” than “eternal slay.”

Then, we stumble drunkenly across the globe to explore humanity’s weirdest regional cocktails. From "Fat Ass In A Glass" to "The Burnt Trailer", these aren’t your hipster speakeasy cocktails. They’re historic. They’re horrifying. They’ll make you question your liver’s will to live.

Drink deeply from the odd.

#BoxOfOddities #WeirdHistory #CountessCastiglione #StrangeButTrue #BizarreDrinks #MacabreFashion #FermentedWhat #OddlyInformative #HistoryIsDrunk

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Inbox Of Oddities #053 Jul 18, 2025

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INBOX OF ODDITIES #053– “Wall Wig & The Certified Bird Whisperer”

🕳️ Welcome to the weirdest corner of listener mail. In this jam-packed Inbox of Oddities episode, we crack open some of the most deliciously deranged, hilariously haunted, and poultry-psychic tales our Freak Fam has ever sent.

✨ This week:

A shadowy tapping in the night reveals… a single chair in a secret crawlspace.
A tuft of mysterious human hair erupts from an attic wall, sparking the birth of “Wall Wig.”
We meet a man who once charged $20 to translate for live parakeets, and somehow had a waitlist.
One couple’s romantic legacy is sealed in buttered toast and wet hair.
A feline named Barbara Dolly sends psychic war movie signals through the ether.
A ghost with a very specific hatred for Zoom meetings haunts one poor listener’s office décor.
The cheese moon conspiracy is exposed (thanks, Uncle Spreadsheet).

🛸 Whether it’s paranormal plumbing, psychic poultry, or lunar dairy deprogramming—this episode’s got it all. Buckle up, Butterbutt.

🎙️ Listen now and remember: If your attic has hair, don’t poke it. Just burn the house.

#ParanormalPodcast #BoxOfOddities #InboxOfOddities #TrueWeird #ListenerStories #ShadowPeople #GhostZoom #BirdMedium #CheeseMoonTruth #WallWig2025 #HauntedAF #StayWeirdFreakFam

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Death By Pastry Jul 16, 2025

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What do you get when you mix a royal smorgasbord, a deadly dessert, and a man whose name sounds like a Victorian law firm but actually ran 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days? You get this gloriously odd episode of The Box of Oddities.

First, we chew over the gluttonous fate of King Adolf Fredrik of Sweden, whose last meal was so epic it could've headlined a buffet apocalypse. Spoiler: he literally ate himself to death. Then we plunge into the frostbitten legacy of Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, a real-life action hero and the most extreme gentleman explorer you’ve never heard of (but definitely should have).

Expect bizarre royal history, death-by-dessert, and tales of endurance that will make your couch feel deeply judgmental.

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Shovel First, Ask Questions Never Jul 14, 2025

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In this delightfully disturbing episode of The Box of Oddities, we unearth two baffling tales that defy logic, science, and perhaps even basic hygiene.

First, journey to the plague-ravaged town of Frankenstein (yes, it’s real), circa 1606. As bodies piled up and panic spread faster than a medieval TikTok trend, townspeople pointed their infected fingers at an unlikely culprit: the gravediggers. Accused of spreading the Black Death through dark rituals, corpse mutilation, and a suspicious over-enthusiasm for their work, several were executed—possibly to death. Were they scapegoats... or graveyard alchemists gone rogue?

Then, leap ahead to 1997 and the eerie vanishing of Lori Bova. After a quiet dinner with her husband, she stepped outside and was never seen again. No signs of struggle. No trail to follow. Just a whisper on the wind and an open timeline full of conspiracy.

Dark history meets vanishing acts in this episode of head-scratching proportions.

#BoxOfOddities #HistoricalMystery #UnexplainedDisappearance #PlagueLore #CreepyPodcast #OddlyFascinating

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Inbox Of Oddities #052 Jul 11, 2025

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A skull bequeathed to a favorite coworker. A traffic cone worshipped like a divine orange messiah. A wisdom tooth turned into fine jewelry. On this gloriously bizarre installment of The Box of Oddities, Kat and Jethro dive deep into the wonderfully weird world of listener emails in an "Inbox of Oddities" episode that defies both logic and conventional estate planning.

Mace kicks us off with a posthumous coworker gift plan that involves body farms, ring finger relics, and mandatory skull accessorizing. Then we take a detour through minty toothpaste tab evangelism, misheard Cream lyrics, cats with shared soul custody, and a town that literally canonized a traffic cone. Also: undead lawn geometry, Louisville BBQ diplomacy, and one listener’s heartwarming pants-half-on booty shake. You’ll laugh, you’ll learn, you’ll probably update your will.

Whether you’re new to the pod or have been with us since the early tales of flaming bigfeet, this episode is a love letter to the oddballs, the outcasts, and everyone whose dad still tells that panda joke.

#BoxOfOddities #TrueWeird #SkullGoals #CoworkerInheritancePlan #ToothEarringFashion #TrafficConeCult #InboxOfOddities #WeirdPodcast #CuriousCommunity #StayWeird

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Rot Fail & Caesar's Revenge Jul 09, 2025

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Did you know there was a time when trees never rotted? In this flaming-hot episode of The Box of Oddities, Kat and Jethro unearth the ancient world’s most eco-unfriendly crisis: a time when dead trees just… stuck around, stacked up, and turned the whole planet into a pyromaniac's dream. Spoiler: it ends in fire. Lots of it.

Then, travel back to 75 BCE, when a young Julius Caesar got kidnapped by pirates—and responded by being the pettiest hostage in history. Think Stockholm Syndrome in reverse. He laughed in their faces, demanded a higher ransom for himself, and then… well, let’s just say things didn’t end well for the pirates.

From prehistoric firestorms to petty Roman revenge fantasies, this episode dives deep into the hilariously weird corners of science and history.

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Hex Marks & Tooth Thieves Jul 07, 2025

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The Box of Oddities Live Show. Learn More Here!

The Cursed Life of Moll Dyer & the Tooth Fairy’s Bizarre Backstory

In this episode of The Box of Oddities, Kat and Jethro unearth the ghostly tale of Moll Dyer, the colonial-era outcast whose fiery legend scorched its way into Maryland folklore—and possibly left a permanent spiritual stain on a local boulder. Is her restless spirit still wandering the woods, or just really into dramatic exits?

Then: we sink our teeth into the surprisingly twisted history of the Tooth Fairy—from Viking warriors hoarding baby teeth for luck to 20th-century parents bribing children like tiny, enamel-based mob bosses. Spoiler: There’s a weird amount of rodent worship involved.

Two stories. One box. Zero dental plans.

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Resurrecting George Washington Jul 04, 2025

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Resurrecting George Washington, the First Lady Freak Files, and other patriotic tales.

This Independence Day, Box of Oddities declares its independence from boring history. In this explosive episode, Kat and Jethro crack open two patriotic oddities you won’t find in your middle school textbook. First: the bizarre true story of how George Washington’s doctors tried to bring him back from the dead using lamb’s blood, warmed wine, and a tracheotomy straight out of a horror flick. Spoiler: it didn’t work, but it was disturbingly enthusiastic. Then, peel back the pristine portraits of America’s First Ladies to reveal their lesser-known, darker sides—from séances in the White House to whispers of obsession and manipulation. It’s presidential weirdness with a side of barbecue. 🧨

Tune in for a weird, wild ride through America’s haunted history, and discover just how strange freedom can be.

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