EPISODE · Jul 25, 2025 · 47 MIN
Horse Manure, Dead Whales & LSD
from The Box of Oddities · host Kat & Jethro Gilligan Toth
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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What this episode covers
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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Horse Manure, Dead Whales & LSD
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