Episode 173: The Four-Color Map Problem (Entry 495.NU2653)

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Episode 173: The Four-Color Map Problem (Entry 495.NU2653)

FromOmnibus

ratings:

Length:

49 minutes

Released:

Jul 23, 2019

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

In which over a century of mathematicians are unable to solve a geometry problem straight out of a coloring book, computers provide their first ever math "proof," and Ken challenges John to map a donut. Certificate #28876.

Released:

Jul 23, 2019

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

An encyclopedic reference of strange-but-true stories compiled as a time capsule for future generations.

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Defenestration (Entry 326.2K0933): In which throwing people out of windows is strongly endorsed by many hot-headed Czechs, but opposed in no uncertain terms by Ken's great-great-great-great-grandfather. Certificate #32146. by Omnibus
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The Olympic Marathon of 1904 (Entry 865.1C0924): In which the world's most prestigious sporting event goes disastrously wrong, and a Cuban mailman takes a nap. Certificate #28924. by Omnibus
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The Omnibus Project: Ken and John provide a time capsule of whimsical recordings for future generations, commemorating the human race's triumphant achievements and its beautiful mundanities. There's no way you want to miss out on these strange-but-true stories. by Omnibus
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The European Starling (Entry 431.PS8403): In which an eccentric Shakespeare buff releases two birds in Central Park, and thereby screws up an entire continent's ecosystem. Certificate #27603. by Omnibus
42 min listen
Monrovia, Moravia, Moldova, Moldavia (Entry 805.GN1032): In which John shares the soothing geographic mantra that has got him where he is today: sitting in a bunker teaching 30th-century cockroach-people how to tell medieval Central European principalities apart. Certificate #18088. by Omnibus
54 min listen
Gadsby (Entry 511.PS6928): In which our two hosts study a book that runs fifty thousand words without a solitary display of our writing plan's fifth symbol. Certificate #6442. by Omnibus
51 min listen
The Zuider Zee (Entry 1458.NA0104): In which the Dutch battle their oldest enemy: the Waterwolf. Almost certainly the Omnibus's last entry (alphabetically). Certificate #31078. by Omnibus
46 min listen
Paris Syndrome (Entry 901.JS1002): In which twenty tourists a year have a psychological breakdown because the most magical city in the world is a little disappointing. Certificate #507 by Omnibus
45 min listen
Secret Order of the Double Sunrise (Entry 1122.EC0105): In which QANTAS begins a top-secret 33-hour nonstop flight between Australia and Ceylon at the height of World War II, right under the noses of the Empire of Japan. Certificate #12248. by Omnibus
40 min listen
Smell-O-Vision (Entry 1177.AM0521): In which the aromas of tobacco, coffee, and lavender, meant to revolutionize the motion picture industry, end up nauseating audiences instead, and Ken spoils a 57-year-old surprise cameo. Certificate #18585. by Omnibus
59 min listen
Death Discs (Entry 319.MK1610): In which the gruesome deaths in early 1960s teen ballads are variously blamed on capitalism, Marlon Brando, chastity, and giant clams. Certificate #34312. by Omnibus
50 min listen
Water Wars (Entry 1414.PS6301): In which Los Angeles stands revealed in all its unquenchable thirst, and is pronounced by John and Ken several times the fun, old-timey way, with a hard 'g'. Certificate #33935. by Omnibus
59 min listen
The Darien Gap (Entry 315.EZ3328): In which a single highway is paved all the way from Alaska to Argentina--except for one pesky 66-mile gap right in the middle. Certificate #14458. by Omnibus
32 min listen
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42 min listen
London Bridge Is Down (Entry 733.2K0934): In which we make plans for the longest-awaited death in human history, and wonder how many Welsh corgis it takes to pull a gun carriage. Certificate #34884. by Omnibus
51 min listen
Omnibus: Trailer: Twice a week, Ken and John add a new entry to the OMNIBUS, an encyclopedic reference work of strange-but-true stories that they are compiling as a time capsule for future generations. by Omnibus
2 min listen
The Bellamy Salute (Entry 112.HE0616): In which Ken blames a crucial bit of fascist iconography on the most successful magazine premium in American history, and John knows the lyrics to "Alaska's Flag" but refuses to sing it. Certificate #37863. by Omnibus
39 min listen
The Tesseract (Entry 1291.EP0318): In which Ken and John struggle to imagine four-dimensional space with the same ease that the inventor of the pitching machine once could. Certificate #28910. by Omnibus
48 min listen
Mummy Brown (Entry 817.PR0716): In which the bodies of ancient kings are ground up to fertilize lawns, power locomotives, and paint portraits. Certificate #37891 by Omnibus
43 min listen
The Pig War (Entry 939.MK0511): In which the United States and Britain take up arms over one potato-hungry pig. Certificate #43259. by Omnibus
53 min listen
Kohoutek (Entry 692.JU0113): In which a Czech astronomer is hailed as the hero of 1973, only to have his discovery flame out by not flaming out. Then he gets very seasick on a cruise. Certificate #31644 by Omnibus
39 min listen
The Sentinelese (Entry 1134.LV2024): In which John introduces us to the world's last uncontacted tribe—but not literally, because that would be illegal. Certificate #13568 by Omnibus
39 min listen
Back Masking (Entry 091.EP0427): In which John investigates whether or not segassem terces naitnoc sgnos kcor, and Ken wonders why Satan would own a toolshed. Certificate #30148. by Omnibus
44 min listen
Heil Honey I'm Home! (Entry 577.PR1413): In which an upstart British television producer finally answers that age-old question: why don't more classic sitcoms star Adolf Hitler? Certificate #42615. by Omnibus
38 min listen
Thomas Midgley (Entry 786.ZC0508): In which the world's worst chemist gives everyone lead poisoning, and then puts a hole in the ozone layer as an encore. Certificate #25185 by Omnibus
46 min listen
The Rachel (Entry 1024.GN2917): In which John opines that Jennifer Aniston's ubiquitous 1990s-era cut was America's "last hairstyle." Certificate #24193. by Omnibus
56 min listen
Oneida (Entry 866.MT2230): In which a socialist preacher invents a tricky birth control technique he calls "male continence," leading directly to the lazy Susan and the assassination of an American president. Certificate #34322. by Omnibus
42 min listen
Megafauna (Entry 772.JB4015): In which we learn which Ice Age animal is named after the human nipple, and which modern animal fills John's soul with bloodlust. Certificate #47448. by Omnibus
43 min listen
Mutual Assured Destruction (Entry 820.JE5022): In which the human race barely survives the 20th century. (Well, not all of it, obviously. Picasso didn't, for example.) Certificate #27008 by Omnibus
45 min listen
Hat Etiquette (Entry 571.1C1104): In which John strongly admonishes future listeners not to get sloppy with their headwear, if they have heads. Certificate #25200. by Omnibus
37 min listen

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70 min listen
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Episode 579: The Eggnog Riot (Entry 398.RO1313): In which a late-night Christmas party in a West Point barracks gets out of hand, almost changing the course of the Civil War, and John is not anti-Julius. Certificate #32683. by Omnibus
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Episode 578: The Caning of Charles Sumner (Entry 180.PR2314): In which tensions over slavery and its westward expansion boil over into an assault on the floor of the United States Senate, and Ken does not have a single cloak. Certificate #46116. by Omnibus
71 min listen
Episode 577: Legal Baby Names (Entry 710.LK0160): In which governments around the world deliberate on how creatively parents may name their children, and John thinks "Tilden" sounds like a kind of cheese. Certificate #26934. by Omnibus
83 min listen
Episode 576: Jellyfish Blooms (Entry 671.PS10425): In which the world's overfished oceans begin to teem with a sudden surplus of ancient and puzzling invertebrates, and Ken just wants sex tourists not to pee on his bunion. Certificate #23757. by Omnibus
76 min listen
Episode 575: Winamp (Entry 1433.PR2603): In which a teenaged slacker from Sedona with a love for llamas jump-starts the digital music age, and John explains why large people prefer old things. Certificate #38550. by Omnibus
92 min listen
Episode 574: London Bridge (Entry 733.LK1626): In which the successor to one of the great medieval bridges is shipped to the Arizona desert by an American tycoon, and Ken is skeptical about product placement in slasher movies. Certificate #28472. by Omnibus
73 min listen
Episode 573: Cryonics (Entry 302.1C1535): In which a science fiction-loving professor dreams of conquering death with the cold, hard science of low-temperature preservation, and John just wants to be a brain with a nose. Certificate #48643. by Omnibus
91 min listen
Episode 572: Christian Rock (Entry 220.EP0519): In which evangelical Christians wrestle with the problem of whether rock music is inherently good, evil, or neither. and Ken wonders about angel monkeys. Certificate #34822. by Omnibus
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Episode 571: Lodge Night (Entry 731.GN2922): In which the rituals of Masonry and its more casual offshoots produce a "golden age of fraternalism" for American men, and John is discomfited by noisy day care teachers. Certificate #35320. by Omnibus
71 min listen

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Episode 173: The Four-Color Map Problem (Entry 495.NU2653)

Episode 173: The Four-Color Map Problem (Entry 495.NU2653)

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from Omnibus

Related podcast episodes