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2:04

discretion is advised. The

2:07

world is full of

2:09

stories. Join Cat and

2:11

Jethro Gilligan Toth for

2:13

The Strange, The Bazaar,

2:15

The Unexpected, as they

2:18

lift the lid and

2:20

cautiously peer inside. The

2:22

Box of Oddities. You

2:24

know, Cat is constantly

2:26

trying to keep me on

2:28

task when it comes to

2:30

eating a better diet, to

2:33

take better care of myself.

2:35

And I love her so

2:37

much for that, because as

2:39

we mentioned, I think it

2:41

was the last episode somebody

2:43

referenced my love for freezer

2:45

cake. And so I'm really

2:47

enjoying the fact that your

2:49

diet's gone way downhill lately.

2:51

Thank you. You're welcome.

2:53

I'm here to support you. I'm

2:56

really happy about that. With your

2:58

poor dietary habits. It's just, and

3:00

I think I mentioned this a

3:02

while back. Since I had this

3:04

wisdom tooth taken out, everything hurts,

3:06

I don't feel good. I've been

3:08

just a pile of crying mush.

3:10

And I don't want to eat

3:12

anything. And then when I do

3:14

think of something I want to

3:16

eat, it doesn't always make sense. What

3:18

did you have last night? I had

3:20

a skillet of corn and two pieces

3:22

of cake. Now in her defense, she

3:25

actually made the cake herself. It wasn't

3:27

a freezer, it wasn't a freezer cake.

3:29

No. No, it was homemade cake.

3:31

I put raspberries in it, so

3:33

it's healthy. Yeah, as a friend of

3:36

mine used to say, yeah, you know

3:38

what, you take a jar of peanut

3:40

butter and you put it between two

3:43

cans of beer and it's a sandwich.

3:45

Sure, sure. You know, it's how you

3:47

look at things, I guess. The story

3:50

that I have for you, I kind

3:52

of came about in a very roundabout

3:54

way. Somebody suggested a topic and I

3:57

looked it up and in my sources

3:59

it referenced a similar... incident and

4:01

so I went to look

4:03

at that and then that

4:05

referenced this incident so I

4:08

just seriously found it in

4:10

the rabbit hole. I get

4:12

it. And so the question

4:14

that should never be asked

4:16

out loud is at what

4:19

point in a snowstorm do

4:21

you eat your family? This

4:23

isn't some kind of twisted

4:25

holiday dinner scenario. This is

4:28

about a very real phenomenon

4:30

from indigenous folklore. Something that

4:32

lives at the, well, the

4:34

frosty intersection of starvation in

4:36

supernatural possession. And also extremely

4:39

poor dietary choices. I'm talking

4:41

about Wendigo psychosis. Before you

4:43

go Go Googling, do I

4:45

have Wendigo psychosis? Because let's

4:48

be honest, the internet. Probably

4:50

already thinks you have... lupus

4:52

or ghosts in your blood.

4:54

Let's get cozy and weird

4:56

and talk a little bit

4:59

about this, where it came

5:01

from, and why it involves

5:03

vomiting ice. Ooh. So let

5:05

me set the mood. It's

5:08

bitter cold. You're in the

5:10

deep woods. And being from

5:12

Maine, we know. Deep cold,

5:14

the kind of cold that

5:16

feels like it's chewing on

5:19

your bones. So you're caught

5:21

in this blizzard, food is

5:23

running low, you've got your

5:25

snowshoes and your thoughts, and

5:28

maybe, let's say, a cousin

5:30

named Dave, who's beginning to

5:32

look like a spiral-cut ham.

5:34

According to Algonquin folklore, particularly

5:36

among the Cree and other

5:39

First Nations people, of the

5:41

northern forests. This is prime

5:43

Wendago weather. A Wendago is

5:45

a malevolent spirit of insatiable

5:48

hunger. It's said to be

5:50

gaunt, tall, icy-eyed, always starving.

5:52

And it's not just hangry.

5:54

This thing is... it's been

5:56

described as a... a walking

5:59

embodiment of famine, decay, and

6:01

spiritual corruption. This doesn't sound

6:03

good. I'm still really stuck

6:05

on that being cold thing.

6:08

I don't like it. Now,

6:10

if the Wendago gets inside

6:12

you, if it possesses you,

6:14

you don't just crave a

6:16

snack. You crave human flesh.

6:19

Oh my. And not the

6:21

sexy kind? You're literally planning

6:23

how to cook your neighbor

6:25

kind. Now here's where it

6:28

gets, God I hate to

6:30

say this, really juicy. Wendigo

6:32

psychosis is an actual historically

6:34

documented culture-bound syndrome. It's a

6:36

term used in psychosis to

6:39

describe disorders that only appear

6:41

within specific cultures. Now, the

6:43

symptoms include an intense craving

6:45

for human flesh. Belief that

6:48

one is turning into a

6:50

social withdrawal, depression, anxiety, those

6:52

things will happen and have

6:54

happened to us living in

6:56

Maine in the wintertime. Yeah,

6:59

yeah, in Maine... We experience

7:01

the kind of winters that

7:03

once April May rolls around

7:05

you start to notice that

7:08

your whole body hurts and

7:10

it's because your muscles are

7:12

unclinching for the first time

7:14

in months. That's a great

7:16

description and we call that

7:19

in Maine mud season when

7:21

the snow melts. But everything

7:23

is just soggy and muddy.

7:25

Smells like like thawing dog

7:28

shit. Yes. Yeah, it's a

7:30

beautiful time of year to

7:32

go to Maine. So this

7:34

phenomenon was mostly observed among

7:36

the Algonquin-speaking tribes and was

7:39

and is. taken very seriously.

7:41

Well I would think so.

7:43

But back in the day,

7:45

even more seriously than now,

7:48

if somebody started to show

7:50

signs, say they started staring

7:52

at people a little too

7:54

hungrily, or mentioning that cousin

7:56

Dave smells deliciously gamey. Tribal

7:59

leaders or some of these

8:01

spiritual healers would often intervene

8:03

and they were expected to

8:05

and by intervene I mean

8:08

ritual exorcism, community isolation, and

8:10

in some cases execution. Oh

8:12

wow. Yeah. In traditional belief

8:14

systems, Wendigo possession wasn't just

8:16

a mental health issue. It

8:19

was a spiritual emergency. And

8:21

if left untreated, the effect

8:23

could become a literal danger

8:25

to others. I feel like,

8:28

yeah, if you are considering

8:30

nomina on your friends and

8:32

family, that's a problem. It's

8:34

generally frowned upon by your

8:36

neighboring community. Let's talk about

8:39

a man with a very

8:41

strange resume. Jack Fiddler was

8:43

a Cree shaman in the

8:45

early 20th century, and he

8:48

was known for his reputation

8:50

as a Wendigo killer. Over

8:52

his lifetime, he claimed to

8:54

have killed over a dozen

8:56

people who were either possessed

8:59

by Wendigos or in danger

9:01

of becoming one. Some of

9:03

these individuals were family members

9:05

who, according to Fiddler and

9:07

his community, had requested to

9:10

be euthanized before they lost

9:12

control. Oh my. Now I

9:14

don't... know how I feel

9:16

about this. Well, let me

9:19

just be clear. This wasn't

9:21

a quote. I think grandpa's

9:23

got the sniffles, let's call

9:25

Jack, these scenarios were people

9:27

who were genuinely believed to

9:30

be spiritually contaminated on the

9:32

verge of transforming into a

9:34

danger to their loved ones.

9:36

And oftentimes they would come

9:39

to Jack themselves and request

9:41

that this be done. Eventually

9:43

the Canadian government, they caught

9:45

wind of this whole... You

9:47

know, folk execution thing, and

9:50

Jack Fiddler was arrested in

9:52

1907. He escaped captivity, but

9:54

died shortly after. Now, his

9:56

brother, Joseph... of Fiddler was

9:59

convicted and later pardoned, but

10:01

only after dying in prison.

10:03

So not really helpful. Yeah,

10:05

it was a little too

10:07

late. But within their cultural

10:10

context, these acts weren't about

10:12

cruelty. They were framed as

10:14

tragic but necessary interventions, a

10:16

kind of supernatural mercy. And

10:19

that brings us to a

10:21

man known as swift runner.

10:23

Now if you're still wondering

10:25

whether this whole thing might

10:27

be just... Urban legend or

10:30

folklore wrapped up in warm

10:32

winter clothing. There is the

10:34

story of this guy. He

10:36

was a Plains Cree trapper

10:39

and former guide for the

10:41

Northwest Mounted Police in the

10:43

late 1800s. The winter of

10:45

1978 hits. Food is scarce.

10:47

Swift Runner shows up at

10:50

a nearby settlement claiming his

10:52

entire family has died of

10:54

starvation. But here's the weird

10:56

thing. Swift Runner appeared to

10:59

be extremely well fed. Suspiciously

11:01

so. Investigators returned to his

11:03

camp and found human remains,

11:05

nod bones, and evidence that

11:07

he had murdered and eaten

11:10

at least six family members.

11:12

And we're not talking survival

11:14

cannibalism here. There were plenty.

11:16

of food sources nearby. So

11:19

this wasn't desperation. This was

11:21

something else. This was a

11:23

choice. Yeah. Swift Runner insisted

11:25

he was possessed by a

11:27

Wendigo. He claimed that an

11:30

evil spirit had driven him

11:32

to commit these acts. And

11:34

he was executed eventually in,

11:36

I believe it was, 1879.

11:39

But his case became one

11:41

of the most infamous examples

11:43

of possible Wendigo psychosis in

11:45

recorded history. Now is this

11:47

like one of those things

11:50

where you know your body

11:52

is craving sweets because you

11:54

need caloric energy or maybe

11:56

you're low on some sort

11:59

of vitamin so you're craving

12:01

something? I mean, maybe, maybe. Is

12:03

it your body telling you you

12:05

need something? That's a really interesting

12:08

point. I think you would have

12:11

to be really, really deficient to

12:13

think, no, it's okay to eat

12:15

my cousin while they're still living,

12:17

but who knows? I mean, it

12:19

could be a combination

12:22

of spiritual beliefs and

12:24

superstition and vitamin deficiency.

12:26

We just don't know.

12:28

One of the lesser

12:30

known aspects of Wendigo

12:32

lore is the vomiting

12:34

of ice during rituals.

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limited by state law. Not available.

14:00

not available in all states.

14:02

The box of oddities. Yeah

14:04

ice as enduring ceremonies designed

14:06

to cure someone of a

14:08

Wendigo spirit they would sometimes

14:10

vomit pieces of ice symbolizing

14:12

the expulsion of the cold

14:14

inhumane entity. within them. How

14:16

are you vomiting ice? I

14:18

don't know. I would think

14:20

it would be a little

14:23

bit like performing an exorcism

14:25

on a slurpy machine. And

14:27

this is so weirdly specific

14:29

that it just makes the

14:31

story even creepier, but the

14:33

symbolism makes sense. When to

14:35

go, isn't... Just a monster,

14:37

it represents winter itself, the

14:39

kind of winter that strips

14:41

away humanity, that reduces you

14:43

to survival instincts, that freezes

14:45

your sense of right and

14:47

wrong. So vomiting ice is

14:49

kind of like melting the

14:51

demon, one cube at a

14:54

time. Interesting. Is there any

14:56

record or proof of the

14:58

ice vomiting? Just from personal

15:00

accounts handed down through. through

15:02

history. Really the best documented

15:04

story about this would be

15:06

a swift runner. So modern

15:08

psychologists tend to classify Wendigo

15:10

psychosis as a form of

15:12

cultural hysteria, possibly triggered by

15:14

extreme stress, isolation, and starvation.

15:16

To your point, the mind

15:18

under pressure grabs onto the

15:20

narratives it understands. in cultures

15:22

where the Wendigo myth was

15:25

common, it became a symbolic

15:27

vessel for explaining horrifying behavior

15:29

in the middle of winter.

15:31

And keep in mind, this

15:33

is before Netflix. But here's

15:35

the thing, even if we

15:37

explain it away psychologically, the

15:39

experience, it still felt very

15:41

real to the people who

15:43

lived through it. Sure. And

15:45

the terror, the belief, the

15:47

symptoms, the danger, it all

15:49

manifested in... terrifyingly tangible ways.

15:51

We've talked about culturally specific

15:53

psychosis before and it's so

15:56

interesting the way that your

15:58

common beliefs can shape how

16:00

your brain manifests illnesses. How

16:02

your brain makes sense of

16:04

the world when strange, unusual

16:06

things happen. Like you've said

16:08

a million times, we look

16:10

for patterns, we look for

16:12

familiarity. We look for familiarity.

16:14

So whether this was a

16:16

spirit from the forest or

16:18

a break down from starvation.

16:20

The Wendigo is a really

16:22

a poignant reminder of just

16:24

how thin the line is

16:27

between civilization and chaos, between

16:29

community and isolation, and between

16:31

cousin and casserole. Next time

16:33

you're in the woods with

16:35

your buddy and he says,

16:37

I'd kill for a snack,

16:39

offer him a granola bar.

16:41

If he starts vomiting ice,

16:43

run. That's my my advice

16:45

to you. This information comes

16:47

from the Windigo in the

16:49

material world by Robert Brighton.

16:51

The spiritual world by Basel

16:53

Justin. Windigo psychosis by Lou

16:55

Morano. And Spirits of Winter

16:58

mythology of the Windigo from

17:00

the Journal of American Folklore.

17:02

Look at the bright side.

17:04

I'm reading the story during

17:06

mud season in Maine, so

17:08

you know, at least the

17:10

coldest part of the year

17:12

is behind us for a

17:14

while. And now, that thing

17:16

in the middle. How did

17:18

I not know that there

17:20

was a, I work at

17:22

a public library blog? Yeah,

17:24

and the person who does

17:26

that blog actually has a

17:29

book. It's about weird things

17:31

that she witnessed. while working

17:33

in a public library. And

17:35

here are five actual complaints

17:37

made by library patrons across

17:39

the US filed with total

17:41

seriousness. Number five. The cactus

17:43

on the windowsill is staring

17:45

at me. It's a plant.

17:47

Don't accuse the flora. Number

17:49

four, I was offended by

17:51

a book smell. Now... Most

17:53

people like that. Yeah, it

17:55

makes people poop. We've discussed

17:57

that. Number three, too many

18:00

owls on the premises. According

18:02

to the follow-up report, there

18:04

were zero owls. And this

18:06

remains unexplained. As we all

18:08

know, the owls are not

18:10

what they seem. Number two.

18:12

A ghost keeps moving the

18:14

cookbooks. It's not a complaint,

18:16

really more of a... I'm

18:18

thinking of it as a

18:20

culinary collaboration from the beyond.

18:22

And number one, I don't

18:24

want to be able to

18:26

see the sky from the

18:28

reading area. Oh God. So

18:31

aggressive and weird. And according

18:33

to the report, the complaint

18:35

filer also included a full

18:37

diagram labeling sunlight aggression aggression

18:39

aggression aggression aggression aggression vectors.

18:41

Hey, freaks, if you love

18:43

the great outdoors, or you're

18:45

morbidly curious about the creepy

18:47

history and strange tales that

18:49

take place there, you really

18:51

got to check out National

18:53

Park after dark. It's the

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chart-topping show that's received over

18:57

42 million downloads. This show

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is hosted by best friends

19:02

Danielle and Cassie, and their

19:04

relationship is so much fun.

19:06

It makes the podcast even

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better, and the podcast dives

19:10

into the dark side of

19:12

nature. Stories of mystery deaths,

19:14

epic survival, animals. encounters, tragic

19:16

histories, and even a little

19:18

paranormal. But it's not all

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chills and thrills. They also

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share inspiring tales about their

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National Park after dark wherever

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you get your podcasts. We

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are the father-son team that

19:45

brings you history dispatches. History

19:47

dispatches... a short daily history

19:49

show where we talk about

19:51

topics from all over the

19:53

world and all throughout history.

19:55

We talk about people, places,

19:57

events, and even objects. Well,

19:59

anything is fair game. We

20:01

have a soft spot for

20:03

the weird, the wacky and

20:06

the obscure things you may

20:08

have never even heard of.

20:10

Do you have any examples?

20:12

How about Wash Tech, the

20:14

bear who rose to the

20:16

rank of corporal in the

20:18

Polish army, or the great

20:20

emu war? Or how about

20:22

the biggest treasure taken history

20:24

of the history of piracy

20:26

Cromwell? or one about the

20:28

ancient library of Alexandria. And

20:30

a story about the first

20:32

woman to climb Mount Everest

20:34

would be cool. Well we

20:37

got those as well. Every

20:39

weekday there's something new and

20:41

fun. Sweet. So how do

20:43

I get this trove of

20:45

goodness? All you have to

20:47

do is go to history

20:49

dispatches.com or just look for

20:51

history dispatches in your favorite

20:53

podcast app. We're writing a

20:55

limeric about this podcast and

20:57

we need your help. Now,

20:59

what's a three syllable word

21:01

that rhymes with gaping flesh

21:03

wound? Well, we're waiting. This

21:05

is the box of oddities.

21:08

And what fray tell do

21:10

you have for me? You

21:12

may remember a few years

21:14

ago we talked about James

21:16

Harrison, who is often referred

21:18

to as the man with

21:20

the golden arm. He is

21:22

a remarkable figure in the

21:24

world of blood donation. Oh

21:26

yeah, that guy. Yeah, he

21:28

was born in 1936 in

21:30

Australia and his journey as

21:32

a blood donor began in

21:34

1951. He was driven by

21:36

a personal motivation after undergoing

21:39

major surgery that left him

21:41

with an appreciation for the

21:43

gift of life. So he

21:45

quickly became a regular donor

21:47

and he set a jaw-dropping

21:49

example of donating every week

21:51

for over 60. years. How

21:53

incredible is that? His contributions

21:55

exceptionally significant as he had

21:57

a rare blood plasma which

21:59

contained a unique antibody known

22:01

as anti And that played

22:03

a crucial role in the

22:05

treatment of our H disease,

22:07

a potentially life-threatening condition that

22:10

can affect newborns. So Harrison's

22:12

plasma was instrumental in the

22:14

development of a treatment that

22:16

helps prevent the disease, which

22:18

has saved over 2.4 million

22:20

babies worldwide since the 1960s. Wow.

22:22

His dedication to donating blood turned

22:25

into a lifelong mission. well in

22:27

a profound twist of fate. Harrison's

22:29

extraordinary journey took an unexpected turn.

22:32

At the age of 81, he

22:34

found himself in need of a

22:36

blood transfusion due to health complications.

22:39

And the blood that he received

22:41

came from a donor whose life

22:43

was saved thanks to his own

22:46

plasma donation. Oh, shut up. This

22:48

act of generosity came full

22:51

circle. The connection between Harrison

22:53

and his recipient symbolizes the

22:55

interconnectedness of human lives and

22:58

how... just a little bit

23:00

of kindness can make the

23:02

world an entirely different place.

23:05

It's kind of like the stories

23:07

you hear of people who save

23:09

a drowning toddler and then the

23:11

toddler grows up to save the

23:13

drowning old man who saved him

23:15

when he was a toddler. Yeah,

23:17

yeah, yeah. That's exactly what

23:19

we're getting into. It's an example

23:22

of getting back what you

23:24

give. It's not always this

23:26

obvious, but kindness, generosity,

23:28

it pays off. There are a

23:30

ton of those stories where a

23:32

man or a kid is lost

23:34

in the woods and someone offers

23:36

them a glass of water and

23:39

then years later they end up

23:41

saving that person because they grew

23:43

up to be a doctor, be

23:45

b-b-b-boop, you know how it goes.

23:47

But my goal for this week

23:49

was finding... true stories, verifiable stories

23:52

of exactly these things. In July

23:54

of 2015, New Jersey firefighters Tim

23:56

Young and Paul Hollings experienced an

23:58

act of kindness for waitress

24:00

Liz Woodward at the Route

24:03

130 diner. After overhearing their conversation

24:05

about a long shift battling a

24:07

warehouse fire, the waitress Woodward paid

24:10

for their breakfast and left a

24:12

note. thanking them for their service.

24:14

Now these two were very touched

24:17

by this gesture, and they did

24:19

some snooping of their own, and

24:22

they learned that Liz Woodward had

24:24

been trying to raise money for

24:26

a wheelchair accessible van for her

24:29

father, Steve. Young and Hollings wanted

24:31

to pay it forward by helping

24:33

to spread the word about Woodward's

24:36

Go Fund Me campaign. The story

24:38

went viral. donations poured

24:40

in, and the campaign

24:42

which initially aimed to

24:44

raise $17,000 collected more

24:46

than $60,000 with the

24:48

firefighters' help. Then, a company called

24:51

Mobility Ventures, they build specialized

24:53

paratransit vehicles, matched the funds

24:55

raised, allowing Woodward's family to

24:58

acquire the much-needed van. So

25:00

this waitress did a nice

25:02

thing, helped out these firefighters.

25:04

They wanted to pay it

25:07

forward, and they helped spread

25:09

the word about her need,

25:11

and it blew up. On

25:13

the Sunday following these events,

25:16

Young and Hollings met Woodward's

25:18

family, including her father Steve.

25:20

They all hugged and, you know,

25:22

they... brought Philly's tickets for Steve

25:25

and. This was very possibly the

25:27

first outing he'd had in five

25:29

years, except for medical appointments. And

25:32

now they had this transportation that

25:34

they so desperately needed, just because

25:36

Liz chose to do this kind

25:39

thing. We need more stories like

25:41

that. Well, here we go. Right

25:43

now. In 2013, Billy Ray

25:45

Harris was an unhoused man on

25:47

the streets of Kansas City,

25:49

and he was sitting in his

25:52

usual spot asking for donations

25:54

when something unusual happened. A woman

25:56

named Sarah Darling dropped some

25:58

change into his... She was in

26:01

a rush on her way somewhere,

26:03

and she didn't realize that she

26:05

had also accidentally dropped her

26:07

engagement ring into the

26:10

cup. Obviously this was

26:12

a cherished possession. It

26:14

had immense sentimental and

26:16

monetary value. So when later

26:18

Harris inspected the contents of

26:20

the cup and he found

26:22

this ring, he... easily could have

26:24

pawned it for a significant amount

26:26

of money, but he recognized that

26:29

probably this wasn't on purpose. And

26:31

he knew that he wasn't something

26:33

that he should keep. So instead

26:35

of seeing it as a stroke

26:37

of luck, he saw it as

26:39

a test of his character. And

26:41

he made the decision to hold

26:43

on to the ring, hoping that

26:46

its owner would return for it.

26:48

Was he expecting John Giones to pop

26:50

out from behind a sign and...

26:52

Say, what would you do? My

26:54

favorite television show ever? I don't

26:56

think so. I don't think that

26:59

normally people expect a hidden camera

27:01

show to be part of their

27:03

everyday life. See, that's why I

27:05

differ from the mass population. I

27:07

assume everything's being recorded

27:09

all the time in broadcast

27:11

against my will. Well the next

27:14

day Sarah Darling was retracing her

27:16

steps as she discovered she had

27:18

lost her engagement ring. She was

27:21

desperately hoping that wherever she had

27:23

lost this ring she might come

27:25

across it. So when she approached

27:28

Harris and she asked if he

27:30

happened to have found anything valuable.

27:32

He pulled the ring out of

27:35

his pocket and returned it to

27:37

her without hesitation. That is

27:39

unbelievable. Now Sarah and her fiance,

27:42

Bill, were deeply moved by this

27:44

and they felt that someone who

27:46

would choose integrity over personal gain

27:49

despite their obvious struggles deserved recognition

27:51

and support. So they wanted to

27:53

help him in a tangible way

27:55

rather than just saying thank you.

27:58

They started an online fundraise. with

28:00

a goal of raising $1,000 to

28:02

help this man get back on

28:05

his feet. And what

28:07

happened was extraordinary. News

28:09

of the selfless act

28:12

spread quickly and donations

28:14

began pouring in from

28:17

all over the country.

28:19

And because of the

28:21

national media attention, within

28:23

weeks, it had raised

28:25

over $190,000. With that money,

28:27

Harris was able to secure

28:29

stable housing and began rebuilding

28:31

his life. He reconnected with

28:33

family members who he had

28:35

lost touch with, including siblings.

28:37

The campaign not only changed

28:39

his circumstances, but served as

28:41

a testament to the power

28:43

of generosity, the idea of

28:45

doing the right thing, even

28:47

when no one's watching, and it

28:50

led to life-changing opportunities.

28:52

Wow. That makes my chest feel like

28:54

it's full of champagne. Does some interesting

28:56

things to your bits, right? Harris expressed

28:59

deep gratitude, not just for the money,

29:01

but for the kindness and faith that

29:03

these people showed him, and he became

29:06

this symbol of the chained reaction of

29:08

goodwill, and his story, like so many

29:10

others, inspire us. This is the kind

29:13

of story that I love, not just

29:15

about generosity paying off, because I believe

29:17

that you should do things regardless of

29:20

if you think you're going to get

29:22

something back, but it's one of the

29:24

reasons why I'm so excited about good

29:26

bits. And starting this little mini thing

29:29

that I don't know exactly how it's

29:31

going to evolve, maybe just YouTube, maybe

29:33

part of the podcast, I don't know.

29:35

But I want to share good stories

29:38

and nice things, is basically the point.

29:40

And we all need that right now. I

29:42

think so. Now there's a lot of

29:44

examples, like I said, of these types

29:46

of stories that exist, but it's always

29:49

like, a businessman was on a train

29:51

and this happened, and it's like, yeah,

29:53

that's not as verifiable as maybe you

29:55

think it sounds. So my goal is

29:58

to find stories that are real. that

30:00

are true that celebrate

30:02

kindness in all the

30:04

ways that it happens.

30:06

Anyway, I got my

30:08

information from nj.com, abc

30:10

news, lifeblood.a.u and today.com.

30:12

I love that. And your

30:15

story started about James Harrison's

30:17

Magic Blood. That's how you

30:20

led into that. And that

30:22

reminded me that after we

30:24

did that episode and that

30:27

was episode 536 back in

30:29

April of 2023. Good Lord.

30:31

We got an email from

30:33

a woman named Sophie who

30:36

said Cat and JG longtime

30:38

listener and this email was

30:40

from May 2nd 2023. Longtime

30:42

listener, first time writer, cat

30:45

story in box 536 about

30:47

James Harrison's magic blood absolutely

30:49

blew my mind and it also

30:51

gave me my long-awaited first

30:53

boo effect. I had no

30:55

idea, absolutely no idea, of

30:58

the story behind the anti-d

31:00

shot, which I've received six

31:02

times. I've had three miscarriages

31:05

and received the anti-d shot

31:07

after each one, as well

31:09

as three times throughout one

31:11

of my successful pregnancies, which

31:13

is standard practice for recess

31:15

negative mothers, to be on

31:17

the safe side. Turns out

31:19

my boy was also... recess

31:21

negative meaning that those shots

31:24

during pregnancy weren't actually needed

31:26

but I am forever grateful

31:28

that I had this available

31:30

to me to ease my

31:32

mind. It was so amazing

31:34

to hear the backstory to

31:36

it all. I didn't realize

31:38

that there were only 17

31:40

to every 100 people in

31:42

Australia in this recess negative

31:44

category. I feel special. Thank

31:46

you for the hours of

31:49

entertainment over the years forever.

31:51

A freaky follower, Sophie. Isn't

31:53

that amazing? That's so cool.

31:55

I love when we have those

31:57

moments where we talk about

31:59

something. We do a topic

32:02

and somebody that that

32:04

topic has directly affected

32:06

reaches out and tells us

32:08

about it. It's incredible. So

32:10

it makes this, to me, this

32:13

job so special. I did

32:15

want to mention that that

32:17

incredible man, James Harrison, did

32:19

pass away in February of

32:22

this year at the age

32:24

of 88. In total, he

32:26

donated 1,173 times. How many

32:28

gallons did that end up being?

32:30

I don't know. Wow. Speaking of

32:33

gallons though, our friend Mark

32:35

Mason recently hit the 16

32:37

gallon mark. Having donated 16

32:40

gallons of blood with the American

32:42

Red Cross. Yay, Mark. In a

32:44

recent episode I was talking

32:46

about the rogue camels. in

32:49

Arizona. And I mentioned, I

32:51

got off on a tangent

32:53

and I started talking about

32:55

Geronimo's grandson that there was

32:58

this guy, Native American, set

33:00

up on the roadside near

33:02

old Tucson, right off of

33:04

Ajo in Tucson. Ajo means

33:07

garlic in Spanish. And one, I

33:09

thought, first of all, I said I

33:11

thought that old Tucson had burned down

33:14

and wasn't sure it was still there.

33:16

I got an email from somebody in

33:18

Tucson saying, yeah, it did burn down

33:20

in the 90s, but they rebuilt and

33:23

restored it and it is open and

33:25

still as great as it always was.

33:27

My friend Jeff was very fascinated by

33:30

this and he did some research on

33:32

it and I had mentioned that he

33:34

was able to determine that it was

33:37

indeed Geronimo's grandson,

33:39

but I thought it was maybe some

33:41

kind of a DNA test or something

33:43

like that, but he called me and

33:46

left this message. Then, only to

33:48

find out minutes later that

33:50

you actually mentioned me and

33:52

your almost grandson, yes, he

33:54

was definitely the grandson, because he,

33:56

you may recall, he had a

33:59

letter from... President Reagan, wishing him a

34:01

happy 100th birthday, which he had had

34:03

for like three years, I guess, by

34:05

when I met him, because he was

34:07

103 when I met him. Yeah, yeah.

34:09

And he gave me that picture of

34:12

him on the horse as a baby

34:14

next to his grandfather. His son was

34:16

holding him and he signed it for

34:18

me. One of my coolest autographs. I

34:20

think I might still have that somewhere.

34:22

So there you have it. Crazy, right.

34:24

can be verified. It's that rare occasion.

34:26

Anyway, yeah. Thanks you guys for hanging

34:28

out with us. We appreciate your reviews,

34:30

your thumbs-ups, your and just hanging out

34:33

with us today. The box of oddities.com

34:35

is where we keep all of that

34:37

stuff and we look forward to seeing

34:39

you next time. Until then, keep flying

34:41

that freak flag. Fly proudly, a beautiful

34:43

freak. And so, let it be known

34:45

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34:47

you and its fate is in your

34:49

hands. The box of oddities commits to

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the telling of stories, stories of the

34:54

strange, the bizarre, the unexpected. We wish

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to offer our deeply felt gratitude and

34:58

appreciation for your patronage. The box of

35:00

oddities.com. Copyright 2025. All rights reserved. As

35:02

a long-time foreign correspondent, I've worked in

35:04

lots of places, but nowhere as important

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to the world as China. I'm Jane

35:08

Perlez, former Beijing Bureau Chief for the

35:10

New York Times. On face-off, the US

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versus China will explore what's critical to

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this important global relationship. Trump and Cijin

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Ping, AI, TikTok, and even Hollywood. New

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the hosts of History of here,

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A podcast, which you And

35:31

we are the hosts

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of by the name, is, well,

35:36

I a podcast which

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you can probably

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want to know why people thought

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35:48

people thought potatoes were

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evil and would

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give you syphilis? stories

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Are you curious about

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35:59

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36:03

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36:05

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36:07

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Well, if so, then if

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