Copper Age Cobblers & College Con Artists

The Mysterious Cave of Ancient Shoes & Georgia Tech's Imaginary Graduate

This week on The Box of Oddities, Kat and Jethro uncover one of archaeology's most baffling discoveries: a 5,500-year-old leather shoe found inside Armenia's Areni Cave—along with hundreds of other ancient shoes, a ritual site, and the world's oldest known winery. Why were prehistoric people leaving their footwear behind? Was it practical storage, sacred ritual, or something we've yet to understand?

Then, meet George P. Burdell, the fictional Georgia Tech student whose college prank became one of the longest-running hoaxes in American history. For nearly a century, this imaginary engineering student has earned degrees, joined organizations, appeared in official records, and become one of the university's most beloved alumni... without ever attending a single class.

Along the way: ancient wine, sheep dung that accidentally preserved history, Sid's inexplicable shoe obsession, and a reminder that some of history's greatest mysteries—and funniest traditions—begin with the smallest, strangest ideas.

In this episode:

The 5,500-year-old shoe discovered in Armenia's Areni Cave

Hundreds of mysterious Copper Age shoes and the theories behind them

The world's oldest known winery and its possible ritual significance

The incredible legend of George P. Burdell, Georgia Tech's most famous fictional graduate

Weird Facts About Eyes

If you love archaeology, unsolved mysteries, forgotten history, elaborate practical jokes, and the wonderfully weird, this episode belongs in your ears. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices