The Box of Oddities

Horse Manure Apocalypse

The Box of Oddities

Show Notes

HORSE MANURE CRISIS! And Victorians Crawl Inside Dead Whales for a Bizarre Cure!

A Freak Family Favorite returns! First, the Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894—and the very real fear that cities would eventually disappear beneath nine feet of horse poop. Then, the spectacularly revolting Victorian “whale cure” for rheumatoid arthritis, which involved spending hours inside a warm, decomposing whale carcass. Two historical problems. Two deeply questionable solutions. One unusually fragrant episode of The Box of Oddities.

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