Lost Bodies & Fake Nutmeg

There was a time in America when shipping a dead body by railroad was as routine as sending a trunk of luggage... until somebody misplaced the coffin. In this episode of The Box of Oddities, Kat and Jethro uncover the strange and surprisingly common history of America's "silent passengers"—human remains transported across the country by rail. Discover the newspaper stories of lost coffins, bodies sent to the wrong families, funeral trains delayed by storms, and the unsettling realities of moving the dead before modern embalming. It's a forgotten chapter of railroad history that's equal parts fascinating, unsettling, and absurd. Then Kat takes a detour into one of history's lighter mysteries: Why is Connecticut called the Nutmeg State? Did crafty merchants really sell fake wooden nutmegs? Along the way, you'll discover the surprising origins of state nicknames like the Tar Heel State, the Sooner State, the Badger State, and more—revealing how folklore, history, commerce, and a little creative marketing shaped the identities of the United States. If you love forgotten history, strange true stories, bizarre Americana, railroad oddities, unusual facts, and conversations that wander gloriously off the rails, you've found your people. Because sometimes the weirdest journey... begins after the passengers stop breathing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices