From the lone guard who prevented deadly riots at the Berlin Wall, to a stubborn scientist who singlehandedly fended off a medical catastrophe, to an unusually resourceful group of flight attendants faced with a kitchen crisis, Gabe and Mary bring you nine incredible stories of disasters that didn’t happen. (But almost did.) Plus: Get in the rice cooker mindset!

• In a hilariously appropriate-for-this-episode coincidence, James Blunt’s new album is called Airplane Mode.
• Read more about Karen Arcos’s work on memory and blindness.

Did you hear? PTG is ending on Dec. 29. If you want to tell us a fun fact for the road, let us know what the show meant to you, or just say goodbye, call our hotline at (302) 405-5925 or email higeniuses@gmail.com.

Nuclear test photo by the U.S. Department of Energy via Wikimedia Commons.

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