Dan and the Wonderful Lamp: Box 13 (1948)

“Dan and the Wonderful Lamp” is an episode of Box 13, the old-time radio show, first broadcast in 1948. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Dan Holiday wins an ugly lamp at a charity bazaar after finding a mysterious note directing him to guess the number of beans in a jar. When he takes the lamp home and falls asleep, he's knocked unconscious and his apartment is ransacked by burglars—but they steal nothing of value, leaving Dan convinced they were after something hidden inside the lamp itself.

A charity bazaar, Dan Holiday's office, and his apartment

Characters: Dan Holiday, Susie, The night manager

Listen for: The mysterious note that appears in Dan's pocket, the strange burglary that targets nothing of value, and Dan's discovery that the lamp may contain something worth stealing.

Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.