Journey to Nineveh

There was an interesting "Secrets of the Dead" episode on PBS exploring the theory that The Hanging Gardens of Babylon (one of The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) were located at the city of Nineveh.

The episode "Journey to Nineveh" is unusual for a couple of reasons:
1. It contains slapstick comedy (and arguably the funniest scene in the entire series)
2. It is not written by Sterling Silliphant (written by William R. Cox)

The fact that the major guest stars are Buster Keaton and Joe E. Brown is a tip-off that this episode is a comedy.

The ancient city of Nineveh was the flourishing capital of the Assyrian empire and once the largest city in the world. It is mentioned in the Book of Jonah (as well as elsewhere in the bible).

Jonah was ordered by God to go Nineveh to prophesy against it for the evil ways of its people, but Jonah instead tried to flee by sailing in the opposite direction. A huge storm arose. When the sailors discovered that God's anger at Jonah was to blame, they threw him overboard, after which the sea became calm (Jonah was saved by being swallowed by a large fish).

This biblical story is the basis of a custom among sailors of referring to a person whose presence on board endangers the ship as a "Jonah." The term "Jonah" was later generalized to apply to anyone who is a jinx.

"Journey to Nineveh" is the story of Jonah Butler (Buster Keaton), who is a jinx, hence the name(s) (of both the character and the episode).

Getting back to the "Secrets of the Dead" episode: Nineveh, located at the modern city of Mosul in Iraq, was home of the Assyrian King Sennacherib, who one theory holds was the builder of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon located adjacent to his palace at Nineveh.

Another Route 66 episode focusing on a Jonah is ...