Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

It's National Ice Cream Sundae Day, which might be a good day to visit Potter, Nebraska, the birthplace of the Tin Roof Sundae. Plus: Roswell, New Mexico is very popular with UFO tourists, but it's also home to the Miniatures and Curious Collections Museum. Why Is It Called Tin Roof Sundae? (Chowhound)   The Miniatures and Curious Collections Museum of Roswell, NM, is filled with wonderful...

Lots of people have warned about robot invasions, but not like this: tiny bots that don’t want to take over the world, but want to help clear your sinuses of germs. Plus: a group of 15 monkeys living at Kyoto University's primate research institute figure out a way to escape their habitat. Light-powered robot swarms may replace antibiotics for tough sinus infections (Interesting Engineering) M...

America's second president once said that Independence Day should always feature "illuminations." We'll explain how those pyrotechnics illuminate the sky each July 4. Plus: Seward, Nebraska is a relatively small community, but it goes big every time this holiday rolls around. The chemistry behind fireworks (University of Pennsylvania)  Seward Is A Small Town In Nebraska That Offe...

For National Tire Safety Week, the story of a character made of tires, one of the most famous mascots in advertising history… and one who was originally kind of a hot mess. Plus: starting today in Pittsburgh, it’s the World Beard and Moustache Championships. Michelin Man: The Inside Story (CNN) 2025 World Beard and Moustache Championships   Bounce over to our Patreon page and help support this sho...

This month in 1831, the Mediterranean Sea got a whole new island, one that European powers bickered over for a few months before the debate ended pretty abruptly. Plus: starting Friday in New Hope, Pennsylvania, it’s the Red, White & Blueberries BBQ Bash. The Mediterranean's short-lived 'Atlantis' (BBC) Red, White & Blueberries BBQ Bash   Here’s hoping we see a lot of backers r...

Happy Canada Day! The flag you’ll see at events across the country today has quite an origin story: one guy, one red pen and a lot of potential roadblocks. Plus: for National Postal Worker Day in the US, the story of how the Postal Service set up an office in Antarctica. A letter, a red pen and a hand-drawn sketch: How George Stanley created Canada's flag (CBC)   Little America, Antarctica, Po...

Today in 1867, the birthday of June Robertson McCarroll, a doctor in California who made a big difference for safety by painting a line down the middle of a road. Plus: starting today in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, it’s the American Jump Rope National Championship. Dr. June Robertson McCarroll Was the Valley’s First Woman Doctor—but She’s Best Known for a Transportation Innovation (Coachella Valley...

We’re replaying some of our favorite shows about clothes and the people who wear them. In this episode from May 2019, the fascinating and unlikely history of the garment that got its name because it was the outfit of choice for people jumping out of airplanes. Plus: we know there’s no jumpsuit like an Elvis jumpsuit. Quartz noted that one of the King’s suits, the white peacock-themed one, sold at...

We’re replaying some of our favorite shows about clothes and the people who wear them. In this episode from August 2020, a research team in China invents a fabric that can transfer heat away from us and back into the surrounding air. Plus: for National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, the story of the biggest chocolate chip cookie of all time. New fabric could help keep you cool in the summer, even with...

We’re replaying some of our favorite shows about clothes and the people who wear them. In this episode from July 2021, a multi-country research project thinks old plastic bags might be useful to the fashion industry. Plus: Many of us spend a lot of our waking hours typing, but James Cook turns his typing into art. Plastic Bags Could Be Recycled Into Wearable Fabrics, Says New Research  (Designboom...

We’re replaying some of our favorite shows about clothes and the people who wear them. In this episode from May 2021, a research team at the University of Rochester and the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands makes some big advancements in bioprinting, which is 3D printing with living materials. Plus: a pro golfer and a race car driver set a world record for longest golf drive into a...

We’re replaying some of our favorite shows about clothes and the people who wear them. In this episode from January 2021, the story of the debut of the top hat, and what a debut it was. Plus: the time in 1974 that a team at MIT built a 35 pound yo-yo and dropped it from a 21 story building. History of the Top Hat  (International Formalwear Association via Archive.org) James H. Williams, Jr. and th...

Today in 2005,  the release of a study that found something interesting: monkeys appeared to have some of the same economic ideas that humans have, especially when it comes to something known as loss aversion. Plus: tomorrow in Illinois, it's the Great Galena Balloon Race. Humans Rational and Irrational Buying Behavior Is Mirrored in Monkeys (Yale University) Great Galena Balloon Race (Enjoy I...

Holidays don't just show up; people make them happen. Here's the story of how a commemoration of a key moment in ending the institution of slavery eventually became a national holiday across the United States. Former State Rep. Al Edwards, Who Helped Make Juneteenth A State Holiday, Dies At 83 (Houston Public Media) How 97-Year-Old Activist Opal Lee Became the “Grandmother of Juneteenth” (...

This week in 2010, a classic movie gets a shout-out from a very unusual place: the Vatican was repping The Blues Brothers. Plus: starting tomorrow in Ingliston, Edinburgh, Scotland, it's the Royal Highland Show. Vatican beatifies Blues Brothers ... well almost (Reuters) World Highland Show You on the motorcycle! You two girls! Tell your friends! Back this show on Patreon!

For National Eat Your Vegetables Day, the story of the time a company tried to get kids to eat French fry-shaped versions of dinner table vegetables, but with a name that may not have done them any favors. Plus: this weekend in Washington state, it's Sumner's Rhubarb Days Festival. Funky Fries and other foods that flopped (CNN) Rhubarb Days 2025   If you love this show as much as kids don’...

Today in 1893, the invention of the beloved snack Cracker Jack, though there was a time when its signature sweet blend of peanuts and popcorn was considerably different, and the prizes were nowhere to be found. Plus: today in 2006, the end to a more than a century-long war, one that was only ever on paper. 14 Classic Facts About Cracker Jack (Mental Floss) Montenegro, Japan to declare truce (UPI)...

Tomorrow in Wales, a race where there are human runners and horses with riders on the same course, trying to get to the finish line ahead of each other. And it all started with an argument in a pub. Plus: starting tomorrow in Brooten, Minnesota, it’s Redhead Creamery Curd Fest. 44th MAN VERSUS HORSE   Redhead Creamery Curd Fest     Race on over to our Patreon page so you can back this show

Today in 1971 that the magazine Record World published an article about a new and very chill radio format that was the precursor of Easy Listening. Plus: this Saturday in New York City, it’s Pigeon Fest. Music Only for a Woman: The Birth of Easy Listening (JSTOR) Pigeon Fest   Help keep this show chill as a backer on Patreon

Today in 1841, a newspaper publisher from Belgium put out an article that included a mark he called “un point d’ironie.” The history of punctuation is full of efforts to choose a mark that would make it clear to readers when the writer is being ironic or sarcastic. Plus: a couple in Sweden finds a way to make their home more eco-friendly while keeping them warm during the country's very cold w...

Today in 2013, the US Supreme Court issued a ruling that put an end to something called the National Raisin Reserve. Here's why the US used to have a massive government stockpile of raisins. Plus: Memoria is a concept for a device for people with Alzheimer’s disease, prompting patients with information they might be trying to remember or use at that moment. One grower’s grapes of wrath (Washin...

Today in 1926, the birthday of Don Ritchie, a man who helped hundreds of people in the most difficult moments of their lives and helped them find ways to carry on. (If today's topic is uncomfortable for you, no worries, we'll talk with you again tomorrow.) Plus: now underway in Michigan, it's the Mackinac Island Lilac Festival. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide o...

Today in 1944, D-Day, the largest invasion force ever. There were hundreds of thousands of troops, tens of thousands of vehicles, over 100,000 tons of equipment, and at least one guy playing bagpipes. Plus: today in Franklin, Indiana, it’s the Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival. Bill Millin (The Economist via Archive.org )  Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival   Make some noise on behalf of our podcast as a bac...

On any given day, anybody can defeat anybody else. Today in 1989, a not very well known American tennis player proved it with an upset for the ages against one of the top names in the sport. Plus: starting Saturday in Lincoln, Nebraska, it’s the Flatland Juggling Festival. How Michael Chang defeated Ivan Lendl at the French Open in 1989 (The Guardian) Flatland Juggling Festival Want more stories a...

It's National Cheese Day, and while cheese is one of the world’s most influential foods, that's not the whole story. Some people claim that they can tell the future through cheese. Plus: for athletes who get tired just thinking about triathlons now have a race of their own: the Nice Tri. The Un-Brie-Lievable History of Tyromancy (Saveur) The Nice Tri   It would be really Gouda to back our...