Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about maps and geography. In this episode from August 2019, the app what3words breaks down all the spaces on earth into 3 meter by 3 meter squares and assigns each of those squares a unique set of three words, giving us a new way to pinpoint our locations. Plus: Athens, Wisconsin is home to the center point of the northern half of the wes...

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about maps and geography. In this episode from June 2021, a look at when the geographic powers that be recognized the Southern Ocean as its own entity, and also where the word "ocean" comes from. Plus: a South Korean designer develops a wearable “third eye” that watches for and warns you about any obstacles in your way so you ca...

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about maps and geography. In this episode from July 2019, a look at Sad Topographies, a site that collects the most bummed-out place names on the map. Plus: If places with depressing names aren’t your thing, we've got an upbeat event: the annual World Santa Claus Congress in Denmark. 21 Of The Saddest Places On Earth From Instagram’s...

Today in 1917, the birthday of Ella Fitzgerald, a towering figure in jazz, a legendary voice, a star among stars… especially when she became pals with movie icon Marilyn Monroe. Plus: starting today in Georgia, it’s the Thomasville Rose Show and Festival. Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe: Inside Their Surprising Friendship (Biography) THOMASVILLE ROSE SHOW & FESTIVAL   Be a star and back thi...

Around this time in 1938, Washington state politics got really, really weird, when the Governor and Lieutenant Governor raced to return to the state to block each other. Plus: starting tomorrow in Houston, the World Coffee Roasting Championship. Meyers, Victor A. (1897-1991) (HistoryLink) 2025 World Coffee Championships   Race on over to our Patreon page and help support this show

Today in 1982, Key West, Florida, decided it was time to do its own thing, declaring independence from the United States and forming its own country. We'll explain why. Plus: this week in Indiana, the Orleans Dogwood Festival continues. The Founding of the Conch Republic (ConchRepublic.com) Orleans Dogwood Festival   What do you say we be independent together? Back our show on Patreon today

Happy Earth Day.  Our planet is the only one in our solar system not named for a Greek or Roman god. At the risk of sounding flip, the name Earth comes from… earth. Plus: this weekend in North Carolina, it’s the Asheville Bread Festival. Why is Earth called 'Earth'? (BBC Sky At Night)  Asheville Bread Festival   We invite all Earthlings to back this show on our Patreon page

Today in 1926, the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning queen on record, and one that left a letter that she said shouldn’t be opened until the year 2085. Plus: for National Tea Day in the UK, a visit to the world’s largest collection of teapots (which is not in the UK). The Queen Left Behind A Secret Letter That Cannot Be Opened Until 2085 (Elle) The World’s Largest Collection Of...

There’s a town in northern Japan that bills itself as the actual hometown of Jesus, and points visitors to a place named the tomb or grave of Christ. Not the Easter story most of us have heard. Plus: just outside the Austrian town of Gmünd, there’s a divided chapel, with parts on both sides of a road. Weird Legend of Jesus in Japan (ABC News) The Divided Church of Gmünd (Amusing Planet) Wherever y...

We're just a few days away from Easter for many people around the world. For kids in Finland and Sweden, the Thursday before Easter is itself a pretty important time: it’s when they turn themselves into witches. Plus: today in 1967 was the last episode of the sitcom Gilligan’s Island. So we've got a story about a time the TV audience of the 60s stood up for the Skipper and his little buddy...

This is Money Smart Week, so we're going to look at what exactly money is and what it means, by looking at a kind of money on a Pacific island made out of huge stones. Plus: a shopping plaza in Greenfield, Massachusetts includes an ATM nestled inside a large fiberglass tree. The Island Of Stone Money (NPR) WOW: You Can Get Money Out of a Tree in This Massachusetts Town (WSBS) It only takes a l...

It's National Ham Day, so we've got the story of a ham in Smithfield, Virginia that’s stood the test of time for over 120 years. Plus: if you build the LEGO Colosseum set, and you have a cat, that set could quickly turn into a cat bed. Isle of Wight Museum adds a new historic ham to the collection (WTKR)  LEGO’s Colosseum Becomes a Regal Nap Spot for Cats Everywhere (My Modern Met) Help ou...

Lots of teams have fans try really difficult challenges to win big prizes. Nearly all of them fail, but today in 1993, a guy in Chicago stepped onto the Bulls' home court for a million dollar shot… and made it. Plus: today in 1983, the release of “Murmur,” the first full album by rock greats R.E.M. And during the making of that record, a member of the band helped a very different recording pro...

It's National Board Game Day, so we’re going back in time to the very first board game in US history. Though explaining which game was the very first is slightly complicated. Plus: opening tomorrow in Kansas City, it’s the Museum of BBQ. What America’s first board game can teach us about the aspirations of a young nation (The Conversation) Museum of BBQ Roll on over to our Patreon page and bac...

Today in 1849, the US issued a patent for one of the smallest big ideas of the century: the safety pin. And a big factor behind that little invention was paying off a big debt. Plus: today in 1921, the birthday of Robert Wade, a chess master who once proved that even top notch players can have a bad day. Three Millennia of Safety Pins (The Atlantic) Worst chess defeat (Generalist Academy) Pin your...

Today in 1843, the birthday of Samuel W. Pennypacker. When he was governor of Pennsylvania his supporters tried to make certain types of editorial cartoons a crime (!) Plus: today in 1942, a funeral for John Pecinovsky, known as “the Half-and-Half Man,” because he would wear clothes that were white on one side and black on the other. When Cartoonists Were Criminals (Historical Society of Pennsylva...

This month in 1920, the magazine Electrical Experimenter featured the physiophone. It was a Hugo Gernsback invention that turned sound into electrical impulses, so Deaf people could feel the music. Plus: for National Library Week, a visit to the central library in Kansas City, where the building itself looks like a bookshelf. This Invention From the Grandfather of Science Fiction Was Promoted as M...

Happy International Beaver Day! These toothy, flat-tailed rodents are some of the greatest builders on earth, and, as some scientific research has shown us, they build for the long term. Plus: for National Beer Day, the story of a beer receipt from ancient Mesopotamia. Beaver Dams Can Last Centuries, 1868 Map Shows (Treehugger) The Oldest Beer Receipt (Circa 2050 BC) (Open Culture) Build this show...

Spiders know what it's like to get distracted by excess noise. A new scientific paper finds certain arachnids in louder environments build their webs differently than those where it’s quiet. Plus: a film archive intern comes across a silent movie that researchers had long thought was lost to history. Getting Annoyed at Your Noisy Neighbor? Spiders Are, Too. New Research Finds They’ll Build Web...

Bike helmets have been more or less the same for many years, but there’s a new effort to make safer and more responsive headgear with 3D printing. Plus: for National Burrito Day, the story of the first restaurant to put the breakfast burrito on its menu. Safer bike helmet with new design of material (University of Gothenburg)   The Breakfast Burrito Was Invented At This Restaurant In New Mexico In...

It's National Ferret Day, so here’s the story of a ferret named Felicia who contributed to the field of physics as a kind of living pipe cleaner for some heavy-duty equipment. Plus: the Instagram account known as Chair of Virtue showcases and celebrates some of the wildest chair designs in the world. Felicia Ferret (Fermilab History and Archives Project via Archive.org)  Bizarre True Story: Ph...

April Fools Day is when people try to mislead each other, sometimes the people you’d least suspect. Like how on this day in 1957, one of the world’s most steady and preeminent news outlets reported that spaghetti was growing on trees. Plus: today in 2015, someone played an April Fools Day joke on the community of Winters, California, installing an old parking meter in town. BBC’s 1957 April Fool’s...

Today in 1889, the formal opening and dedication of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. What a strange life it’s had, including a proposal in the 1930s to add two huge car ramps to the sides of the thing. Plus: the tower gets a fresh coat of paint about every seven years, but it hasn't always been the same color. 1936 Crazy Project to Make the Second Floor of the Eiffel Tower Accessible by Car (Vintage...

Today in 1899, the birthday of Gladys Ingle. She was called a “wing walker," which meant she could walk on the wings of a plane in mid-flight and perform some of the most daring and death-defying stunts you could imagine. Plus: there's an online collection of uniforms for stewardesses and flight attendants through the years. Wing Walker Woman Climbs From One Plane to Another to Make a Mid-Air Tire...

Today in 1912, the planting of two cherry trees along the banks of the Potomac River in Washington DC. There are now thousands of cherry blossoms in the nation's capital, and it all happened thanks to one very determined woman and a bunch of great minds all thinking alike. Plus: today in 1969, the birthday of singer Mariah Carey, who once threw herself a Mariah Carey-themed birthday party. How...