Cool Stuff Daily

New Zealand is set to vote on lowering the voting age to 16. Scientists have added four new prefixes to the metric system. And a peek inside the wide world of Monster Energy drink collection and trading communities. Sponsors: Uncommon Goods, Get 15% off your next gift at uncommongoods.com/cool Shopify, Sign up for a free trial at shopify.com/cool Links: Supreme Court rules in favour of lowering vo...

Could the “tripledemic” be tamped down slightly by the viruses interfering with and preventing each other from spiking in the same place at the same time? Plus, public libraries in the US and Canada have been launching their own streaming platforms featuring local musicians. Sponsors: Shopify, Sign up for a free trial at shopify.com/cool Uncommon Goods, Get 15% off your next gift at uncommongoods....

What’s the deal with those giant turkey legs they serve at renaissance fairs and Disney World? Plus, Coors Light has just launched a color-changing nail polish that lets you know when your beer is cold enough to drink. And Cambridge Dictionary’s perplexing choice of a word of the year that most Brits have never heard of. Sponsors: Uncommon Goods, Get 15% off your next gift at uncommongoods.com/coo...

The FDA has given approval for the first time to a lab-grown meat. Plus, another company is genetically modifying plants to work as superpowered air purifiers. And 500 new words like bae and subtweet have been added to the official Scrabble dictionary. Sponsors: Rocket Money, Cancel your unnecessary subscriptions at RocketMoney.com/COOL Uncommon Goods, Get 15% off your next gift at uncommongoods.c...

Can wearing a mask yourself make it harder to recognize the faces of people, even when they’re not wearing a mask? Plus, why Kraft Heinz has upped the goof factor with so many off-the-wall stunts in recent years. And is fruitcake the new go-to holiday season flavor? Sponsors: Rocket Money, Cancel your unnecessary subscriptions at RocketMoney.com/COOL Shopify, Sign up for a free trial at shopify.co...

In what feels like the start of a riddle, egg prices are surging, but chicken prices are going down. Plus, it turns out chimps like to share cool stuff as much as some daily podcasters. And Artemis I is supposed to launch late tonight, but if this mysterious “space prophet” continues to be right, the launch might not happen until 2023. Sponsor: Rocket Money, Cancel your unnecessary subscriptions a...

Polar Night and Midnight Sun. What’s it like living in a place that stays absolutely pitch black for two and half months, and what can we learn from the people who live there? Plus, a new emergency alert system in the US to let you know when an earthquake is nearby. And Mountain Dew’s latest holiday-themed flavor, which oddly enough is a combination of the first two segments today. Sponsor: Rocket...

How tech from shows like The Mandalorian is now being used in live election coverage on TV. Plus, an enormous tunnel has been uncovered beneath an Egyptian temple and some think it could lead to Cleopatra’s tomb. And Netflix is starting to experiment with live streaming. Sponsors: Uncommon Goods, Get 15% off at uncommongoods.com/cool I Am Bio, Subscribe at bio.org/podcast Links: How MSNBC used tec...

Is algae the secret to feeding our growing world? Plus, new evidence for a sixth mass extinction that occurred even earlier than the Big Five. And some prescient thoughts on democracy from fifty years ago, courtesy of the creator of Charlie Brown. Sponsors: I Am Bio, Subscribe at bio.org/podcast Uncommon Goods, Get 15% off at uncommongoods.com/cool Links: Is it time to start eating algae? (Nationa...

Could the ballpoint pen be just as responsible for the death of cursive handwriting as the computer? Plus, lab-grown blood has been injected into two patients in a world-first clinical trial. And, would you attend a Zoom meeting in a movie theater? AMC is betting on it. Sponsors: Uncommon Goods, Get 15% off at uncommongoods.com/cool I Am Bio, Subscribe at bio.org/podcast Links: How the Ballpoint P...

From a 3D bioprinter for human tissues to pumpkin spice cappuccinos, here’s the cargo being delivered on board the S.S. Sally Ride tomorrow to the International Space Station. Plus, this time it’s not just in your head, the New York Times really is making some (small) changes to Wordle. A puzzle expert has some practice tips for winning the daily game. And Netflix has a new interactive trivia game...

On TikTok, Twitter, and more broadly how social media has changed us, how we might finally be approaching a tipping point in how we use it, and the ways in which our devices play just as large a role as the algorithms. Sponsors: I Am Bio, Subscribe at bio.org/podcast Uncommon Goods, Get 15% off at uncommongoods.com/cool Links: The Machine Stops (New Yorker) TikTok’s Greatest Asset Isn’t Its Algori...

Could a musical cue played while you’re asleep help prevent nightmares? Plus, a round-up of science news from this month in history. And the US government might be getting an official Space Bureau. Sponsor: BetterHelp, Get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com/COOLSTUFF Links: Can a Musical Reminder Banish Bad Dreams? (Smithsonian Magazine) Nightmares Can Be Silenced With a Single Piano Chord...

A deep dive into two major events that led to the television boom, and a question of what that has meant for the artifice and theatricality of live events. Sponsor: BetterHelp, Get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com/COOLSTUFF Links: The first televised World Series spurred America's television boom, 75 years ago (The Conversation) Queen Elizabeth II’s First Move: Allowing TV Cameras at Her...

2022 has been the year of cheating. The latest scandal to rock a niche community? BagGate at the American Cornhole League World Championships. Plus, Collins Dictionary has declared “permacrisis” their word of the year. And an exciting update for what you probably all know by now is my most-anticipated movie of the year: Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.  Sponsor: BetterHelp, Get 10% off your first...

Why does Dracula still resonate with audiences over a century later? The disease narrative is one possible reason, but there’s another less-discussed theory too. Plus, one team of scientists have detected traces of an ancient ocean on Mars. And a turkey-flavored beer for your dog to enjoy this Thanksgiving. Sponsor: BetterHelp, Get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com/COOLSTUFF Links: 125 Ye...

Dispatches from the Recreational Fear Lab on why being scared might be a healthy thing. And the raucous Halloween parties Queen Victoria used to throw in Scotland. Sponsors: BetterHelp, Get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com/COOLSTUFF Indeed, Indeed.com/goodnews Links: The Director of the Recreational Fear Lab Explains Why We Love to Be Scared (Slate) The monarch who loved Scots' spooky tr...

In our first-ever "Best Of" episode, we look back at the history of candy corn. How did this contentious candy come to be, why does it persist when so many people hate it, and does it really contain bug secretions? Plus, a segment from 2020, were witches back in the day really mixing tongues and eyeballs into their brews? Here’s what ingredients like “eye of newt” actually meant. And finally, from...

Can the books we read permanently change our brains? Or at least impact our values over a lifetime? Two studies that used undergrads as guinea pigs attempt to quantify the effects of powerful books on our brains. Plus, the upcoming election night lunar eclipse and a Halloween asteroid. Sponsors: Indeed, Indeed.com/goodnews American Musical Supply, Use code COOL at https://ter.li/AmericanMusicalSup...

How and why did food become so gendered? Y’know, men eat red meat and women eat salads. When did those associations begin? Plus, according to new evolutionary findings, animals might have begun to vocalize to each other even before they had ears. Sponsors: American Musical Supply, Use code COOL at https://ter.li/AmericanMusicalSupply-COOL for $20 off your next purchase of over $100 Indeed, Indeed....

Why marigolds are so prevalent in cultural celebrations around the world this time of year. Plus, how insect swarms affect atmospheric electricity. And the parkour athletes turned environmental activists. Sponsors: Indeed, Indeed.com/goodnews American Musical Supply, Use code COOL at https://ter.li/AmericanMusicalSupply-COOL for $20 off your next purchase of over $100 Links: How the marigold becam...

Why scents and fragrances have been so strongly associated with witchcraft throughout time and how those associations influence witchcraft, feminism, and misogyny today. Plus, a wild bison has been born in England for the first time in thousands of years. And, if you’re in the mood for a long, lonely drive, I’ve got you covered both virtually and on the asphalt. Sponsors: American Musical Supply,...

How the Black Death changed the course of human evolution. Plus, the exoplanet with a marshmallow-like atmosphere. And IKEA is testing out autonomous delivery vehicles. Sponsor: Shopify, Get a 14-day free trial at shopify.com/cool Links: The Black Death Shaped Human Evolution, And We're Still in Its Shadow (ScienceAlert) The Black Death shaped the evolution of immunity genes, setting the course fo...

A look into the growing movement of human composting as a funeral option. Plus, Anna May Wong quarters start shipping in the US on Monday. And two iconic movies with intriguing reboots on the horizon. Sponsor: Shopify, Get a 14-day free trial at shopify.com/cool Links: Is Human Composting the Future of Funerals? (Slate) Inside one of the world’s first human composting facilities (The Verge) Return...

Could vampires exist, mathematically speaking? Plus, an update on COVID variants of concern as we head into winter. And the United Kingdom has ruled that GIFs are still relevant and Meta can’t hog them all. Sponsor: Shopify, Get a 14-day free trial at shopify.com/cool Links: Here's How Long it Would Take for Vampires to Annihilate Humanity (Atlas Obscura) The transylvanian problem of renewable res...