Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

Researchers in Austria and Slovenia have been developing a set of living surfaces to apply to the sides of buildings, that can filter pollutants and capture carbon from the air, and maybe even repair cracks to the buildings' exteriors. Plus: this Friday in Indiana, it’s the Strawberry Festival in downtown Kokomo.  Living tattoos for buildings could turn city walls into pollution-fighting surfa...

A lot of people are trying to do something to help coral reefs these days. Now, those people can some help themselves from a robot. Plus: Texas-based artist Montrel Beverly is winning lots of attention for eye-catching recreations of famous artworks made of pipe cleaners. Robots that can climb trees or restore coral reefs (ETH Zurich) Montrel Beverly recreates the biblical and art history with pip...

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about houses and the people who live in them. In this episode from September 2022, La maison dans la Loire, or “The House In The Loire,” which was a house built for an art installation. Plus: Baltimore is home to the Big Dill, otherwise known as the “World’s Largest Pickle Party.” The Famous House in the Middle of the Loire River  (Oddity...

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about houses and the people who live in them. In this episode from April 2022, beer magnate Alfred Heineken and architect John Habraken designed a house that could be built out of used Heineken bottles. Plus: it’s beer day every day at a spot in Taunton, Massachusetts. 100,000 Bottles of Beer in the Wall  (Cabinet Magazine) Did Alfred Hei...

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about houses and the people who live in them. In this episode from September 2021, a look at spite houses, structures that have been built to block other coveted views or for maybe even more ice cold reasons. Plus: an interesting fact about Michelangelo's David. Five Spite Houses in New England  (Boston Magazine) 10 Fun Facts About Mi...

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about houses and the people who live in them. In this episode from June 2022, the story of a guy in Rockport, Massachusetts who made almost an entire house out of old newspapers. Plus: a visit to the Mentone Egg Festival in northern Indiana. The Paper House—made of 100,000 newspapers—has a working fireplace, electricity, and running water...

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about houses and the people who live in them. In this episode from December 2019, the story of the full-size, three-dimensional replica of the old Simpson place in Henderson, Nevada. Plus: the closest real-life community to the Simpsons' hometown, Springfield, may not be a Springfield at all. Duff beers, colorful walls and THAT saggy...

Today in 1984, the release of The Bangles' debut album, All Over The Place. For one of the videos to promote that album, these 80s icons got a little help from an icon from the 60s. Plus: starting today in Louisiana, it’s the Gonzales Jambalaya Festival. Leonard Nimoy drove the Bangles to video stardom (Albany Park Press) Gonzales Jambalaya Festival   You can help drive this show forward as a...

Today in 2019, a community in suburban Atlanta wanted to show its appreciation for mailman Floyd Martin, who had been a daily part of their lives for more than three decades. Plus: starting today in Springfield, Illinois, it’s the International Carillon Festival. When their mailman retired, the neighbors along his route threw him one heck of a goodbye party (CNN) 63rd Annual International Carillon...

We're a few days out from World Baking Day, so here's the story of a woman who’s helped people find their way around the kitchen for more than a century… even though she isn’t a real person. Plus: starting tomorrow in Jeffersonville, Indiana, it’s Abbey Road on the River. Who Was Betty Crocker? (PBS) Abbey Road on the River  You can be a helper to our show as a backer on Patreon

Today in 2003, the filing of a lawsuit that led to a fascinating and significant phenomenon here in the Information Age: it’s known as the Streisand Effect. Plus: for World Bee Day, the story of a 2014 art project created in part by bees! Streisand files $50 million lawsuit over aerial photos (SFGate) Artist Aganetha Dyck Collaborates with Bees to Create Sculptures Wrapped in Honeycomb (Colossal)...

Today in 1953, Ohio became a state... which was weird because Ohio had already been a state for a century and a half. Technicalities can be that way. Plus: for National Pizza Party Day, the story of a guy in Nashville who used social media to connect people in need with donors willing to send a little pizza their way. Ohio: The 48th State? (Ohio History Connection) Nashville man helps hundreds of...

This month in 1927, Americans were fawning over an animal at the National Zoo in Washington: a presidential hippo named Billy. Plus: starting today in Elizabeth City, it’s the North Carolina Potato Festival. The Presidential Hippopotamus at the National Zoo (WETA)  North Carolina Potato Festival   Want more shows about famous zoo animals? Back our show on Patreon today

Today in 1857, the birthday of Williamina Fleming, a big name in the world of astronomy but one who had a pretty low-profile start. Plus: starting tomorrow in Illinois, it’s the Long Grove Chocolate Festival. Williamina Fleming, From Scottish Maid to Harvard Astronomer (New England Historical Society) Long Grove Chocolate Festival   Help this show shine as a backer on Patreon

There may be no more important part of road safety than the bright red stop sign, though in the early days, they weren’t red. Plus: Leonardo the tortoise went missing from his home in England; after nine months, he didn't exactly get that far. Stop Signs Used to Be Yellow—More Recently Than You Think (Readers Digest) Tortoise missing for months found a mile from home (BBC) Make a stop at our P...

Today in 1940, Life Magazine published a series of photos of a little boy in Liberty County, Georgia - photos that, two decades later, would inspire one of the most famous picture books ever published. Plus: this Saturday in South Bend, Indiana, it’s the Donut & Beer Festival. The Enduring Footprints of Peter, Ezra Jack Keats, and The Snowy Day (The Horn Book) Donut & Beer Festival   Help...

It's United Nations Global Road Safety Week, so here's the story of a driver in Ireland who seemed to be breaking every traffic law on the books... until the authorities figured out there was something more to their story. Plus: underway this week in Washington state, it’s the Spokane Lilac Festival. Dictionary helps crack case of notorious Polish serial offender (Irish Times) Spokane Lila...

Commencement season is here, which means a lot of people hearing a composition known as “Pomp and Circumstance.” Though that piece of music was not written with graduation in mind. Plus: today in 2023, a herd of cows help catch a guy who'd fled a traffic stop (!) The Beautiful Irony of Pomp and Circumstance (WCRB) After man flees traffic stop, cows lead officers "directly to where the sus...

It’s World Donkey Day, so we're visiting an Arizona ghost town that's visited by a nearby colony of wild donkeys. Plus: in 2018 a donkey sanctuary in Ontario started giving its donkeys pants! How one town became infested with donkeys (ABC 10) Dapper donkeys: sanctuary fights flies with tailored trousers (CTV News) Want more donkey episodes like this? Back our show on Patreon

Smart speakers can be really useful, but only if you have a voice to activate them. A new device called Scribe could help nonverbal users with their smart systems by letting them "write" commands into the air. Plus: RoboCake is, you guessed it, a robotic wedding cake featuring a series of dancing gummy bears. An Alternative to Speech: Writing in the Air With ‘Sonic Ink’ (University of Ma...

Thanks to loads of security measures, no one has ever robbed the Bank of England. But if you ask whether anyone’s broken into the bank's famous gold vaults, the answer is a little more complicated. Plus: the English town of Burslem is about to dedicate a statue of a local rocker made good, Motorhead frontman Lemmy. Has any gold ever been stolen from the Bank of England? (Bank of England) Lemmy...

Many people like to get together from time to time for adult beverages. New research finds chimpanzees apparently also gather to imbibe and share alcohol. Plus: trading card fans in Japan are enjoying cards that feature... middle aged guys doing their everyday jobs and hobbies? New Study Suggests Chimpanzees May Enjoy “Social Drinking” Just Like Humans (My Modern Met) Middle-aged men are the new P...

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about maps and geography. In this episode from July 2020, the story of Pheasant Island, which is administered by several sovereign powers but not simultaneously. Spain and France take turns with it. Plus: auto racing fans in Lublin, Poland found a way to root for their favorite drivers while still social distancing during COVID. The islan...

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about maps and geography. In this episode from July 2020, the story of how Canada got its name, and a few of the country's most interesting alternates. Plus: several Canadian Tire stores in Ontario had to briefly shut down because a glitch made every item the workers scanned show up in the computer as a Mr. Potato Head toy. What Canad...

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...