Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

Today in 1843, the opening of the Thames Tunnel in London, the first tunnel of its kind and one inspired by a mollusc known as a shipworm. Plus: today in 2024, a story from Cheshire Live about a woman who came to the local animal hospital with a baby hedgehog in need of rescuing. Or at least that’s what she thought. The Epic Struggle to Tunnel Under the Thames (Smithsonian) Woman mistakes bobble f...

Why have so many students spent so many spring breaks in our capital city? The story starts with a single teacher. Plus: today in 1944, the birthday of decorated Marine and actor R. Lee Ermey. In Palmdale, California, there's something called the R. Lee Ermey Musical Road. This One Guy Made the Washington DC Field Trip a Middle School Rite of Passage (Thrillist) City of Palmdale Opens Musical...

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite agricultural episodes. In this episode from August 2020, a farmer in western New York finds something in his fields that he definitely hadn’t planted: a giant old safe. Plus: the British Antarctic Survey studies satellite images and spotted 11 new colonies of Emperor penguins. What’s inside this mystery safe? Orleans Co. farmer says it should stay unk...

This episode marks our sixth birthday, and it’s a particularly sweet episode, in which we visit a place known as the “chocolate roll capital of the world.” Plus: six whole years is a long time, especially for a podcast. But in other fields, it’s the blink of an eye. Take archaeology. Ready to Roll  (Arkansas Living) After 98 Years, Archaeologists Found the Missing Torso of an Ancient Buddha Statue...

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite agricultural episodes. In this episode from February 2020, dogs' amazing sniffing ability may be very useful for orchards as they try to head off a disease called citrus greening. Plus: police in New South Wales, Australia stop a man for using his cellphone while riding a horse. Dog sleuths sniff out crop disease hitting citrus trees  (KCRA) Man r...

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite agricultural episodes. In this episode from June 2020, scientists at Washington State University are testing out a robotic system that might give us another way to pollinate as we try to help bees get their buzz back. Plus: researchers in Japan are testing out a pollination system using soap bubbles, like the ones kids like to create and pop. Robotic...

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite agricultural episodes. In this episode from April 2019, a robotics firm in New Zealand is testing a robot that’s supposed to move through the rows of the apple orchard, spot ripe fruit, yank it from the tree with lasers and bring it back to the farmer. Plus: a strongman/YouTuber ordered literally everything on the menu at his local Taco Bell for a sin...

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite agricultural episodes. In this episode from July 2020, in 1988, a whole bunch of people in Nebraska got together to lift a nine-ton barn, move it 110 feet uphill, and rotate it clockwise. Plus: Harrison McIntyre build a mechanical contraption to launch M&Ms at his face. Nebraska family looks back on barn moving event  (WOWT) Guy Builds Machine Tha...

It's National Learn About Butterflies Day, so here’s the story of a guy who turned his backyard into a habitat for a rare type of butterfly, and it worked out pretty well. Plus: today is also National Save a Spider Day, and the community of Avoca, Iowa has saved a spider of a sort. How one man repopulated a rare butterfly species in his backyard (Vox) VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE SPIDER (Olio in Iowa) Ke...

This month in 1962, one of the last appearances of a ship that would reappear from time to time off the western coast of North America, decades after it was abandoned. Plus: today in 1967, the state of Utah officially designated its state cooking pot. Baychimo: The Adventures of the Ghost Ship of the Arctic (Manitoba Museum via Archive.org)  STATE COOKING POT (Utah.gov) Back our show on Patreon so...

This month in 1863, the founding of a town that made history: Mitchelville was the first town in the United States to be governed by formerly enslaved people. Plus: it’s National Girl Scout Day, and a scout troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma gets the credit for the first ever sale of Girl Scout cookies in 1917. This Island in South Carolina Has the First Self-governed Town of Formerly Enslaved People in...

Women’s History Month is here, and in 1920 a group of women made history in Jackson, Wyoming, as one of the first-ever all-female town councils in the United States. Plus: for National Worship of Tools Day, a visit to the world's largest chainsaw. Petticoat Rulers: 1920 All Women Jackson Town Council Inspires Women Today (Wyoming Public Media) Big Gus is the world's largest chainsaw (Boing...

It's National Landline Telephone Day. In the landline era, if you were out in the world and needed to call someone, you usually had to find a phone booth to do it - and at one time, college students tried to cram themselves into those booths by the dozens. Plus: the story of a stray cat who decided to start dropping flowers off at a lady's front door. Cramming People Into A Thing: A Photo...

Today in 1998, a little-noticed line in a funding bill for the National Sea Grant Program led the United States to declare that there were not five but six Great Lakes. Plus: starting tomorrow in south Georgia, it’s the Valdosta-Lowndes Azalea Festival. When Lake Champlain Became A Great Lake… For 18 Days (All That’s Interesting) Valdosta-Lowndes Azalea Festival   Our Patreon backers make this sho...

Today in 1945, George Nissen received the patent for a “tumbling device” which we now call the trampoline.  And while most of the time that device has been used for tumbling, during World War II the trampoline became a key part of training fighter pilots. Plus: this month in 1929, the start of a high-flying advertising campaign known as the Baby Ruth Flying Circus. Trampoline Training During World...

Today in 1884 was probably the birthdate of a pioneer in aerial photography, Edith Keating. Plus: today is the first day of the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival. In 1920s New York, This Woman Typist Became a Pioneering Aerial Photographer (Smithsonian) Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival   Fly high with this podcast on Patreon

In New Orleans, king cake is a Mardi Gras tradition, though it's one that started with an earlier holiday. Plus: this month in Janesville, Wisconsin, the Lincoln-Tallman Museum hosts the Gowns & Guns Exhibit. The Tradition Behind The Mardi Gras King Cake (Southern Living)  Gowns & Guns Exhibit (Janesville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau)  Don’t give up this show for Lent, back it...

Today in 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed a bill that made “The Star-Spangled Banner” the national anthem of the United States, more than a century after it was written. Another fun fact about the anthem: there's an official Spanish-language version. Plus: today in 1920, the birthday of James Doohan. His Star Trek character, Mr. Scott, has a plaque in the town where he's supposed to b...

Earlier this week we had a story out of the community of Boring, Oregon, which is named for a guy named William Boring. In other words, it’s anything but boring in Boring, and today we have the story to prove it. Plus: it’s the last day of February everywhere except for a cemetery in Ashmore, Illinois, where a tombstone seems to say February has 31 days. No, the town of Boring wasn't named suc...

Today in 1944, the end of a contest in which baseball’s Philadelphia Phillies decided to take on a nickname, briefly becoming known as "blue jays." Plus: today in 1980, a 70s icon wins the one and only Grammy for Best Disco Recording. How the Phillies also briefly became 'Blue Jays' (MLB.com) “I Will Survive” wins the first—and last—Grammy ever awarded for Best Disco Recording (H...

Today in 1932, the birthday of Johnny Cash, a singer/songwriter who who seemed like he’d seen and done it all. And in some ways, that was true: for example, Johnny Cash is one of the few music stars who ever got in a fight with an ostrich. Plus: today in 1953, the birthday of singer Michael Bolton, who reportedly once auditioned to be the lead singer of the heaviest metal band of all time. Johnny...

Today in 1970, Ernie from Sesame Street first sang his signature song, “Rubber Duckie.” So it's a great time to talk about how so many people became awfully fond of rubber ducks. Plus: the town of Boring, Oregon didn't get its name because it's a boring place! Rubber ducks (Quartz) No, the town of Boring wasn't named such because it was a dull place to be (KGW) Float on over to our...

Today in 1978, pro basketball player Clifford Ray got to lend his extra long to help a dolphin named Mr. Spock caught in an odd situation. Plus: hot sauce maker Sauce Shed is partnering with Atari for a line of hot sauces inspired by (or at least sharing graphic design with) games from the old 2600 console. Ray’s Flipper Saved a Dolphin (New York Times) Atari Sauce Hot Sauces (The Awesomer) Backin...

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about the stuff painters use. In this episode from October 2020, the story of Fordite, a substance that looks just like the stuff of colorful jewelry, but it’s actually a byproduct of the automaking process. Plus: Make.com posts plans for how to make a special mold of your own face, and then use that to make your own face into a bread bowl. Y...

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about the stuff painters use. In this episode from October 2020, scientists at Purdue University find a way to help keep us cool even without air conditioning, and it starts with a fresh coat of paint. Plus: the community of Asbestos, Quebec, chooses a new, less carcinogenic-sounding name. New ‘Super-White’ Paint Can Cool Down Buildings and C...