Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

New research finds that couples can keep a conflict from escalating by taking a short break - and I mean, really short - during an argument. Plus: for National Pet Bird Day, a heavy metal band led by a South African Grey Parrot doing "death squawking” over the music. Cheaper than couples counselling: take a five-second break (University of St. Andrews) Hatebeak (Metal Archives) No need to pau...

For Mexican Independence Day, the story of how Mexican music and movies found fans in a place you might not expect: post-war Yugoslavia. Plus: what's even wilder than a video of two bicyclists doing some of their best stunts?  A video of two bicyclists doing some of their best stunts while also on a moving train. In mid-'60s Yugoslavia, mariachi music was really popular (The World)  A Seri...

The trope about Friday the 13th is that it's extra-unlucky and scary, so to address any fears his young viewers might have about this day, Mister Rogers decided to make it a really fun day, especially for the King of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. Plus: today in 1991, Nirvana had quite a wild release party for their landmark record "Nevermind." HOW MR. ROGERS MADE FRIDAY THE 13TH...

Today in 1995, the Harlem Globetrotters lost! It hasn't happened often, but we'll tell you about two times the storied team didn't come out on top. Plus: this Saturday in Vermont, it’s the Rutland Whoopie Pie Fest. Harlem Globetrotters’ 8,829-game winning streak snapped (History.com) KING OF THE LOSERS I played for the worst basketball team of all time – we lost 17,000 games but I love...

Today in 2001, while the world watched a tragedy unfold, there was an amazing story happening far from those sites: an effort to help a six month old baby get a transplant that would save her life. 9/11 attacks nearly kept a life-saving organ from an infant. Here’s how we met the moment. (The Tennessean)

Today in 1999, a news report about how Norm Michael was drafted by the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles. The catch? He'd been drafted in 1944. Plus: a new musical instrument Stacco uses marbles, magnets, a drum-like surface and artificial intelligence. This day in sports history: The player who didn’t know he’d been drafted for 50 years (Yahoo! Sports)  musical instrument ‘stacco’ produces chimes...

Today in 1890, the birthday of Colonel Harland Sanders, the founder and public face of Kentucky Fried Chicken, and who, for a while, was also a pretty big critic of the fast food brand he started. Plus: back in 2020, KFC announced a movie featuring Mario Lopez playing the Colonel?!? Colonel Sanders Once Competed Against KFC And Got Sued (Tasting Table) Mario Lopez will play Colonel Sanders in KFC-...

Today in 1919, the birthday of Wilson Greatbatch, who made implantable pacemakers a reality for millions of patients. A pretty big legacy for a guy who considered himself a “humble tinkerer.” Plus: today in 1954, a report on a guy who was supposed to a defend a beer drinking title but first had business to attend to at another bar. Wilson Greatbatch (National Science and Technology Medals Foundati...

This month in 1966, an extraordinary rescue of a group of students who had gotten stranded on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean and managed to live there successfully for over a year. Plus: starting this Saturday on Easdale Island in Scotland, it’s the World Stone Skimming Championships. A real life Lord of the Flies: The 50-year-old story of a group of teens stranded on an island (CBS News) Th...

For decades Gerber has been the biggest name in baby food. In 1974, the company tried offering a line of ready-to-eat foods in glass jars for adults... which maybe didn't go so well. Plus: starting this Friday in Pennsylvania, it’s the Bowers Chile Pepper Festival. Baby food for adults was just as sad as it sounds (The Hustle) Bowers Chile Pepper Festival   Back our show on Patreon for less th...

Today in 1877, the birthday of Charles Downing Lay. He won the first American medal at the 1936 Olympics, for…. town planning? Plus: starting this Friday, it’s the South Carolina Apple Festival. And the Medal Goes To... (Brooklyn Public Library) South Carolina Apple Festival   Help plan a bright future for our show as a backer on Patreon

For this Labor Day holiday we thought we should pay tribute to what may have been the strangest ways to make a living in its time: the so-called "department store scapegoat" who was kept on staff to be "fired" from time to time. Plus: today in 1903, Scott Perky applied for a patent for a bidirectional typeface. Fact-Checking Steve Jobs: Was “The Customer Is Always Right” Really...

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite shows about planets and stars and galaxies and the people who have studied them. In this episode from May 2020, the story of an important if not technically perfect image: the first picture ever taken from the Hubble Space Telescope. Plus: an Irish bee enthusiast spends time at home building a beehive out of LEGO. How Fixing the Hubble Spacecraft Work...

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite shows about planets and stars and galaxies and the people who have studied them. In this episode from July 2019, we look at one of the most prominent July 4th events before American independence, an astronomical event in 11th Century China. Plus: Oatman, Arizona's Sidewalk Egg Frying Challenge offers a different kind of July 4th celebration. Super...

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite shows about planets and stars and galaxies and the people who have studied them. In this episode from November 2020, Cincinnati dedicates an observatory that was open to the public, the first of its kind in the U.S., one called the “birthplace of American astronomy.” How Cincinnati became the ‘Birthplace of American Astronomy’  (Cincinnati Enquirer) S...

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite shows about planets and stars and galaxies and the people who have studied them. In this episode from March 2022, the story of an astronomer who definitely made her mark on the sky: Caroline Herschel, the first woman to discover a comet. Plus: residents of Pooler, Georgia, have a local landmark, a giant mailbox, 16 feet long, 8 feet tall, and painted...

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite shows about planets and stars and galaxies and the people who have studied them. In this episode from June 2021, French astronomer Guillaume Le Gentil tries to observe the transit of Venus in the 18th Century, only it doesn't go so well. Plus: Pringle, South Dakota is home to an enormous – and apparently still under construction – sculpture filled...

Today in 2012, the New York Times reported on what it called “probably the worst art restoration project of all time.” Thanks to an amateur artist, a fresco of Jesus in a church in northeastern Spain ended up looking quite different. Plus: a youngster in England wanted to help a local museum, so she donated her favorite rock to the collection. A Town, if Not a Painting, Is Restored (The New York T...

NASA's Parker Solar Probe has revealed some new details about our solar system’s top star, including that it’s very loud (!) Plus: starting today in Cumberland, Wisconsin, it’s Rutabaga Fest. The Sun: Extremely loud and incredibly hot (Astronomy.com) Cumberland, WI Rutabaga Festival   Our backers on Patreon keep this show shining

Today in 1936, the birthday of Wilt Chamberlain, a legend on the basketball court who, after retirement, took a detour into the world of professional volleyball. Plus: today in 1953, a story about a wife, a husband, a divorce and a life-size dummy. Remembering Wilt Chamberlain's Short-Lived but Momentous Volleyball Career (Inside Hook) Dummy Divorce (Weird Universe) Backing our show on Patreon...

Today in 2018, a bidder in Delaware put up $410,000 for a license plate. It doesn't happen a lot, but there’s a whole subculture around license plates in the First State, and once in a while it can turn pretty lucrative. Plus: today in 1948, the birthday of Robert Plant, who says he once paid big bucks for a radio station to stop playing one of his signature songs. Delaware license plate 20 se...

For National Photography Day, a look at the many ways people in the pre-computer days could make photos look like something they weren't, for fun or for not so honorable reasons. Plus: back in 1971, American Airlines put out an ad showing off its in-flight piano bar. A Giant Visitor to New York City (Library of Congress)  Faking It: Manipulated Photography before Photoshop (Museum of Fine Arts...

If you find yourself at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, you may come across one of its most unusual attractions: the husband calling contest. We'll explain how it works. Plus: starting tomorrow in Lebanon, Indiana, it’s Augtoberfest. The Iowa State Fair Husband Calling Contest (Neatorama) Augtoberfest   We’re calling on you to back our show on Patreon

Today's the birthday in 1895 of an inventor with a huge legacy: Ignacio Anaya Garcia, the man who gave us nachos. Plus: starting tomorrow on Long Island, it’s the Laura Branigan “Spirit of Love” Memorial Gathering. Meet Ignacio Anaya García, the Man Who Invented Nachos, In Today’s Google Doodle (Fortune) Laura Branigan “Spirit of Love” Memorial Gathering   You can back this show on Patreon for...

People have feelings about tipping today, and that was true when tipping first came to the United States. But the people who opposed tipping had sometimes opposing reasons for their anti-tip stances. Plus: a new silver coin issued by Samoa features Wonder Woman. When Tipping Was Considered Deeply Un-American (NPR’s The Salt) Samoa issues silver coins featuring Wonder Woman (Coin World) We don’t as...