Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

Today in 1975, a famous concert by the Grateful Dead at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall. And if you look closely at the credits, you’ll see a peculiar listing that reads “Mickey Hart - percussion and crickets.” Plus: this week in Maine, it’s the Machias Wild Blueberry Festival.  So many roads : the life and times of the Grateful Dead by David Browne (via Google Books)  Machias Wild Blueb...

Researchers want to head off the small but serious risk of fire that comes with lithium ion batteries. A team at Clemson University may have found a way to teach the batteries how to put themselves out if they start burning. Plus: we have a new world record for “fastest time to slice a bell pepper.” Self-extinguishing batteries could reduce the risk of deadly and costly battery fires (Clemson Univ...

It's National Billiards and Pool Day, so we have the story of George H. Sutton, who became an accomplished billiards player after losing his hands. Plus: today in Scotland, day two of the 10-day Edinburgh Deaf Festival. HANDLESS' SUTTON, BILLIARD PLAYER, 68; Despite Handicap, Had Opposed Many Leading Professionals (New York Times) Edinburgh Deaf Festival Back us on Patreon and keep this sh...

During the 1936 Summer Games, Liechtenstein showed up flying its blue and red striped flag, only to find that Haiti was flying its flag, which had the same stripes and the same colors. Fortunately they found a solution. Plus: starting today in Indiana, it’s the Oakland City Sweet Corn Festival. flag of Liechtenstein (Britannica) flag of Haiti (Britannica)  Oakland City Sweet Corn Festival   Fly th...

Today in 1987, American swimmer Lynne Cox took to the freezing waters of the Bering Strait in a call for peace between the world’s superpowers. Plus: today in 2019, actor Danny Trejo, known for playing bad guys, had a real-life good guy moment. How an American swimmer helped thaw Cold War relations (Boston.com) Lynne Cox swims into communist territory (History.com) 'Machete' to the rescue:...

Today in 1926, American Gertrude Ederle swam from France to England, a record-setting crossing of the English Channel she made in stormy weather! Plus: if you're celebrating International Clown Week, you might want to drop by Plainview, Nebraska, home to the Klown Doll Museum. The First Woman to Brave the English Channel (Outside) The Klown Doll Museum Is One of the Strangest Places You Can Go...

Scientists have found that Exoplanet HD 189733b looks blue with white wispy clouds, but the similarities between that far-off world and this one stop right about there. Plus: starting this Friday in East Nashville, Tennessee, it’s the Tomato Art Fest. This Blue Alien Planet Is Not at All Earth-Like (Space.com) Rains of Terror on Exoplanet HD 189733b (NASA) Tomato Art Fest   If Earth has an evil tw...

We’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about the Games and those who have competed in them. In this episode from July 2021, the story of the original Olympic flag. It flew over the Games for in 1920 and then disappeared, and we didn’t find out what had happened to it for seven decades. Plus: a 3D printed robotic hand plays Super Mario Bros. OLYMPICS: NOTEBOOK; Missing Flag Returns to Glory,...

We’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about the Games and those who have competed in them. In this episode from July 2021, the story of two of those athletes, who ended up winning the only half-silver, half-bronze medals in Olympic history. Plus: the International Olympic Committee does enforce its trademark rights, which sometimes leads to interesting situations. The Silvonze Medalists  (...

We’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about the Games and those who have competed in them. In this episode from October 2022, the story of Margaret Abbott. She became the first American woman to win an Olympic title, even though she didn’t know she was in the Olympics! Plus: Ruth Hamilton of British Columbia gets an unexpected visitor at home. Margaret Abbott  (New York Times) B.C. woman a...

We’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about the Games and those who have competed in them. In this episode from August 2021, swimmer Eric Moussambani of Equatorial Guinea makes a splash at the 2000 Summer Games despite finishing well behind the rest of the competitors in his event. Plus: Canadian high jumper Derek Drouin won a gold medal in 2016 when his doctors might have preferred that h...

We’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about the Games and those who have competed in them. In this episode from July 2021, a look at the men's marathon from the 1904 Games. You couldn't write a weirder race than this one. Running a marathon was never crazier or harder than during the 1904 St Louis Olympics  (ABC Australia) 8 Unusual Facts About the 1904 St. Louis Olympics  (History...

Today in 1959, Marine Corps pilot William Rankin passed through the middle of a thundercloud after having to eject from his plane. And despite the storm’s best efforts, he made it through in one piece. Plus: starting today in Tenino, Washington, it’s Oregon Trail Days. Meet the Marine who ‘rode the thunder’ and lived to tell the tale (Air Force Times) Oregon Trail Days   Help this show take to the...

Summer travel comes and goes for most of us, but Tom Stuker, the "world's most frequent flyer," bought a lifetime plane ticket in 1990 and has been up in the air a lot since then. Plus: Monday in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, it’s the Rain Day Festival.  New Jersey man dubbed ‘most traveled air passenger’ with nearly 24 million miles in the air (News12.com) He has flown 23 million miles....

Today in 1978, the American release date of what looked like a blockbuster movie musical: "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," starring some of the biggest music and movie stars of the era. Yeah, it didn't go so well. Plus: the Apollo 11 astronauts had to fill out customs declarations when they came back from the moon!?! Beatles-Based Movie Is A Box Office Bomb (Songfacts) Ba...

Today was the day in 1904 that a guy at the St. Louis World’s Fair took a pastry cone, put two scoops of ice cream inside, and changed the dessert world forever. Except that there are a bunch of ice cream cone origin stories from that World's Fair, and also, ice cream cones were around for more than a century before that. Plus: The US Postal Service is remembering game show legend Alex Trebek...

It’s a busy time of year for transportation workers, especially here in the Midwest. Michigan's official state vehicle fleet includes a vintage Ford Model T, and not just as a nod to the state's long history with automaking. Plus: starting today in Ohio, it’s the Dayton Air Show. Michigan DOT Still Has a Century-Old Ford Model T in Service (The Drive) Dayton Air Show Drive on over to our P...

Today's believed to be the day in 1799 when French troops in northern Egypt found the Rosetta Stone, which unlocked a huge amount of knowledge about the ancient world. Or at least it would after scholars spent like two decades figuring out what it said. Plus: Atchison, Kansas is in the middle of its annual Amelia Earhart Festival, celebrating the community's most famous resident.  Rosetta...

For National Ice Cream Day this Sunday, the story of how New York state once upcycled some ice cream trucks into artificial reefs around Long Island. Plus: this Saturday in Pennsylvania, it’s the Made In Bradford Celebration, in the hometown of the Zippo lighter. Sunken Ice Cream Trucks Were Used Create Artificial Reefs in NYC (Untapped New York) Made In Bradford Celebration   Our Patreon backers...

This day in 1982 was the date at the top of a movie treatment for “E.T. 2: Nocturnal Fears." And as the title suggests, the sequel would have been a lot creepier than the first movie. Plus: starting tomorrow in Minnesota, it’s the Cosmos Space Festival.  Why The ET Sequel Never Happened (ScreenRant) Cosmos Space Festival   Keep our show playing throughout the galaxy as a backer on Patreon

Today in 1988, the community of Embo, in the Scottish Highlands raised money for a community center by declaring independence from the rest of the UK… but just for one day. Plus: today in 2022, an odd moment in the world of real estate. And milk. Embo Community Centre Appeal (via Archive.org)  B.C. real estate agent fined $20K after chugging milk in fridge at showing (North Shore News)  You don’t...

Today in 1912, high honors for William Walker, who saved the UK’s famous Winchester Cathedral from partial collapse through five years of foundation work… all of which he did underwater. Plus: this week in Aroostook County, Maine, it’s the Maine Potato Blossom Festival.  Saving the Cathedral (BBC) Maine Potato Blossom Festival    You can help shore up the future of this podcast as a backer on Patr...

Today in 1895, the birthday of Buckminster Fuller, the “engineer, architect and futurist" who once proposed building a see-through dome over part of Manhattan to save energy and money. Plus: a community festival that’s actually in a bunch of communities. The 1960 Plan To Put A Dome Over Midtown Manhattan (Gothamist) This Was Buckminster Fuller’s Plan to Cover Manhattan With a Giant Dome (The...

Around this time in 2012, a teacher in Germany saved a young student's life, literally keeping the three year old's head above water after falling into an abandoned mine shaft. Plus: starting tomorrow in Oklahoma, it’s the McLoud Blackberry Festival.  Teacher jumps down mineshaft to save boy (The Local) The McLoud Blackberry Festival   Want more stories like this? Back our show on Patreon...

Today in 1899, the signing of the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium, that established most of the border between Egypt and Sudan, but eventually led to a dispute over two stretches of land. Both countries want one stretch, and neither wants the other. Plus: this Friday in New Orleans, the running of the bulls! Well, sort of. This man is the latest in a series of travellers to declare ownership of a bizar...