Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

Ahead of World Baking Day, we look at the history of a baking and TV legend, the Pillsbury Doughboy. But did you know about his full name and his doughy relatives? Plus: today in Iowa, it’s day two of the three day Orange City Tulip Festival.  Meet the Pillsbury Doughboy’s Family! (Huffington Post) The Doughboy is 50! (General Mills) Orange City Tulip Festival   Help us open up a can of new podcas...

Today in 1882 inventor Maria Beasley received the patent for what's probably her most well-known invention, a collapsible life raft. But Beasley was one of those inventors who came up with idea after idea in a bunch of fields, so there's lots more to her story. Plus: starting tomorrow in Nixa, Missouri, it’s Nixa Sucker Days. Maria Beasley: Engineering dynamo (Go! Magazine via Iowa State U...

There's a little Spanish enclave in southwestern France, and in the 1980s a dispute over a road between that community and the rest of Spain became known as a "war of the stop signs." Plus: when Harriet Richardson emailed a local church with some punny ideas for their sign, the church gave her a sign of her own. The Spanish town that ended up in France (El Pais) PLEASE STOP EMAILING...

Today in 2005, test pilot Didier Delsalle took a helicopter where a helicopter had never gone before: the summit of Mount Everest. Plus: could cargo drones lug gear up and down the world's tallest mountain so that Sherpas and others climbers don't have to put themselves at risk to do it? Landing on Everest: Didier Delsalle Recalls his Record Flight (Vertical Magazine) Could Flying Drones S...

This month in 2014, the debut of Mr. Trash Wheel! He’s become a social media sensation for his giant googly eyes and his dedication to cleaning up Baltimore’s waterfront. Plus: this month in 1984, the first online grocery order, by a retiree using her TV remote control (!) Baltimore’s Trash Wheel family celebrating 10 years of cleaner water (WBAL) Mr. Trash Wheel cleans up Baltimore Harbor with a...

Today in 1907, the birthday of Finnish Olympic gold medalist Kalle Jalkanen. His relay team had a big come from behind victory in the 1936 Winter Games, but what legend says happened along the way is an even more unusual part of the story. Plus: If you’re celebrating Mother’s Day this Sunday, you could head to St. Petersburg, Florida, which is home to the Museum of Motherhood. The death of Finland...

Today in 2007, the New York Times published a feature story on Kool Aid pickles, a sweet and sour treat that found some diehard fans in the southern US. Plus: officials in North Yorkshire, England say that to avoid issues with their geographic computer systems, their street signs will henceforth have no apostrophes.  A Sweet So Sour: Kool-Aid Dills (New York Times) North Yorkshire Council to phase...

For National Have A Coke Day, a look at the time a few decades ago when Coke encouraged people not to drink something great, but to choose OK Soda. Plus: starting today in Homer, Alaska, it’s the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival. The Strange Story Of "OK Soda" (Buzzfeed) KACHEMAK BAY SHOREBIRD FESTIVAL   If you want to back our show on Patreon, that’s ok with us

Today in 1989, El Reno, Oklahoma held its first ever El Reno Burger Day. It was in honor of a local creation that's been popular for almost a century, the fried onion burger. Plus: for Tchaikovsky's birthday, the story of how a benefactor gave him a stipend that let him compose full time... with one very unusual string attached. El Reno’s Fried Onion Burger Packed With Flavor And Long Hist...

Today was the birthday in 1915 of Orson Welles, who created timeless films, radio shows and stage plays... and outtakes for a wine commercial that went viral before any of us were on the internet. Plus: today in 1931, the birthday of baseball legend Willie Mays, who was such a great hitter that the scouting report had no advice on how to pitch to him.  I WAS THE MAN AT THE CLAPPERBOARD FOR ORSON W...

One way you could celebrate National No Pants Day is to put on a Roman toga or tunic, though the ancient Romans actually did a 180 on the question of pants. Here's why they were for them after they were against them. Plus: tomorrow in Prague, Oklahoma, it’s the Kolache Festival. How Pants Went From Banned to Required in the Roman Empire (Atlas Obscura) KOLACHE FESTIVAL: PRAGUE, OKLAHOMA  Pants...

Yes, today is a day in the month of May, but that's not where the international distress call "Mayday" comes from. We'll fill you in on the actual backstory. Plus: this weekend in Las Cruces, it’s the 2024 New Mexico Tamale Fest.  Why Is 'Mayday' the International Distress Call? (How Stuff Works) The 2024 New Mexico Tamale Fest at Plaza De Las Cruces! (Cinco De Mayo)  Hel...

This month in 2008, a high school athlete from a very small town competed as a team of one in the Texas track championships, and finished first two years in a row. Plus: starting this Friday in Hilliard, Ohio, it’s the Early Television Convention.  THE POWER OF ONE (Sports Illustrated) Early Television Convention (Early Television Museum) Join our team as a backer on Patreon!

Today in 1939, the opening of the World's Fair in New York. One of the inventions featured there was a way that newspapers could broadcast newspapers over the radio and have special receivers print out a copy of the paper for customers. Plus: Michigan State University's Abrams Planetarium is also home to the Moist Towelette Museum?!? A Look Back at the Radio Newspaper of the Air (Radio Wor...

Today in 1933 the birthday of Willie Nelson, a country music legend who once put out an album so that he could send royalties to the IRS to pay some overdue taxes. Plus: today in 1970, the birthday of Andre Agassi, who once figured out how to read a rival's serve in an unusual way. Poor Willie (Texas Monthly)  WATCH: The amazing story of how Andre Agassi read Boris Becker’s serve by watching h...

For Arbor Day, the story of the Tree of 40 Fruit, a real tree in Syracuse, New York that shows just how many different fruit you can graft onto a single tree. Plus: starting tomorrow in Hawaii, it’s the Waikiki SPAM Jam. Sculptor Sam Van Aken’s Tree of 40 Fruit (Syracuse University) Waikiki Spam Jam  Back our show on Patreon and your gift will definitely bear fruit

On today's show we’re uncorking a new method to treat oil spills with cork and lasers, an unexpected and potentially greener combination. Plus: tomorrow is day one of the three day Vermont Maple Festival in St. Albans. Trash to titan: Scientists create laser-treated cork that absorbs oil spills (Interesting Engineering)  VERMONT MAPLE FESTIVAL   Uncork the potential of this show as a backer on...

Washington State University researchers have come up with another e-tongue, and this one can quickly sense the compounds that show up when wine is spoiling. Plus: this weekend in Mansfield, Indiana, it’s the Mansfield Mushroom Festival. E-tongue can detect white wine spoilage before humans can (Washington State University) Mansfield Mushroom Festival  Backing our show on Patreon will leave a good...

For International English Language Day, the story of the most unusual guide to the language ever published, the one called “English As She Is Spoke.” Plus: this weekend in Mount Olive, North Carolina, it’s the North Carolina Pickle Festival. English As She Is Spoke (1884) (Public Domain Review) North Carolina Pickle Festival  Keep the English language version of this podcast coming as a backer on...

There’s a new development under the sea: a smart glove that could help scuba divers help each other steer clear of danger. Plus: the website After the Beep is an online answering machine, where you can leave your own anonymous voice message for the world to hear.  New e-glove could allow scuba divers shout ‘shark’ attack underwater (Interesting Engineering) After the Beep is a website where users...

Around this time in 2012, Tampa, Florida declared that “The Historic Tampa Cuban Sandwich” was the city’s signature sandwich. People in Miami weren't thrilled about this, because they insist their Cuban is the historic one. Plus: starting today in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, it’s the 2024 Artisan Guitar Show.  Tampa vs. Miami: The Fight for the Cuban Sandwich (Delish)  Artisan Guitar Show   A ta...

Today in 1981, the Pawtucket Red Sox and Rochester Red Wings started playing a minor league game, and it just kept going and going and going, eventually becoming the longest ever. Plus: starting Saturday in Greenville, North Carolina, it’s Piratefest.  The Most Incredible Performance In Baseball’s Longest Game (Heard It From Hoard) Piratefest in Greenville, NC   Backing our show on Patreon just ta...

There's a story you see online about how Ford stashed some surplus cars in an underground cave to preserve them until they could sell. We can't verify that entire story, but there is an underground business park in Kansas City that Ford has used for decades. Plus: the Ford Maverick may have had the grooviest set of paint color names in automotive history. Doing business 100 feet undergroun...

Today was the launch date in 1972 of Apollo 16, a mission that tried to pay tribute to that year's Summer Games with a "lunar Olympics"... only the astronauts almost had a disaster on their lunar-suited hands. Plus: for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's birthday, the story of why he took a role in a famous comedy movie. An Apollo astronaut explains how he nearly killed himself 'horsing a...

Today in 1452, the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci, the painter of the Mona Lisa, namesake of a code (and a ninja turtle) and, according to Fast Company, the inventor of the resume. Plus: the Mona Lisa gets fan mail through its own mailbox. Learn to write a résumé like the person who invented it—DaVinci (Fast Company) Mona Lisa: Facts & Related Content (Britannica) Back us on Patreon and togethe...