Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

For National Monkey Day, the story of Jack, a baboon in South Africa who was so smart he worked for a railroad for nine years without a single mistake. Plus: The Arizona Daily Star is printing a page in each day’s paper this week that's unique wrapping paper designed by an artist from Tucson. Stranger Than Fiction: Jack the Signalman (Knoxville Daily Sun) These wrapping paper designs were crea...

A project out of the University of California - Davis uses images from a very well known navigation system to help slow the spread of invasive species. Plus: in the late 19th Century, a guy thought he could keep horses from freaking out around cars with something he called the Horsey Horseless. Google Weed View? Professor Trains Computer to Spot Invasive Weed (UC-Davis) The 50 Worst Cars of All Ti...

Today in 1906 a vote in Congress put an end to one of President Theodore Roosevelt’s top priorities: simplifying the way we spell words. Or, as he would have preferred, spel wurds. Plus: around this time of year a zoo in Japan starts offering warm water baths to their capybaras. Teddy Roosevelt’s Bold (But Doomed) Battle to Change American Spelling (History.com) Birthplace of the Capybara Hot Bath...

One of the most popular Hanukkah traditions these days is latkes, though this delicious part of the Festival of Lights has definitely seen a few changes over the years. Plus: this afternoon in Marengo, Indiana, Caroling in the Cave. How Latkes Became Hanukkah's Favorite Food (HowStuffWorks) Everything You Know About Latkes Is Wrong (The Atlantic) Caroling In The Cave/Marengo Cave (Visit Indian...

Red, yellow and green have been our standard stoplight colors for over a century. But researchers in North Carolina suggest a fourth color could help driverless cars and those steered by humans share the road. Plus: Chester, Illinois was home to the creator of Popeye and they have the statues all over town to prove it. A Study Proves Stoplights Need a Fourth Color: White (Popular Mechanics) The Po...

Today in 1949, the birthday of musician Tom Waits. His path has been unique and singular, accept no imitations… no really. A Tom Waits imitation once led the singer to sue a giant snack company. Plus: around this time in 2021, a security guard on his first day on the job drew eyes on a million dollar painting because he was "bored." When Tom Waits Sued Frito-Lay Over a Doritos Ad (Mental...

Today in 1872, the Chicago Tribune reported on the launch of a new fire station that would change the profession of firefighting forever by inventing the fire pole. Plus: around this time in 2002, the Supreme Court in Finland ruled that cab drivers would have to pay royalties for musicians (!) In response to White Chicagoans mocking the first Black fire crew in 1872, they wanted to prove themselve...

There was a really interesting piece on J-STOR recently that washes away the widespread idea that the Middle Ages in Europe was just unbelievably filthy. Why is it that we think the Middle Ages WAS so dirty? Plus: for Computer Science Education Week, a look at a deliberately difficult coding language called Malbolge.  Scrub-a-Dub in a Medieval Tub (JSTOR) The Middle Ages Were Cleaner Than We Think...

Today in 1974, the first time a person used a computer to order a pizza. It wasn't an online order, but it was still a big moment in the history of tech (and the history of pizza). Plus: today in 2020, the UK news outlet The Independent reported on a man in Italy who had a very strange week. Watch: Talking computer orders a pizza in 1974 (CBS News) Man fined after walking 280 miles to calm dow...

Today in 2010, the US Postal Service released a new stamp featuring the Statue of Liberty - well, sort of. And that “sort of” ended up being a big and expensive deal. Plus: a new device called The Super Smart Fridge could help grocery shoppers remember whether they still have some ketchup at home or whether they need more. GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME TRIPLE SEVENS (Now I Know) Statue of Liberty (Li...

Today in 1858 the US issued a patent for the mason jar. And yes, the story of the mason jar starts with someone named Mason. Plus: congratulations to this year’s newly-announced winners of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards. A Brief History of the Mason Jar (Smithsonian) WINNERS ANNOUNCED! (Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards)  Our Patreon backers preserve this show and keep it growing!

At the airport in Las Vegas, there's a terminal you can't use to fly in and catch a Golden Knights game or drop by a casino. It's used only by one of the most out-of-sight airlines in the world, a secret airline known as "Janet." Plus: as humans consider missions further out into space, Jihee Kim designs a robot dog named Laika that could help keep astronauts from getting lon...

The Tension-Activated Repair Patch could help people with back injuries, and it works a little bit like how we patch flat tires on the road. Plus: The Tuesday after Thanksgiving is typically the start of a unique tradition in Albuquerque, New Mexico: making a snow person out of tumbleweeds! New ‘patch’ uses natural body motion to fix disc herniation (University of Pennsylvania) Tumbleweed Snowman...

Today in 1940 the birthday of Bruce Lee, movie and TV star, martial arts trainer to the stars, poet, philospher and... cha cha champion. Plus: today in 1942, the birthday of Jimi Hendrix, rock icon and board game enthusiast. THE TRUTH ABOUT BRUCE LEE'S DANCING SKILLS (Grunge) Graham Nash recalls playing Risk with Jimi Hendrix on acid (SiriusXM) Dance right over to our Patreon page and back our...

Domino's Japan once tried to send its pizzas out by reindeer, but they had to backtrack after a week because, well, you can probably figure out why. Plus: Minnesota asks for suggestions on a new state flag and boy oh boy did they get suggestions. Domino's Tried a Reindeer Delivery Program... You Can Guess How That Went (NBC News) Whole lotta loons: 2,000-plus submissions unveiled for new M...

Happy Thanksgiving! Back in the early days of this American holiday, kids would dress up in costumes and go door to door, asking for treats. It was known as the Ragamuffin Parade. Plus: back in 2010, the website Passive-Aggressive Notes posted a class assignment by 7 year old Lola, who declared "turkeys think of Thanksgiving as a war." Thanksgiving Ragamuffin Parade (New York Public Libr...

New research finds groups of chimpanzees spy on each other, carrying out recon missions to either avoid other groups or to try to encroach on their territory when it's safe to do so. Plus: a visit to the Sign Post Forest in Watson Lake, Yukon. Chimpanzees use hilltops to conduct reconnaissance on rival groups (University of Cambridge)  Take a trip around the world in the Sign Post Forest (Trav...

Today is World Hello Day, so we explain how and when English speakers started using the word "hello" to say hello. Plus: scientists at the University of California-Davis have figured out how sunflowers turn their colorful heads toward the sun as it moves through the day.  World Hello Day: History of a Greeting (Saturday Evening Post) How Sunflowers See the Sun (UC-Davis) Say hello to our...

It was this month in 1936 that a guy in Knoxville, Tennessee started promoting his newly-invented giant trash receptacle, named the dumpster. Plus: there's apparently a new effort in northern China to keep nighttime drivers awake and alert with a series of colorful laser patterns shining over the road. Dempster Dumpster (Fire) (Visit Knoxville) Congratulations, everybody: ‘Dumpster fire’ is no...

The tech industry is always on the lookout for the next big thing in batteries. Scientists on the East Coast may have found it in crab shells. Plus: this is typically the weekend in the city of Taketa, Japan for the Chikuraku Festival. Don't Toss Out The Crab Shells (WBOC) 20,000 Bamboo Lanterns Illuminate the Chikuraku Festival (Spoon + Tamago) This show is powered by our Patreon backers, joi...

Today in 1907 Oklahoma became the 46th state in the Union. Oklahoma's panhandle has a complicated history that includes a time when it was known as “No Man’s Land.” Plus: this Saturday in Luther, Oklahoma, it’s the Luther Pecan Festival. The Secret History of the Oklahoma Panhandle (Conde Nast Traveler) Luther Pecan Festival   Join us on Patreon and we’ll bring more new episodes to all 50 stat...

Ten years ago today, one of the sweetest moments in recent history: the day a five year old got to celebrate the end of his cancer treatments by becoming a superhero and saving the day in front of tens of thousands. Plus: a set of antique glass photo negatives from the late 19th century was on its way to the dumpster... but now it's going to college. Watch Make-A-Wish Turn San Francisco Into B...

It's National Pickle Day. Maybe you put these briny cucumbers on sandwiches, or burgers, or just snack on them as they are. Or, if you’re a Texan, you might order a few up when you go to the movies. Plus: around this time in 2014, Italian artist Sven Sachsalber decided to test one of the most classic metaphors in the English language by looking for a needle in a haystack. Why are pickles sold...

Today in 1988, a strange moment in Green Bay, Wisconsin: a Packers game got interrupted by a turkey named Henrietta. Plus: today in Las Vegas, the Indoor Environmental Healthcare and Hospitality Association presents its Housekeeping/Environmental Services Olympics.  'Fowl' play: Woman reveals truth about Lambeau Field turkey prank (WBAY)  IEHA Housekeeping/Environmental Services Olympics O...

This week we're replaying some of our favorite past episodes about Earth's number one satellite. In this episode from July 2019, the BBC brings in the band known for playing space rock to improvise on-air for its coverage of the Apollo 11 mission. Plus: we'll remember the time Pizza Hut produced a TV ad in which all the dialogue was in Klingon.   My moon-landing jam session (The Guardi...