Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

This week in 1897, lawmakers in the state of Indiana almost added a mathematical shortcut to state law, with a bill that would have set the wrong value for the number pi. Plus: Listen To The Clouds lets you choose radio traffic from dozens of airports around the world, and plays them alongside ambient music tracks. Feb. 5, 1897: Indiana Pols Forced to Eat Humble Pi (Wired) LISTEN TO THE CLOUDS   I...

Today in 1983, the birthday of Jessica Cox, the first person born without arms to become a licensed pilot. And that’s just one of her many accomplishments. Plus: this weekend, the Quebec Winter Carnival brings back ice canoe races on the St. Lawrence River. New feat with her feet: Tucsonan, born minus arms, earns pilot’s license (Tucson Citizen) Armless pilot gives students a look at first foot-co...

Today in 1964, Billboard Magazine reported that the governor of Indiana had called on the state’s broadcasters to stop playing the song “Louie, Louie” by the Kingsmen because of its allegedly dirty lyrics. We'll explain what happened. Plus: tomorrow in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the ICE ART FEST gets underway.  That time Indiana teens ratted out dirty ‘Louie Louie’ lyrics, and the FBI got involve...

A partnership between university researchers and a startup in British Columbia is testing out a new wearable device that can track arm and hand movements from people recovering from strokes to help improve their rehab exercises. Plus: starting this Friday in Camden, Maine, it’s the U.S. National Toboggan Championships.  ‘Smart glove’ can boost hand mobility of stroke patients (University of Britis...

Today in 1949, a first for American network TV: a female comedian did a standup routine on the air. Here's the story of comic Jean Carroll. Plus: Greensburg, Kansas is home to the world's largest hand-dug well. The First Mrs. Maisel (Emmys.com) ‘A hole in the ground' and other quirky curiosities mean money and pride for small Kansas towns (KAKE) Backing our show on Patreon is easy and...

To clear snow and ice, some of us use shovels, others use snowblowers. Holland, Michigan uses a long series of tubes under the streets and sidewalks in its downtown district to melt any winter accumulation. Plus: now underway in Arizona, it’s the Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase. Snowmelt: A Snow-Free Holland (Discover Holland Michigan)  TUCSON GEM, MINERAL & FOSSIL SHOWCASE (Visit Tucs...

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite feline-themed episodes. In this episode from September 2022, a news story with one heck of a headline: “Kitten Scales Matterhorn: Veteran Mountain Climbers Are Astonished”! Here's how the cat, later nicknamed Matt, got there. Plus: a small plaque in Denmark marks a big moment in rock music history.  ⁠The cat that climbed the Matterhorn⁠ (Weird Uni...

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite feline-themed episodes. In this episode from September 2022, the story of Room 8, a stray cat turned classroom cat turned legend. Plus: the Michigan State Fair gets underway today, and hopefully goes better than the botched attempt at a fair back in 1839.  ⁠Room 8, The Cat That Adopted An Echo Park School, Died 50 Years Ago Today⁠ (LAist) ⁠The Michiga...

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite feline-themed episodes. In this episode from August 2019, Dean Nicholson leaves his job and started a bike trip across the world. While riding through Bosnia, he heard a “desperate meow." So, instead of riding solo, he decided the cat would come along. Plus: if a continental bike trip with a cat isn’t your cup of tea, how about a boat trip with a...

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite feline-themed episodes. In this episode from March 2020, we learn about how music can help cats relax during their visits to the vet. But would music specifically made for cats be even more helpful than music made for humans? Plus: a museum in Justin Bieber's hometown that features all the stuff from his career that his proud grandparents saved! ...

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite feline-themed episodes. In this episode from October 2021, the story of a black and white cat from the streets of France became the first cat to go into space. She didn't choose to go, of course, but she's a pioneer just the same - and until a few years ago, a greatly underappreciated one. Plus: back in 1922, a girl in Illinois made it to scho...

Today in 1907, the birthday of Callum deVillier, who once won a dance marathon with partner Vonnie Kuchinski after more than five months of steps. Plus: today in Indiana, the start of the Shipshewana Ice Festival and the Shipshewana Chili Cook-off. The bleak story behind the birth of dance marathons (MPR News) Shipshewana Ice Festival/Chili Cookoff Backing us on Patreon is no marathon, it just tak...

The auto industry is pleased to report that last year was the best year for new car sales since 2019. That means a lot of people are breathing in the scent we call new car smell, which… well, what the heck is that smell anyway? Plus: this weekend, Farmers Branch, Texas formally opens what is says will be the first glow in the dark playground in the US. A Day in the Life of Nissan’s Smellmasters Wh...

This week in 1920, a federal law enforcing the Constitution's Prohibition Amendment took effect. But there were loopholes, and one of the most clever way to use those loopholes was through something known as the "grape brick" or "wine brick." Plus: today in 1922, the birthday of TV legend Betty White, who spent almost all her life on screen but also took time away to serve...

Cars have had airbags for years; there are even inflatable airbag pants for motorcyclists. Now there are inflatable airbag clothing that can protect people who fall. Plus: a 19th century dress came with a strange coded message, but that message has now been decoded. Wearable Airbags Instantly Protect The Elderly When They Fall (DesignTaxi) A Woman Hid This Secret Code in Her Silk Dress in 1888—and...

It's Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and today we remember the time Dr. King won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and how his home city gave him a warm welcome after he received the honor - though putting that warm welcome together got complicated.  How Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1964 Nobel Peace Prize challenged Atlanta’s tolerance (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) Nobel Peace Prize (The Martin Luther Ki...

Today in 1912, the birthday of actor House Peters Jr., the first live action Mr. Clean on TV commercials. We'll explain how the character got his name, his look and his worldwide reputation. Plus: tomorrow in and around Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota, it's day one of Frostival. Search for new Mr. (or Ms.) Clean is on (Toronto Sun) MR. CLEAN AT 40 (Chicago Tribune) Frostival Ma...

On this day in 1992, John Thompson of North Dakota lost his arms in a farm accident. He then got himself emergency care in time so that he got his arms back! Plus: today in 2023, a family in Bloomington, Illinois started hearing noises in the garage. It was an endangered ring-tailed lemur. Whatever happened to John Thompson, the ND farm kid who had his arms ripped off in a 1992 farm accident? (Ag...

In our time there are lots of apps and other programs that help people who are looking to date. Back in the 1920s, some clubs in Berlin let singles flirt using pneumatic tubes and tableside telephones! Plus: a cement company in Peru is trying to help blind and visually impaired people more easily find their destinations.  Flirting in the Club Was Much Easier in the 1920s (VICE) sidewalk tiles with...

Today in 1913, the birthday of President Richard Nixon. In addition to being a politician, Nixon was a capable piano player who once said on tape that he would've gone into music "if there had been a good rap group around in those days." Plus: the time the 37th president sent a thank you letter to one of the wildest outsider musicians of all time. Richard Nixon, wannabe rapper (Washi...

Today in 1978 the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper started publishing a series of stories that reporters still talk about today: reporters bought a dive bar in Chicago, named it the Mirage Tavern, and worked undercover as bartenders to catch corrupt city inspectors. Plus: today in 1935, the birthday of Elvis Presley - or at least the best known Elvis Presley. One of his impersonators, who legally chang...

This week in 1973, the premiere of Schoolhouse Rock! We'll explain how this show got kids singing and learning every Saturday morning. Plus: today in 1893, the birthday of folk great Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten, who only started performing in her 60s but wrote her signature song decades before. Happy Anniversary “Schoolhouse Rock!” (Library of Congress) Syracuse folk legend Libba Cotten...

Twenty years ago today, Channel Four in the UK first aired "Shattered," a show where contestants tried to stay awake the longest to win a grand prize. Plus: this month in 1970, German artist Wolf Vostell unveiled a work in Chicago in which he'd taken a 1957 Cadillac and encased it in concrete.  Shattered: legacy of a reality TV experiment in extreme sleep deprivation (The Guardian) ...

Today in 1959, Alaska became the 49th state in the Union. It’s unique in so many ways, like how a large part of one Alaskan community lives in a single 14 story building. Plus: a town in Romania is offering free bus passes to those who do a little exercise. Begich Towers, home to about half the population of Whittier, gets a much-needed overhaul (Anchorage Daily News) Can You Get a Free Bus Ticket...

For the first six days of the year in a small city in Ecuador, it's the Diablada de Píllaro, with people dancing in the streets in very colorful devil costumes. Plus: the website CryOnceAWeek.com wants to help you feel better by getting the tears flowing. Dancing With Devils: Latin American Mask Traditions (Ohio State University Libraries) In Píllaro, the Year Begins with Dancing Devils (Neato...