Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

Today in 1962, the recording of the landmark James Brown album “Live at the Apollo,” one that came together after the recording team dealt with one pretty big obstacle. Plus: the social media account Midwest Modern is sharing photos of some fascinating and underappreciated designs in this part of the country.  James Brown Live at the Apollo – a classic report from the vaults (The Guardian)  One Gu...

Today in 1920, the birthday of Ted Fujita, a pioneer in meteorology who was so revered by colleagues he became known as “Mr. Tornado.” Plus: a group of Japanese companies is trying to encourage youngsters to drink their milk by printing manga around milk bottles. Pioneering research by late UChicago scholar Ted Fujita saved thousands of lives  (University of Chicago)  seki milk bottles reveal read...

Today in 1982, the World Series St. Louis Cardinals made baseball history with the first major league team-wide dogpile. We explain how players who are celebrating a big moment can sometimes inadvertently hurt each other. Plus: today in 1973, the opening of the Sydney Opera House, where a chicken in an opera once landed on top of a cellist. UVA Baseball Players Attest: Dogpiles Come With Temporary...

It's a big and little development in medicine and technology all at once: a robotic system that can autonomously move a medical needle safely through living tissue. Plus: starting tomorrow in Grand Marais, Minnesota, it's the Moose Madness Family Festival. Medical robot steers needle through living lung (University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill) Moose Madness Family Festival Make all the...

Today in 1867, the United States formally purchased the land now known as Alaska. The day before had been a Friday, but because of the transfer, that day became a Friday too. Plus: today in 2019, a hard-hitting news story out of Biddeford, Maine about a student ID photo and a hot dog costume. When the Day After Friday is Friday (Now I Know)  Seward's Bargain: The Alaska Purchase from Russia (A...

Today in 1978, Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand released their enormous hit duet "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." a duet that pretty much happened by accident. Plus: today in 1989, a massive earthquake strikes just before a World Series game in the Bay Area, and a baseball legend reportedly responds in an unusual way. The Number Ones: Barbra Streisand & Neil Diamond’s “You Don’t Br...

Today in 1869, one of the most famous hoaxes of the 19th century began, when workers in Cardiff, New York supposedly uncovered the remains of a 10 foot tall man known as the Cardiff Giant. Plus: today in 1962 Manute Bol was born. At 7 foot 7 inches, he was the tallest player in NBA history, and yet, when he first came to the US from Sudan, his passport said he was just 5 foot 2!  “A Remarkable Dec...

A lot of people believe Friday the 13th is bad luck, and that comes from a lot of legends and traditions. But a guy in 19th Century New York decided to rep this maligned number by flouting superstition and holding regular meals for what he called the Thirteen Club. Plus: the Chicago Botanic Garden is welcoming visitors for the Night of 1,000 Jack-o'-Lanterns. Origins of Friday the 13th: How th...

Today in 2020, the Nobel Foundation tried to call a Stanford professor to tell him he'd won the Economics Prize... except that he was asleep with his phone in Sleep Mode! Fortunately they found a good workaround. Plus: this weekend in Goffstown, New Hampshire, it’s the Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off And Regatta.  Doorbell camera captures moment Nobel Prize winner is told he won (NBC News) Giant Pumpk...

Flip a standard coin and you’ve got a 50 percent chance of heads and a 50 percent chance of tails, right? Well, there’s new research out that says… maybe not quite. Plus: for National Coming Out Day, the story of a teen who came out to her family with a cake and a pun-filled letter. Coin toss not so random after all, says groundbreaking study (Boing Boing)  Girl comes out to parents with help from...

This month in 1870, a magazine called The Galaxy published a puzzling article that essentially asks, what's the big deal about Yosemite?   Plus: the channel Jamie’s Lego Jams just used LEGO to build an air-powered pipe organ. Is Yosemite Worth It? This 150-Year-Old Negative Review Laughingly Misses the Mark (Outside via MyYosemitePark.com)  LEGO Pan Pipe Organ  (The Awesomer) You'll make o...

Today we’re learning about new research on learning in jellyfish that suggests that you can learn even if you don’t have a brain! Plus: we have a new record holder for the world’s longest mullet! Brainless jellyfish show they can learn from past experience (Interesting Engineering)  I Have The World's Longest Mullet! (Guinness World Records via YouTube) Let's put our brains together and su...

This month in 1993, the start of a project that is going to take a while: the Zeitpyramide, a 120 block art installation that’s being built at the rate of one block every decade. Plus: starting tomorrow in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, it’s the Wisconsin Mac & Cheese Fest. Zeitpyramide   Wisconsin Mac & Cheese Fest Back us on Patreon and, over time, we'll build something great together

This month in 1930 an experiment to document a very, very slow process began. It holds the world record for longest-running lab experiment: the Pitch Drop Experiment at the University of Queensland. Plus: this weekend in Easton, Pennsylvania, the Easton Garlic Fest. Pitch Drop experiment (University of Queensland) Easton Garlic Fest   No rush, but could you please drop a few bucks in to support th...

Today in 1936, the premiere of Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 1. That was 71 years after the symphony was written, which is what happens when a symphony is thought to be lost. Plus: atarting tomorrow at the Conner Prairie outdoor history museum in Indiana, it's the Headless Horseman Festival. José Serebrier writes about the strange history of Dvořák’s First Symphony, The Bells of Zlonice (Class...

This month in 1995, the conclusion of a very odd saga involving one Patrick Combs, who deposited a promotional check from a piece of junk mail and actually got the money! Plus: it's the Day of German Unity. Under a German law, if a family had a seventh kid, the country's president would automatically serve as godparent! Playing With Money / How a $95,093.35 junk mail check changed Patrick&...

Today was the birthday in 1890 of Groucho Marx, perhaps the best known of the comic geniuses known as the Marx Brothers. And yet, if it hadn’t been for a runaway mule, they might never have ended up doing comedy. Plus: today in 2006, musician Katie Melua and her band set a world record for deepest underwater concert by playing over 300 meters below sea level, for workers in an oil rig in the North...

It's National Coffee Day, and while most coffee fans prefer to brew and drink the stuff, there are other options. For example, have you ever tried coffee jelly? Plus: Binasco, Italy is home to MUMAC, which in Italian is an acronym for the Museum of Coffee Making Machines. Boston's Forgotten Coffee Jelly Lives On in Japanese Desserts (VICE)  Coffee Machine Museum (Bookofjoe) For less than t...

Around this time in 2011, an event that was definitely not a “blink and you’ll miss it” affair: a staring contest that took over 40 minutes. Plus: a research team in Japan has developed an artificial intelligence system "capable of interpreting various emotional states in chickens." Victory for 'Eyesore' in 40-minute staring competition (ABC Australia)  Scientists Say New AI Can...

Around this time of year, the Tiwi Islands in northern Australia can start counting on pretty much the same thunderstorm showing up at the same time every day. It's so reliable, they even named it. Plus: this weekend in Newport, Indiana, it's the annual Antique Auto Hill Climb. Hector arrives promptly at 3pm. But Hector isn’t a person  (CNN)  Newport Antique Auto Hill Climb Help us show up...

Today in 1774 was the birthday of Johnny Appleseed. In some ways, the real life John Chapman was like the person depicted in books and movies. But he was also a savvy, albeit eccentric, entrepreneur whose apples were less for eating than they were for drinking. Plus: a billboard to promote the Beatles album Abbey Road (released today in 1969) loses a head! The Real Johnny Appleseed Brought Apples—...

Today in 1897, the birthday of William Faulkner, the Nobel Prize winning author of novels like The Sound and the Fury, and, for a few years, one of the most unproductive postmasters the US mail has ever seen. Plus: on this day in 2020, a German rapper calling himself Hans Solo released the first full-length hip hop album entirely in Klingon.  William Faulkner Was Really Bad at Being a Postman (Lit...

It’s National Dear Diary Day. And nobody kept a diary quite like Robert Shields, who for decades chronicled just about every little thing that happened in his life. Plus: starting today in Warrens, Wisconsin, it's the Warrens Cranberry Festival. Robert Shields, Wordy Diarist, Dies at 89 (The New York Times)   Warrens Cranberry Festival Wouldn't it be great if you could write in your diary...

Today in 1850, the birthday of Sam Brinkley, who was a groundbreaker in the field of having a really really long beard. Plus: starting tomorrow in Fairmount, Indiana, it’s the start of the annual Remembering James Dean Festival. A beard taller than Danny DeVito: how this NC man’s facial hair became world famous (Charlotte Observer)  Sam Brinkley and His Beard (NCpedia) Remembering James Dean Festi...

Today in 2006, the Pentagon announced it would tear down a fascinating piece of Cold War history: a hot dog stand that the Soviets had once thought was actually a top military target. Plus: starting tomorrow in Benson, North Carolina, it’s Benson Mule Days. The Cold War’s Most Important Hot Dog Stand (Now I Know) Benson Mule Days Everybody knows that our Patreon backers are the ones who make this...