Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

Today in 1811,  the first known steamboat race takes place on the Hudson River. Yes, a couple centuries ago, racing steamboats was a thing. Plus: this month in 1377, a Buddhist monk in Korea published "Jikji," the oldest surviving book printed with movable metal type. For Profit and Glory: Steamboat Racing on the Inland Rivers (Howard Steamboat Museum) Jikji: An Invaluable Text of Buddhi...

Today in 1903 the conclusion of the first-ever car trip from one coast of the continental United States to the other. And this story starts, like so many other good stories have, with a bet. Plus: today in 1856, the birthday of playwright George Bernard Shaw, who had a unique way to keep unexpected visitors from interrupting his work. Horatio's Drive (PBS) INSIDE BERNARD SHAW’S WRITING SHED (I...

Today is known in some parts of the American West as Colorado River Day, because of a measure passed in 1921 that redefined what and where the Colorado River was. Plus: a new art project called Human After All looks like a series of portraits of people seen only through their their circulatory systems.  How The ‘Grand’ Became The ‘Colorado’ And What It Says About Our Relationship To Nature  (KUNC)...

Today in 1701, the birthday of Detroit, Michigan. In the 20th Century it became the Motor City, but before that Detroit was known as a big-time stove manufacturer. Plus: today in 1897, the birthday of aviation great Amelia Earhart. The Library of Congress’s collection includes a set of the famous pilot’s palm prints! When stoves were the hot new thing (Detroit News) Exploring Amelia Earhart with L...

This week in 1967, residents of Winneconne, Wisconsin launched a protest against being left out of the latest state road map by announcing they would strike out on their own. Plus: downtown Pittsburgh has a new name this weekend during the festival known as Picklesburgh. 50 Years Ago, Small Wisconsin Town Made Plans To Secede From The State (NPR)  History of the Sovereign State of Winneconne   Pic...

Today is World Chess Day. Chess is a game of the mind, but there’s research that shows that high-level chess players can burn calories the way runners and other athletes do. Plus: today in Pulaski, Wisconsin, it’s the start of Pulaski Polka Days. The grandmaster diet: How to lose weight while barely moving (ESPN) Pulaski, WI Polka Days   It's your move: back this show on Patreon

Some experts are worried AI could undo human civilization, but some of it is trying to help people. Like a project that uses AI phone bots to keep phone scammers from scamming people. Plus: in 2020, a soccer team in Scotland tried livestreaming its matches with automated cameras, but AI had trouble figuring out what the ball was. People Hire Phone Bots to Torture Telemarketers (Wall Street Journal...

Today in 1938, a pilot named Douglas Corrigan was supposed to fly from New York to California, but ended up in Dublin. “Wrong Way” Corrigan became an international celebrity - even if the story he told was not necessarily what actually happened. Plus: today in 1966, the first space mission for Michael Collins, who piloted the command module for Apollo 11 and reportedly could have led Apollo 17. &#...

Today in 1948, an unusually sweet moment in the history of the Cold War: American servicemember Gail Halvorsen came up with a plan that would eventually earn him the nickname "the Berlin Candy Bomber." Plus: today in 1952, David Hasselhoff was born. He’s been a TV star, a movie star, a German music sensation and the namesake for a species of crab.  The Sweet Story of the Berlin Candy Bom...

Today in 2013, the last traditional telegram message went out, decades after telephones and smartphones and text messages and so on. So why were there still telegrams here in the 21st Century? Plus: today in 1885, Sarah Goode became the first Black woman to receive a US patent for her cabinet bed. It's been 7 years since the last telegram was sent in India: Facts about the ancestor of telephon...

100 years ago today, a land developer in southern California spent $21,000 on a sign to advertise a new housing project. The HOLLYWOOD sign has come a long way from that moment, but it hasn't always been easy. Plus: starting today at Iowa’s famous “world’s largest truck stop,” it’s the Wolcott Truckers Jamboree. The Hollywood Sign Was Torn Down 40 Years Ago And Completely Replaced (LAist) The...

Today in 1924, another one of these early Olympic events that went way off the rails: a very difficult and very strange mens’ cross country race. Plus: today in 1968, the Navy pays tribute to Dexter, its very last working horse. The Book of Olympic Lists by David Wallechinsky and ‎Jaime Loucky Dexter, the US Navy's last working horse, is buried in Philly (Philadelphia Inquirer) Help our show s...

It's National Swimming Pool Day, so here’s a story of a guy who had to get into the pool: Dick Roth, who won an Olympic gold medal while trying to fend off appendicitis. Plus: today in 1959, the birthday of Suzanne Vega. Her fans once parsed through the lyrics of the song "Tom's Diner" to figure out when the singer-songwriter actually sat in the cafe drinking coffee and reading t...

Today in 1909, the brothers Abernathy, ages five and eight, started a 1,300 mile trip - on horseback, unsupervised - from Oklahoma to New Mexico and back. The next year they got back on their horses to ride to New York to see their dad's pal, Teddy Roosevelt. Plus: Envision Art Gallery in Wichita, Kansas may be the first art museum meant for blind artists and art lovers.  Ultimate free-range k...

Today in 1983, the beginning of an unlikely peace mission: a visit to the Soviet Union by a 10 year old from Maine named Samantha Smith. Plus: a decade earlier, who should travel through the USSR on his way back from a gig but David Bowie?!? Samantha Smith, the fifth-grader from Maine who became "America's Littlest Diplomat" (CBS Sunday Morning) David Bowie Crossed the Soviet Union o...

The Soviet Union's paid time off system was different than the one we have today. The government sent many would-be tourists on group excursions with comrades from the local trade union - not friends or even family. Plus: a 17th century Massachusetts ship captain got in trouble with the Puritan authorities for kissing his wife. Workers of the World, Take PTO! (JSTOR) THOMAS KEMBLE, THE KISSING...

Today in 1865 the US Secret Service formed to stamp out counterfeit money. As part of that effort, it has the International Ink Library, tens of thousands of vintage and modern inks to help investigators sort out what’s what. Plus: a vice president's kid chooses an unusual Secret Service code name. US Secret Service Laboratory Studies Ink to Solve Crimes  (VOA News) Secret Service’s ink librar...

Today we celebrate our Independence Day! And on this show, we look at the efforts to protect the Declaration of Independence and our other founding documents even in the face of an alien invasion or a zombie apocalypse (or a less exciting but more realistic emergency). Plus, today in 1851, the start of an unusual 4th of July tradition: the Horribles Parade. How the Government Would Protect the Con...

This month in 1973, a newspaper in California known as The Recycler started publishing. It was mostly a list of classified ads, but those ads have had a pretty big impact on music. Plus: the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma is hosting an exhibit called “Love Saves the Day: The Subterranean History of American Disco.” 10 Rock Classifieds That Changed Music History (LA Weekly)  Woody Guthrie...

Today in 1952, the first TV episode of the soap opera Guiding Light. It was one of many hit shows led by a writer and producer sometimes called the “queen of soaps,” Irna Phillips. Plus: there was reportedly an attempt once to replace the ballgirls and ballboys of Wimbledon with dogs?!? Irna Phillips (Jewish Women's Archive) The Queen of Soaps Speaks…for Herself (Library of Congress) Bid to re...

Today in 1908, a team of students from Cleveland won a spelling title at the annual meeting of the National Education Association, thanks in part to a Black 14 year old named Marie C. Bolden. Plus: today in Lincoln, it might be the Nebraska Elvis Festival. Unless it isn't. Cleveland girl's spelling victory created racial controversy, national headlines in 1908  (Cleveland.com)  Nebraska El...

Today in 1877, President Rutherford B. Hayes got a phone installed at the White House. It's been used to make landmark deals, shape the course of world events, and even say hi to astronauts on the moon. And Lyndon Johnson infamously used that phone to talk to a tailor. Plus: today in 1491, the birthday of Henry VIII, who brought a personal locksmith with him when he was traveling. A clambake,...

Today is National Onion Day. For a very brief time in the 1970s, the preeminent fast food chain on Earth thought the onion might be its pathway to bigger sales. Here's the story of the McDonald's Onion Nugget. Plus: a museum exhibit in Chicago is paying tribute to a famous museum souvenir! When McDonald’s Tried to Make Onion Nuggets Happen (Mental Floss)  Mold-A-Rama - Molded for the Futur...

Today in 1995 was a strange day in Royal Oak, Michigan. It’s the day authorities had to stop a 17 year old who had been trying to construct a working nuclear reactor at home. Plus: today in 1909, the birthday of Elvis's controversial manager Colonel Tom Parker, The Radioactive Boy Scout  (Harpers)  That Time a Teenager Built a Nuclear Reactor in His Backyard (Today I Found Out) The Colonel: Th...

Today in 1917, another milestone in the one-of-a-kind baseball career of Babe Ruth: he pitched part of a combined no-hitter, even if he didn’t exactly do the lion’s share of the work. Plus: in Lake City, Minnesota, it’s day two of Water Ski Days.  Babe Ruth made history with help from Ernie Shore (Baseball Hall of Fame) Water Ski Days   You'll always be a hit as a backer on Patreon