Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

There’s a new startup in Japan that’s getting hot in more ways than one: it's turned a former city bus into a mobile sauna. Plus: it's the birthday of the Reverend Al Green, who has had multiple hits but got his biggest royalty checks from something other than records. A Refurbished Public Bus is Currently Travelling Japan as a Mobile Sauna (Spoon + Tamago) Daily Limit: Billy Bass Christma...

It's National Licorice Day. People who love it, love it - and the people who don’t aren’t shy about saying so. Maybe it would help if we explained how we got to this impasse? Plus: today in 1912 was the birthday of Beverly Cleary, so here's the story of how she once gave a school a very Ramona Quimby-like answer. The Twisted History of Licorice, the Candy We Love to Hate (Bon Appetit) Why...

Today in 1903, the birthday of Dr. Claire Weekes, who helped the world understand that sometimes the way to stop a spell of anxiety in its tracks… is, in a way, to stop trying to stop it. Plus: pets are supposed to help make us calm, right? Maybe not this one. Face, accept, float, let time pass: Claire Weekes' anxiety cure holds true decades on (The Sydney Morning Herald) One woman’s six-word...

Today in 1921, the birthday of Sheb Wooley, who had a hit song in the 50s called the “Purple People Eater" and is believed to be the guy who gave a scream that's been featured in hundreds of movies: the Wilhelm Scream. Plus: today in 1976, a challenging moment for then-President Gerald Ford and his tamale. Does That Scream Sound Familiar? (ABC News) No one told Ford tamales need to be unw...

Today in 1850, a man in California decided to start his own country. While it didn’t last, and may not have happened at all, the name is unforgettable: the Great Republic of Rough and Ready. Plus: a woman in Wales got a big chocolate Easter egg when she was 11, and kept it in the box for more than 70 years. Welcome to Rough and Ready, the Tiny Town That Used to Be a Republic (KQED) Independent Ben...

Today in 1930, one of the sweetest treats of our time made its debut. Here's how the Twinkie became the Twinkie. Plus: the story of Louis Browning, who ate at least one Twinkie a day for decades and decades. Twinkies, 75 Years And Counting (Washington Post) This Week In Illinois History: Birth Of The Twinkie (April 6, 1930) (Northern Public Radio)

For National Walking Day, the story of the guy known as the “Walking Man of Annapolis,” Carlester Smith, and how he helped keep his neighborhood clean on daily speedwalks. Plus: a tour operator in London has something called the Rubbish Trip.  Carlester Smith, the Annapolis ‘Walking Man,’ has died at age 63 (Capital Gazette) London Rubbish Tour (University College London) Keep our show moving as a...

For National Volleyball Day, the story of the annual volleyball game played between Naco, Arizona and Naco, Sonora, Mexico, in which the net was a border fence. Plus: today in 1940, a newspaper reported on a Pennsylvania woman who said she had practiced mental telepathy on her hens. When neighbors played volleyball over the U.S.-Mexico border fence (Univision) Egg Telepathy (Weird Universe) Help k...

Last week was school spring break where I live, so today all the families are back to packing backpacks, putting homework in folders and packing lunches.  Maybe next spring break we should head to Columbus, Georgia to visit the Lunchbox Museum. Plus: today in 1920, the birthday of Theron Holland, who had an enormous collection of Native American arrowheads and stone artifacts, more than 70,000 in...

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about the old ball game. In this episode from August 2021, the story of a very strange thing that happened in a baseball game: a guy on second base ran backwards and stole first base, the base he'd just been on. Plus: why some people end up celebrating music legend Louis Armstrong's birthday a month late. Germany Schaefer (Society...

This bonus episode is a way to say thanks for all your generosity and encouragement since we debuted on this day in 2019. We had ChatGPT write what it thought was an episode of our podcast; then we had an AI-generated version of Brady's voice "read" that script. It's... interesting. Thanks to our Patreon backers for making every episode of our show possible!

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about the old ball game. In this episode from May 2021, an 11 year old pitcher in upstate New York, Katie Brownell, brings her A-game to the Little League field. She not only pitches a perfect game, she strikes out all 18 batters she faces! Plus: Houston's famous Art Car Parade is back this weekend.  Meet Katie Brownell, the girl who...

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about the old ball game. In this episode from July 2020, we celebrate Leroy "Satchel" Paige, perhaps the most legendary pitcher baseball ever saw. Paige was a star for decades, and once pitched three scoreless innings in the major leagues at age 59. Plus: we'll visit the man who earned the world's first degree in ninja s...

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about the old ball game. In this episode from March 2019, we hear about the first pro ump in the big leagues. When Billy McLean wasn't calling balls and strikes, he was occasionally challenging hecklers to fistfights. The first major-league umpire was a Philadelphian (Philly.com)

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about the old ball game. In this episode from October 2021, we remember the iconic World Series moment when Carlton Fisk waved his game-winning home run fair. The legendary clip was caught by the camera kind of by accident. Plus: a couple in the UK gets a ticket because a traffic camera caught their car driving in the bus-only lane, excep...

Dad jokes may not be good jokes, but they may be good for us: a study from The British Psychological Society shows how telling a very simple, groan-inducing joke is a pretty complex process. Plus: why scientists in Germany are naming their new anti-fungal compounds after Keanu Reeves. 'Dad jokes? That’s the way eye roll…’ (British Psychological Society) Keanumycins: Keanu Reeves inspires name...

A team at the University of Manchester has developed a kind of “cosmic concrete” for building structures on Mars - and the key ingredient comes from potatoes. Plus: today in 1991, the Wall Street Journal reported on an unusual training session for the Seattle Police Department. Scientists develop a ‘cosmic concrete’ that is twice as strong as regular concrete (University of Manchester) Seattle Pol...

The University of Cambridge did a study about robotic wellbeing coaches. And it turns out that if we want robots to help us help ourselves… they need to be cute. Plus: NASA has developed a “space cup” which will hold liquids on the International Space Station even without a lid! Robots can help improve mental wellbeing at work – as long as they look right (University of Cambridge) NASA's sci-f...

Today in 1944, the U.S. Air Force carried out a bombing raid in Montana. Even stranger, they did so at the request of the governor. We'll explain. Plus: you’ve heard the saying everything that’s old is new again? That’s the idea behind the new image series ‘What is lost is (not) lost forever.’ Harmon’s Histories: Kaboom! Wartime explosions rock Miles City, Baker (Missoula Current) midjourney envis...

Today in 1873, the town of Ulysses, Kansas was first established - but not where you’ll find the modern day town of Ulysses, Kansas. We'll explain why they moved, just a few decades after putting themselves on the map. Plus: for the birthday of Mister Rogers, a look at a data visualization of all of his iconic cardigans.  Old Ulysses, Kansas (Legends of Kansas) A Chart Chronicles the Colors o...

Drones are becoming increasingly useful, but they can get damaged and grounded pretty quickly. A team at MIT has found bee-inspired workarounds that would keep impaired robotic crafts flying. Plus: today in 1958, the release of “Johnny’s Greatest Hits” by Johnny Mathis, considered the first ever greatest hits album.  Resilient bug-sized robots keep flying even after wing damage (MIT) First Ev...

Students at Northwestern University have developed SteadyScrib, a customized pen that’s designed to help people with Parkinson’s disease keep writing. Plus: if you prefer old-school typing, the “Shift Happens” simulator lets you type on a virtual typewriter. Don't forget those carriage returns! A pen designed for Parkinson’s patients (Northwestern) An Interactive Typewriter Simulator With a Realis...

Can you build a wall out of eggshells? You can if you're the Mexican design studio MANUFACTURA, which developed a sustainable way to make bricks out of discarded shells and bio-binders. Plus: the nonprofit group in Oregon called Washed Ashore uses a different kind of waste to make art.  3D-Printing Bricks From Discarded Eggshells (Cool Hunting) Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea   Let's...

Some chip brands hit it big on store shelves - but one brand that won legions of adoring fans in prisons. For National Potato Chip Day, the story of The Whole Shabang. Plus: March 14 is Pi Day, because the number Pi starts with 3.14. Supercomputers have helped find the next 62.8 trillion digits that follow.  Chips So Good You'll Have to Go to Jail to Get Them (NBC News) A Supercomputer Just C...

Today in 1781 astronomer William Herschel pointed his telescope toward Uranus. But long before the internet’s favorite planet got its very pun-filled name, an astronomer wanted to give it a much more chill one. Plus: modern day scientists have plenty of theories on how Uranus ended up on its side.  Uranus: the first planet discovered with a telescope (Science Museum London) There's a New Hypo...