Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

Daylight Saving Time begins early this Sunday. People have been complaining about the time change, or the lack thereof, since it first came up. So how did it first come up? Plus: around this time in 1998, the UK’s House of Commons did away with a longstanding rule involving hats.  How a New Zealand insect hunter created daylight saving time (The Week) Commons toppers are old hat (The Independ...

Today in 1931, the US Supreme Court issued a ruling that seems to say that a guy who stole an airplane was not guilty of breaking the law against stealing motor vehicles. Though it’s actually a little more complicated than that. We'll explain. Plus: a Lego fan has proposed the company produce a new set that looks like the famous Edvard Munch painting The Scream. HOW TO SELL A STOLEN PLANE (Now I K...

Motorcycles just don’t have many of the same safety advantages as cars and trucks. So a company in Sweden is taking one of those safety features and adding it to a rider’s outfit: introducing airbag pants! Plus: March is National Peanut Month, so just a reminder that there is a NUTmobile that drives around the country doing events on behalf of nut producer Planters. Swedish company unveils world’s...

Today in 2016, researchers released a study that showed how to influence rats to make risky bets in a “rat casino.” Plus: for National Cereal Day, the story of how Chex lovers in South Korea lobbied for years to get a green onion flavored version of the product.  New research: Flashing lights and music turn rats into problem gamblers (University of British Columbia) South Korea Gets Long Awai...

Today in 1475 Michelangelo was born. One of his masterworks was the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, though if a poem he wrote about the job is to be believed, making all that great art was pretty painful. Plus: a series of portraits of every US president with a mullet. Labor Pains (Slate) every american president, but  they're all cool and they all sport a mullet (Cam Harless on Twitter) Paint...

The news site Inverse stopped me in my tracks with their recent article “Can Cats Tell Time? Yes, But It's Complicated.” And, when we look at the relationship between cats and time, it is complicated. Plus: This weekend in Nenana, Alaska, it’s the annual Tripod Days, including a contest known as the Nenana Ice Classic. Can Cats Tell Time? Yes, But It's Complicated (Inverse) Nenana Ice Classic &nbs...

Today was the birthday in 1860 of the first woman to serve as a mayor in the United States, Susanna Madora Salter, of Argonia, Kansas. She wasn’t looking to make history and didn’t even run for the job, but then sometimes you choose the moment, and other times the moment chooses you. Plus: in the new book Locked Down Looking Up, photographer Doris Mitsch shows the composite images she took during...

Today in 1793, the U.S. Mint issued its first circulating coins, which were one-cent pieces. Here's a little bit about how we got the penny and some of its most memorable designs. Plus: in Falls Church, Virginia, there’s a sculpture of a fighter jet that’s covered in around 14,000 pennies. History of the Penny (Modern Coin Mart) It’s a penny! It’s a plane! It’s a quirky sculpture behind a Virginia...

AI chatbots are big again, so let's hang out with the OG AI chatbot: Microsoft Word letter writing helper extraordinare, Clippy the paper clip. Plus: a cemetery in Illinois marks an impossible anniversary every February.  The Twisted Life of Clippy (The Seattle Met) St. Omer Cemetery Witch Grave (Atlas Obscura) It looks like you'd like to support this podcast. Would you like to join our commu...

There's a team at Northwestern University that's ready to help the tired vocal cords of the world: a wearable device that can tell when a voice needs a break. Plus: it's the birthday in 1902 of John Steinbeck, who wrote some timeless literary classics and also a werewolf novel.  First wearable device for vocal fatigue senses when your voice needs a break (Northwestern University) Beast of Ede...

Today in 1955 Steve Jobs was born. His biggest contributions to the tech world are well known, but one you might not have heard of? Steve Jobs was also the first person to order a pizza on the internet. Plus: this weekend in Anchorage, Alaska, the annual Outhouse Races. AppStorey talks with Steve Green about Steve Jobs, The Smithsonian and how a pizza with basil became the first food delivered via...

For National Play Tennis Day, the story of Ora Washington, one of the great early stars of women's tennis who also happened to be one of the great early stars of women's basketball. Plus: this weekend in Edison, Washington, the annual Edison Chicken Parade. Long before Serena Williams, there was Ora Washington. Few remember her. (Washington Post) The Nearly Forgotten History Of Basketball HOF Indu...

Today was the birthday in 1918 of Robert Pershing Wadlow. Fans of world records remember him as the tallest man who ever lived, but there was more to the Alton Giant than his height. Plus: starting today in Glendale, California, it’s the Twist & Shout Balloon Convention. 100 facts about Alton's gentle giant, Robert Wadlow (STL Today) Twist & Shout Balloon Convention Our Patreon backers hel...

It's National Mother Language Day. Many of the world's thousands of languages are spoken, written and/or signed... and at least a few are whistled. Plus: researchers say they've found evidence of the largest penguin species that ever lived.  Just Put Your Lips Together and Blow: How Whistled Languages Work (HowStuffWorks) Nearly extinct whistling language revived (CNN via Archive.org) The lar...

Today is the observance of President's Day, originally a holiday marking the February 22nd birthday of George Washington, but along the way it also became known as Bicycle Day. Plus: chocolate wizard Amaury Guichon took over 500 pounds of chocolate and turned into an eight foot tall velociraptor.  When Presidents’ Day Was Bicycle Day (The Atlantic) Making a Chocolate Velociraptor (The Awesome...

There’s a new effort during this Black History Month to highlight the work of a man who helped get people talking about Black inventors: a patent officer named Henry Edwin Baker. Plus: this weekend in Waseca, Minnesota, it’s the annual Sleigh & Cutter Festival. How one man’s list gave Black inventors the credit they deserved (WTOP)  Henry E. Baker (1857-1928) (BlackPast) Waseca Sleigh &am...

Today in 1931, the birthday of Edward Packard, who along with R.A. Montgomery founded a book series that let millions of young readers pick the ending to the story: Choose Your Own Adventure. Plus: today in 1967, the first appearance of the Star Trek villain Khan Noonien Singh, who Gene Roddenberry named as a shout-out to an old war buddy.  The Enduring Allure of Choose Your Own Adventure Boo...

Engineering students at Johns Hopkins University have been building adaptive controllers to make the Minecraft universe more accessible. Plus: today in 1564, the birthday of astronomer Galileo Galilei, who didn't like being told what to wear.  JOHNS HOPKINS ENGINEERING STUDENTS DEVELOP GAMING PROSTHESES FOR AMPUTEES (Johns Hopkins University) 15 Fascinating Facts About Galileo (Mental Floss)...

If you know your biology, you know that the classic heart shape we see everywhere on Valentine's Day is not at all what an actual human heart looks like. So where does this shape come from and how did it get associated with hearts? Plus: how a place called Why, Arizona got its name.  The Shape of My Heart (Slate) WHY WHY IS WHY (Arizona Oddities)  We ♥ our Patreon backers

Today in 1997, a container ship ran into a massive wave off the coast of Cornwall, in southwest England. Close to 4.8 million Legos went overboard, and ever since that day, they've been washing up on beaches all over. Plus: the Bronx Zoo has an unusual Valentine's Day offering for you and your significant other.  20 YEARS AFTER THE GREAT LEGO SPILL, THEY'RE STILL WASHING ASHORE (Inverse) 10 A...

Today in 1955, the birthday of a basketball champion named Lusia “Lucy” Harris. Though "basketball champion" may not be quite the right term for her: she’s also been called the Queen of Basketball. Plus: this weekend in Martin City, Montana, it’s Cabin Fever Days, featuring the world championship for barstool ski races. Lusia Harris, ‘Queen of Basketball,’ Dies at 66 (New York Times) LUSIA HARRIS...

Today was the birthday in 1914 of the wildest owner Major League Baseball ever saw: Bill Veeck. We'll look through some of his unusual life in baseball. Plus: tomorrow is known in The Netherlands as Warm Sweater Day. Bill Veeck (SABR) Warm Sweater Day (Treehugger) The wild stories on this show are made possible by our backers on Patreon

There's evidence humans have been building figures out of snow for centuries. But they haven't always been called "snowmen" and they haven't always looked the way they look now. We'll explain how we got the shape and the name. Plus: if you’re looking to liven up your Black History Month, you can head to Baltimore, Maryland, home to the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum.  Illinois Snow Sculp...

Today in 1984, two US astronauts walked in space. And, for the first time, they weren’t connected to anything. Plus: the New York Historical Society features an exhibition through early April on the history of the city's Jewish delis. 35 YEARS AGO: FIRST UNTETHERED SPACEWALK (Kennedy Space Center) In Pictures: A New York Exhibition Celebrates the Delicious History of Jewish Delis, Matzo Balls and...

Supposedly this month in 1891 a sailor named James Bartley was swallowed by a whale and lived! But The Straight Dope took a closer look and found this story was almost certainly too good to be true. Plus: this week in Saranac Lake, New York, near Lake Placid, it’s the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival. The Straight Dope (Chicago Reader) Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Help us sort fact from legend as a ba...