Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

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...

Today is Take A Cruise Day. Cruise ships aren’t for everybody, but some of us really take to them, especially Clara MacBeth, who spent entire decades on cruise ships sailing around the world. Plus: today in South Haven, Michigan, the first day of the Ice Breaker Festival. Sail away from the January blues (Evening Standard via Archive.org)  29th Annual Ice Breaker Festival We keep cruising tha...

Rechargeable batteries like the ones in our smartphones typically last a few years, but a new project out of Australia could lead to batteries that last nearly a decade. And that's thanks in part to sound waves. Plus: February is Black History Month, and few people spent as much time collecting artifacts from Black history as Elizabeth Meaders. Australian tech could triple phone battery life and s...

On this day in 1790 the US Supreme Court held its first session. Back then, the Court didn't have its own building, but now it does, and that building includes a basketball court. Plus: on the birthday of Rick James, the story of how the funk legend once got a special gift from none other than Salvador Dalí.  The Highest Court in the Land (Sports Illustrated) From Dali to Bestiality: The 10 C...

Today in 1971, Apollo 14 launched. It may be best known today for the moment when astronaut Alan Shepard hit golf balls on the surface of the moon, but that wasn’t the only landmark from this mission. Apollo 14 also gave us the “moon trees.” Plus: Brian Moore's LOL Verifier only lets your keyboard type the famous acronym if it notices that you are actually laughing out loud. The "Moon Trees" (NASA...

Today in 1882, the birthday of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He wound up being America’s longest serving president, but at one point FDR had a very different destiny in mind for himself: he wanted to write screenplays for movies. Plus: we mark the birthday in 1951 of musician Phil Collins with a story of a statue that unintentionally looked just like him.  Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Patriot, Sta...

If you’re trying to eat healthier in the new year, maybe by cutting back on salt, here’s something that might help: cutlery that can make food seem saltier without the added salt. Plus: this Sunday at Terhune Orchards in Princeton, New Jersey, it's Wassailing the Apple Trees. electric spoon, bowl, and chopsticks trick taste buds by making food 'saltier' (designboom) Wassailing the Apple Trees (Ter...

Today in 1956, the US issued a patent for Play-Doh. Millions of kids have built bazillions of things with this colorful stuff, but in its first life, Play-Doh had a very different job: cleaning soot off wallpaper. Plus: a mom in Chicago finds a clever way to get her gamer daughter to take food out of the freezer.  Why Play Doh Stays Hugely Popular, 60 Years Later (Fortune) Made in Jersey: Pla...

Too much waste plastic? Too many greenhouse gases in the atmosphere? Researchers in the UK may have a partial solution for both problems: a process that uses solar energy to convert plastic and greenhouse gases into useful products. Plus: a fancy new wastebasket is partly made of waste plastic and sawdust from the company's factory.  Using solar power to convert plastic and greenhouse gases i...

Today is National Peanut Butter Day. It’s been particularly popular over the last century or so, if you look back even further, you’ll find that peanut butter has been the nutty, crunchy wind beneath our wings for centuries. Plus: a look at a research study from the 2000s called “The Effects of Peanut Butter on the Rotation of the Earth.” A Brief History of Peanut Butter (Smithsonian) The Effects...

A lot of us turn to paper towels when there’s a mess to be addressed, but they could also be greener. Researchers are developing a reusable kitchen towel made of hydrogel. Plus: park rangers in Australia have found an invasive cane toad that may be the biggest one ever found, so of course they nicknamed it "Toadzilla." Roll Over, Paper Towels—UMD Researchers Create Picker-Upper That’s Even Quicker...

There’s still plenty of winter to go. But if plenty of winter still isn’t enough, there’s a way to level up: staying at an ice hotel. Plus: the story of a bird that has perfect timing.  Canada's Ice Hotel Is an Incredible Winter Wonderland — and Now You Can Explore It From Home (Travel + Leisure) 8 Ice and Igloo Hotels to Visit This Winter (UrbanDaddy) Australian Parrot Lands on Redditor’s Bi...