Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

Today in 2007, the king of grass court tennis, Roger Federer, played an exhibition match against his rival, clay court great Rafael Nadal. Not their only matchup, but for this one, the court was half grass and half clay, making it a so-called "battle of the surfaces." Plus: today in 1929, the birth of Link Wray, a guitarist so wild that his instrumental classic "Rumble" was once banned for fear th...

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about time. In this episode from November 2019, we look at November 1883, when railroads across the United States adopted a uniform system of time, more or less getting all of us in sync with each other. But what was time like before then? Plus: Japan has had cat cafes, hedgehog cafes and bunny cafes. Now there's a minipig cafe! Time! (Librar...

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about time. In this episode from September 2020, we look at Tahoe Timescape, a project to take photographs over one thousand years. Plus: New York City is where King Kong ran wild in the movies, but a new statue could help rebuild the relationship between NYC and big apes. Artist tries 1,000-year time lapse photo of Lake Tahoe (US News &...

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about time. In this episode from December 2020, we look at a study that found something interesting happens when we’re trying not to reveal something: our perception of time slows down. Plus: MIT physicists design a model for a super-accurate atomic clock that even accounts for quantum physics. New psychology research confirms that time slows...

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about time. In this episode from March 2020, we look at the places on Earth where time is at its weirdest, the North and South Poles. Plus: it may be time to pay a visit to the World’s Largest Buffalo Monument! Time Has No Meaning at the North Pole (Scientific American) World’s Largest Buffalo Monument (Discover Jamestown) Geographic South Po...

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about time. In this episode from December 2019, we look at the time Samoa skipped a day on the calendar because of International Date Line and some trading partners. Plus: why break your back shoveling snow when you can design a radio-controlled  snowplow to do the work for you? Samoa to skip Friday, lose December 30th 2011 forever (Chri...

For Earth Day we talk about an idea by designer, artist and architect Henry Glogau. He's designed a skylight that can turn seawater into clean drinking water, and then power LEDs with solar energy and the leftover salt brine. Plus: this weekend in Chicago, it's "Golden-Con," a convention for fans of "The Golden Girls."  Designer Creates Solar Desalination Skylight as Low-Tech Way to Produce D...

Today in 1986, I was one of millions of people who watched Geraldo Rivera host the infamous live TV special "The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault." How did it come to be, and why did it go so far off course? Plus: today is day one of the 2022 Association of Lincoln Presenters Conference.  Oral History: When Geraldo Rivera Opened Al Capone's Vault (Mental Floss) Capone Vault-Cracking An Unrewardin...

Today in 1962, the community of Artesia, New Mexico formally opened an unusual elementary school: it was built entirely underground just in case the Cold War turned hot. Plus: this week in Vidalia, Georgia, the Vidalia Onion Festival.  Abo Elementary School and Fallout Shelter (National Park Service) Vidalia Onion Festival  Our Patreon backers keep this little underground podcast running...

Today in 1900 a newspaper in Ohio ran a story about how three towns in Indiana had used fence wire as makeshift telephone lines, at a time when phones were more often found in cities. Some of these ingenious systems ran for decades. Plus: in Kansas City, the City of Fountains, it's Fountain Day.   Barb-Wire telephone line (Insulators.info)  Barbed Wire Telephone Lines Connected The...

If you have any friends that you first met as a roommate or dorm neighbor at college, this show is for you. Research from Ohio State University finds bats can become close when they’re made to live together too. Plus: today in 1930, a newscast like no other. A BBC news announcer declares "there is no news."  Like college roommates, vampire bats bond when randomly paired (Ohio State University...

National Record Store Day is this weekend. Music has always been a big deal; in fact, in the 1940s and 50s, some people in the Soviet Union broke the law and produced makeshift records on old X-ray plates just to hear Western music that the government censored. Plus: this weekend it’s the Great Delaware Kite Festival. Soviet-era bootleg music recorded on discarded X-ray plates (New Scientist) 2022...

Today in 1865, Abraham Lincoln went to Ford's Theater, and we all know how badly that ended. But five years later, William Mumler "photographed" the spirit of Honest Abe comforting his widow Mary Todd Lincoln. Here's the story of Mumler and his very controversial "spirit photography." Plus: how one of the survivors of the Titanic disaster (today in 1912) ended up having a very surprising and succe...

Even the freshest baseballs aren't completely fresh. They've been treated with a grip-improving mud that's been provided by one family's company for decades. Plus: if you like to fall asleep to the sounds of a baseball game, the podcast Northwoods Baseball Sleep Radio can help even in the offseason.  Mud Maker: The Man Behind MLB’s Essential Secret Sauce (Sports Illustrated) Harvesting baseba...

This month in 1907 waiters in Paris went on strike. Yes, they wanted better pay and improved working conditions, but their most high profile demand: they wanted the right to grow mustaches. Plus: engineers at Kawasaki have created maybe the best way to get from here to there, a walking robotic ibex. The Great Paris Moustache Strike of 1907 (The History Guy) Kawasaki's Rideable Robotic Goat Is the...

For National Board Game Day, we look at the history of Candy Land. That game was designed by a schoolteacher who was trying to help kids in a polio ward pass the time. Plus: a research program finds today in 1954 the most boring day of all.  Candy Land Was Invented for Polio Wards (The Atlantic) The Most Boring Day In History Was April 11, 1954 (Gizmodo) Our Patreon backers make every day swe...

Today in 1975, Aerosmith released the landmark album “Toys In The Attic.” One of the biggest hits from that album got its name from an unusual source - the Mel Brooks movie "Young Frankenstein." Plus: this weekend in New Mexico it's the Las Cruces Space Festival.  How Aerosmith Created 'Walk This Way' (Wall Street Journal via Archive.org)   Las Cruces Space Festival   Our Patreon ba...

It's National Beer Day, so it's a good time to talk about a plan from the 1960s, when beer magnate Alfred Heineken tried to rework his company's green bottles so they could be upcycled into bricks for low-income houses. Plus: it’s beer day every day at the Beer Can Museum and Beer Can Hall of Fame in Taunton, Massachusetts. 100,000 Bottles of Beer in the Wall (Cabinet Magazine) Did Alfred Heineken...

Today in 1837, the birthday of Mary Patten. She became a celebrity when she came along on a shipping trip led by her husband and ended up in charge of the ship. Plus: photographer Andrew McCarthy has put together a timelapse of the moon’s phases that shows its lunar libration, or sway, in all its glory. Mary Patten, 19 and Pregnant, Takes Command of a Clipper Ship in 1856 (New England Historical S...

National Library Week is here, so it’s a good time to tell the story of librarians who traveled through eastern Kentucky during the Great Depression on horses and mules carrying books and magazines in saddlebags. Plus: there is a world record for most overdue library book (!)  The Pack Horse Librarians (Appalachian History) Most overdue library book (Guinness World Records) If you like what y...

The Chrysler Bell Victory Siren could put out 138 dB at 100 feet away. That was so loud it could actually turn fog into rain, and turn eardrums into mush. Plus: today in 2014, a movie theater tried to show a movie about a flood, but an actual flood got in the way.  The Chrysler Air Raid Siren Was So Powerful it Could Induce Rain (Amusing Planet) Noah screening cancelled due to flooding (The I...

Today is April Fool’s Day, but it's also it’s the first day of Financial Awareness Month. So be aware that at the Arkansas State Capitol, you can hold the state’s money in your hands. Plus: in Albuquerque, New Mexico this weekend, it's the Southwest Chocolate & Coffee Fest, where you can spend some of your own money on deliciousness.  Arkansas Treasurer's Office: About Us   Southwest...

Today in 1950, Hot Spring, New Mexico gave itself a new name, by responding to a challenge from the game show Truth or Consequences. And now they have an annual event called the Truth or Consequences Fiesta!  How Did The City Of Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico Get Its Name? (WorldAtlas.com) Truth or Consequences Fiesta (Sierra County New Mexico) By any name our Patreon backers are the best

Today in 1867, Secretary of State William Seward agreed to a deal to acquire the land now known as Alaska. It's an unusual state in many ways, and here's the story of an unusual town that was supposed to be named for one bird but got named after a different one instead. Plus: an unusual website called “Just the Punctuation" lets you type in any text you want and then takes all the words out. ...

Today is the birthday President John Tyler. He was born in 1790, and he served as US president in the 1840s. And he has a grandson who is alive in 2022. Plus: this week in Columbia, Tennessee, it's Mule Day. (Yes, they know that Mule Day takes place over more than a single day.)  Grandpa President (Now I Know) Columbia, Tennessee Mule Day   Our Patreon backers keep us telling stories thr...