Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

Today in 1921, Green and Green cracker company of Dayton, Ohio trademarked the name of a new product that is still doing quite well: it’s the birthday of the Cheez-It. Plus: Today in Pennsylvania, it’s 143 Day, celebrating the one and only Mister Rogers.  Were Cheez-Its really invented in Dayton? Yes, and here's the story (Dayton.com) 143 Day in PA in honor of Fred Rogers (Philly Voice) Our P...

Today in 2000, Dr. Anna Bågenholm's body temperature fell to the lowest level ever survived by a human being. Here's the story of how she faced extreme hypothermia and came back to life. Plus: tomorrow in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, it’s the Kielbasi Festival/Heritage Day.  Frozen Woman: A 'Walking Miracle' (CBS News) Between life and death – the power of therapeutic hypothermia (The Guardian)...

We don't know for sure it's hers, but researchers have found traces of a perfume that was likely popular during Cleopatra's time - and they think they may be able to brew some of it up. Plus: a patent for a safety harness that generates electricity from a worker who falls off a building! What Did Cleopatra Smell Like? (Hyperallergic) Electricity from falling workers (Weird Universe) Join our show...

Today in 1953, Jacqueline Cochran became the first woman to break the sound barrier. Then again, Cochran moved at high speed her whole career. Plus: today in 1838, the birthday of Alexander Miles, a Black inventor who made elevators what they are today.  JACQUELINE COCHRAN (National Air and Space Museum) Alexander Miles (National Inventors Hall of Fame) Who keeps this show flying? Our Patreon...

50 years ago today, a man named Donald Gorske ate a McDonald’s Big Mac. It was the first of over 30,000, and yes, he holds the world record for most Big Macs eaten by a single person. Plus: scientists at the University of Florida just got edible plants to grow in rock and dust taken from the moon about half a century ago. This American Hero Ate 30,000 Big Macs and Survived (VICE) Plants grow in lu...

A company called Envision has designed a set of glasses that uses artificial intelligence to help blind people with a wide range of activities. They can decode text, detect color and describe outdoor scenes to the wearer, among many other functions. Plus: a cafe in Tokyo is geared toward the key demographic of writers trying to finish their manuscripts on deadline!  AI-powered smart glasses f...

The Canadian Tulip Festival is getting underway in Ottawa. Here's the history of the annual event, which (pun intended) has its roots in the history of World War II. Plus: if you can't make it to Ottawa, maybe you could drop by the Tulip Time Festival in Holland, Michigan.  Princess Margriet to make public appearance at Tulip Festival this weekend (CBC) 2022 Tulip Time Festival (Holland.org)...

This month in 1921, an American submarine known as R-14 ran out of usable fuel in the Pacific Ocean, and lost radio contact with the Navy. To get home, the crew turned the sub into a sailboat, making bunk beds and blankets into sails. Plus: a tattoo artist helps a friend get six-pack abs even when diet and exercise didn't get the job done.  A Submarine Made it Home with a Sail Made of Blanket...

Today in 2018, Australian James Harrison gave blood for the last time. He had donated about once a week for some 60 years, and because his blood included a rare antibody, his donations helped save millions of lives. Plus: the website Typatone gives users a new way to make a little music online from their writing. James Harrison's story (Australian Red Cross) Make music while you write  (Nag o...

Today in 1893, the highest court in the land made a controversial ruling that would profoundly affect Americans to this day: the US Supreme Court ruled that the tomato was a vegetable. Plus: today in 1999, Vermont not only named apple pie its official state pie, it outlined the officially correct way to serve the state pie.  The Supreme Court and the Great Tomato Controversy (IIT Chicago-Kent...

A new study finds colorful painted murals around, or in place of, traditional striped crosswalks may cause drivers to yield more around pedestrians and keep them safe. Plus: a team from two Australian universities studies concrete infused with old bits of tires to see if that might give us a more eco-friendly road surface.  Study Finds That Colorful Road Art Prevents Traffic Accidents by 50%...

Today is National No Homework Day. For many years in the US, every day was a no homework day - but then Sputnik happened. Plus: this weekend in North Carolina, it's the Smithfield Ham and Yam Festival.  How the Cold War Space Race Led to U.S. Students Doing Tons of Homework (History.com) Ham and Yam Festival   Our Patreon backers make it so we can do our homework on each episode of the s...

In Rambouillet, France, a startup is developing street lights that are bioluminescent - they’re powered by bacteria that glow. Plus: around this time in 1965, a woman sees a car selling for "1,395 bananas" and shows up at the dealership with actual fruit.  French Town to Light its Streets With Bacteria Luminescence That Needs No Electricity (Good News Network) Car sold for 1395 bananas (Weird...

For International Firefighters Day, it's the story of Molly Williams, an enslaved Black woman who became the first known woman firefighter, and the first Black firefighter, in the United States. Plus: on the anniversary of Rhode Island declaring independence, a visit to one of the state's most unusual attractions.  Molly Williams, a black woman and a slave, fought fires years before the FDNY...

There’s evidence that people in the Stone Age took plaquettes, limestone representations of animals, put them near the fire and watched as the light created a kind of animation. Pretty high-tech stuff for 14,000 years ago. Plus: an enterprising young raccoon in Germany takes advantage of the rules. Stone Age people may have gathered at night to watch animated “fireside art” (Ars Technica) A wild r...

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...