Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

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...

Today in 1944, Astrid Lindgren of Stockholm, Sweden fell on ice and sprained her ankle. While stuck in bed, she decided to write down some stories she'd been telling her daughter, stories that would lead to one of the most popular children's book series of all time. Plus: today in 2005, an ultramarathon runner from Tucson, Arizona, Pam Reed, set a world record by running 301 miles. She ran for 79...

Today in 1948, two meteorologists helped make things safer for those living in the path of severe storms, when they issued the first successful tornado warning. Plus: the Circle Guitar by Anthony Dickens has a rotating sequencer disc that lets the instrument play its own strings.  The Types of Airmasses in Which North American Tornadoes Form (JSTOR)  The First Operational Tornado Forecas...

According to a new study, remembering old times can actually be good for your health - in particular, it may help regulate our response to pain. Plus: Lushfoil Photography Sim aims to send players through extremely detailed and extremely scenic environments to take the perfect simulated photo. Scientists find a surprising connection between nostalgia and pain relief (Inverse) Super-Realistic Grass...

The HMS Challenger spent years studying the world's oceans and the creatures that call them home. Today in 1875, the mission made one of its most astonishing discoveries. Plus: a company in Tokyo that makes elevator buttons and lights lets factory visitors push a copy of every button it's ever produced - over a thousand in all. HMS Challenger: The voyage that birthed oceanography (BBC) H.M.S. Chal...

There really is a robot now called the Pipe-Worm. It's built to unclog pipes, and it does it by mimicking earthworms. Plus: for World Water Day, we look back at a project by artist Dylan Martinez that looks like bags of clear, clean water... or is it?  Worms and cockroaches inspired this robot that can unclog any pipe (Fast Company) Glass Sculptures by Dylan Martinez Perfectly Imitate Water-F...

This was a bonus episode for our Patreon backers, who make the show possible! It was exclusively available to them on Patreon for one year. If you want to hear future bonus episodes before that, join us for just $1 a month . The new book "Bitten by Witch Fever" by Lucinda Hawksley highlights hundreds of wallpaper patterns from the UK in the 19th century, a time when some of the pigments...

Jaundice is treatable with phototherapy, but not all places have access to light therapy machines. A startup in Nigeria is building solar-powered phototherapy machines to fill that gap. Plus: today in 2021, a guy in England tried to rob a bank, only his handwriting was so messy the tellers couldn't read his demand.  This Nigerian tech startup is fighting baby jaundice with solar-powered cribs...

The Brandt’s vole has an interesting way to protect itself from predators overhead: a research project found that the little rodent cuts the grass so it can keep a lookout. Plus: a new company is selling work from home pods/writing cabins made from sections of old airplanes.  Voles cut grass to watch flying predators (University of Exeter) Turning old airplanes into home offices (CNN) Join ou...

Today in 1948 that a guy in Portland, Oregon, dedicated Mill Ends Park, two square feet of green space in the middle of a parkway. It's still the world’s smallest park today. Plus: it’s Peeps season again, and the Racine Art Museum in Wisconsin wants your submissions for the 14th Annual International Peeps Art Exhibition. Mill Ends Park (Portland.gov) Call for Artists: RAM 13th Annual Internationa...

Today in 1750, the birthday of an astronomer who definitely made her mark on the sky: Caroline Herschel, the first woman to discover a comet. Plus: residents of Pooler, Georgia, are down one giant mailbox painted to look like a cow, but don't worry, it'll be back.  Caroline Herschel (NASA) Eight Women Astronomers You Should Know (JSTOR) Who moo-ved the giant mailbox? Chatham County landmark d...