Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

Today in 1977, the show that famously broadcast “live from New York” put on a special show live from New Orleans. While you can’t exactly call what happened a trainwreck, it has definitely stayed a one and done. Plus: today in 1989, TIME magazine noted that a TV ad for Nike sneakers wasn’t quite what it appeared to be. The Big Uneasy: When SNL Went to Mardi Gras (Vulture) Advertising: If the Inamu...

Today in 1973, one of the greatest boxers of all time tried a different sport for a day… and it really didn’t go well. Plus: on this day in 1967, a news story about a swimmer who broke a world record but got disqualified on wardrobe grounds. Joe Frazier Almost Drowned On National Television 40 Years Ago Today (Sports Illustrated)  Sylvia Ester, World-Record Swimmer (Weird Universe) Keep this podca...

Today in 1930, a Guernsey cow known as Elm Farm Ollie became the first cow to go up in a plane, and the first one to be milked during the flight (!) Plus: today in 2012, a pro golfer hits a ball that accidentally rolls up a guy's pant leg (!!) Elm Farm Ollie: The Story of the First Cow to Take Flight (San Diego Air & Space Museum) Trending: Mickelson's ball ends up in man's shorts...

Today in 1989, two players in a chess tournament faced off… and set a record for the longest tournament chess match of all time. Plus: today in 1921, a nun in St. Paul, Minnesota made educational history. The Longest Tournament Chess Game (Chess.com)  School Patrol Flagpole (Atlas Obscura) It’s your move, make it a good one by backing our show on Patreon

The most famous giant president heads are the ones on Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, but many president buffs also swear by a different set in Virginia… though those heads have definitely had a rough go of it. Plus: a CBC report in 1987 features grocery store price checkers who were really on a roll. Inside Virginia’s Decaying President Heads: Where They Came From, Where They Are, How to Tour (Ro...

We’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about the 16th President. In this episode from November 2019, the legend of how President Lincoln once served as a kind of wedding planner at the White House. Plus: Marlborough, Massachusetts hosts the New England WizardFest, where you can immerse yourself in the world of witches and wizards. Adams moves into the White House, Nov. 1, 1800 (Politico) Di...

We’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about the 16th President. In this episode from February 2021, a groundbreaking detective uses her ingenuity to get President-elect Lincoln to Washington DC when there were threats against him. Plus: the family of the late Alex Trebek does some good with the suits he wore on Jeopardy! Pinkerton Spy, Feminist Icon  (Crimereads) The woman who helped prote...

We’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about the 16th President. In this episode from February 2022, the Lincoln Memorial Undercroft, a space underneath the famous memorial that's a result of the engineering it took to build on that spot. Plus: a farmer in Takoma Park, Maryland honored the late president by carving his name into a beech tree. Over and over. Lincoln Memorial Undercroft  ...

We’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about the 16th President. In this episode from October 2021, a handwritten letter from an 11 year old convinces presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln to grow a beard. Plus: in 1957, an unusual demonstration in Port Washington, Wisconsin: the “Power Mower of the Future”! Letter to Grace Bedell  (Abraham Lincoln Online) The Simplicity “Air-Conditioned L...

We’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about the 16th President. In this episode from February 2020, President Lincoln gets an offer from a fellow leader to send elephants to the United States, and he has to gently put the guy off. Plus: when elephants who haven't seen each other in a while get back together, they do some big, loud and adorable stuff. Lincoln Rejects the King of Siam’s...

This month in 1964, the talk of the art world was an exciting avant garde painter named Pierre Brassau… except that this painter was actually a chimpanzee, and Pierre Brassau was a big old hoax. Plus: the young lady in the famous Sun Maid raisin logo was inspired by an actual person. The Monkey Artist Hoax (Today I Found Out) Our history (Sun Maid) Paint the future of this podcast as a backer on P...

Born today in 1929, Hal Blaine, a session drummer who played on not just some of the biggest hits of the 1960s, but hundreds of them. Plus: today in 1999, the first major online livestream, which brought something like 1.5 million users together to watch a Victoria’s Secret fashion show.  Remembering Hal Blaine (Drum Magazine) February 5, 1999: First Major Webcast in Victoria’s Secret (This Day In...

Today in 1948, the birthday of Vincent Furnier, who rock music fans know better as Alice Cooper.  Onstage he was wild, provocative, shocking; offstage he spent a lot of time helping a certain comedy legend get some sleep. Plus: science geeks on the internet figure out a solution to a seemingly impossible postal conundrum. How Alice Cooper and Groucho Marx got to be midnight buds (Las Vegas Review-...

Today in 2006, Fred the cat went undercover in Brooklyn, helping police and the district attorney’s office bust a guy who was pretending to be a veterinarian. Yes, it was an undercover cat! Plus: a discussion of celebrity news on live TV goes off the rails when a cat walks past the camera dressed as a sunflower.  A Detective. A Celebrity. And That Was Just Life No. 1. (New York Times)  Work from h...

For Black History Month, we have the story of Rosa Graggs, a Black leader in Detroit who found a way around housing rules that tried to keep her from using her own property. Plus: Greg the Sorcerer is playing the open world survival game Valheim. Well, sort of. Detroit street that rejected Rosa Gragg will wear her name (Detroit Free Press) Valheim player keeps building Dollar Generals despite frie...

Today in 1969, the Beatles gave their famous "rooftop concert" in London. The police eventually shut it down, but no one got arrested... to the disappointment of at least part of the group. Plus: starting tomorrow in Florida, it’s the Gasparilla Pirate Fest. Beatles’ Famous Rooftop Concert: 15 Things You Didn’t Know (Rolling Stone) Gasparilla Pirate Fest   Get back to our Patreon page wh...

Today in 1861, Kansas became the 34th state in the Union. In the 1990s, a dispute over school funding led to a plan to turn part of the state into a new state of West Kansas. Plus: New York City has said goodbye to MetroCards as a payment system for bus and subway rides, but you can relive the glory days of those plastic fare cards in a new exhibit at the New York Transit Museum. Parts of Kansas o...

Today in 1971, the NFL began its annual draft. Back then, the drafts were strictly business, except for the moment when an NFL franchise appeared to draft one of the biggest names in Hollywood. Plus: today in 2021, a guy in Idaho won a big lottery prize, after having won smaller prizes five times earlier. Inside the 1971 NFL Draft, Where Atlanta Selected...John Wayne? (Sports Illustrated) Man wins...

Today in 1832, the birthday of Lewis Carroll, the author of “Alice In Wonderland.” One of the most memorable characters in Carroll's universe, the Mad Hatter, got his name from an actual medical condition that made those working in the hat industry seem to turn mad. Plus: today in 1937, the birthday of history-making broadcast journalist Nancy Dickerson. Poisons Part I: The Mercurial World of...

Today in 1892, the birthday of Bessie Coleman. She would break barriers in the sky, but only after she made a name for herself in another line of work: manicures. Plus: starting today in Elko, Nevada, it’s the 41st National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. Bessie Coleman (National Women’s History Museum) 41st National Cowboy Poetry Gathering   Help this show keep flying as a backer on Patreon

Why have comedians been throwing pies at each other for laughs for so long? For National Pie Day, we investigate. Plus: Stacey Mei Yan Fong's project 50 Pies/50 States put the essence of each state in the Union into pie form. The messy history of the pie fight, from vaudeville to Nickelodeon (Hopes & Fears via Archive.org)  50 Pies/50 States For the cost of a piece of pie a month you can s...

Today in 1943, the community of Spearfish, South Dakota had some serious ups and downs in the weather, setting an all-time record for the fastest temperature change ever documented. Plus: today in 1997, Lottie Williams of Tulsa, Oklahoma went out for a walk and got hit with what was likely a piece of a Delta rocket falling to Earth.  History of Spearfish's World Record Temperature Change (Sout...

Today in 1910, the birthday of Károly Takács, a multi-time Olympic champion who won his medals without the use of his dominant hand. Plus: today in 1936, inventor Carl Brown obtained a patent for an unusual device meant to wake up drowsy drivers. Karoly Takacs, the Para athlete who achieved Olympic glory (World Shooting Para Sport) Staying awake at the wheel (Weird Universe) Help our show stay on...

Today in 1970, a strange moment in boxing history: two of the greatest heavyweights of all time faced off in a computer-simulated fight for a movie. Plus: today in 1946, the birthday of David Lynch, filmmaker, musician and occasional weather forecaster. How Muhammad Ali regretted his strangest fight ever (The Sporting News via Archive.org)   Watch 950 Weather Reports Presented by David Lynch, Stra...

For the holiday today, we're replaying an episode from January 2020 about the civil rights leader and his connection to Star Trek. A big reason why Dr. King was such a fan was the character of Lieutenant Uhura, played by Nichelle Nichols. Star Trek’s Uhura Reflects On MLK Encounter (NPR’s Tell Me More)