Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

For International Museum Day, we look back at the first museum, which came into the world around 2500 years ago thanks to one very prominent and very busy princess. Plus: a traffic camera system in New York City tries to issue a speeding ticket for a replica car in a museum in northern Illinois. The Woman Who Opened the World’s First Museum in 500 BCE (Messy Nessy Chic) Illinois’ Volo Auto Museum...

This week we're replaying some short episodes about long races. In this one from March 2024, Japanese athlete Shizo Kanakuri begins a marathon in 1912... and finishes in 1967. Plus: a college student emails the professor with a question and gets a reply quite a long time after the course was over. Better late than never for Japan’s first, “slowest” Olympian (Japan Times) Hannah Jung For all th...

This week we're replaying some short episodes about long races. In this one from April 2021, Jessica Anderson sets a world record in the London Marathon, though one that wasn’t recognized as such right away. Plus: NoseID is a pet identification system that can help out a lost dog in record time. Woman Denied ‘Fastest Nurse’ Record Because She Didn’t Wear a Dress, Later Awarded Title  (Sports I...

This week we're replaying some short episodes about long races. In this one from July 2021, a look at the men’s marathon from the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis. You couldn’t write a weirder race than this one. Plus: American athletes took home a record 239 medals at the 1904 Games, for one very unusual reason. Running a marathon was never crazier or harder than during the 1904 St Louis Olympics  ...

This week we're replaying some short episodes about long races. In this one from July 2019, Cynthia Arnold of Missoula, Montana ran the Missoula Marathon while pushing a six year old, a four year old and a one year old in a triple stroller. Plus: Tony Fisher bought some salami and did the only logical thing with it: construct a 2x2x2 Rubik’s Cube out of it. Mom Runs 3:11 Marathon With a Triple...

This week we're replaying some short episodes about long races. In this one from April 2023, the Sydney to Melbourne Ultra Marathon in 1983 ends up being won by a guy you wouldn’t have expected. Plus: Delaware hosts the Wilmington Coffee Fest. When age and modesty won the race  (Sydney Morning Herald) The 61-Year-Old Shepherd Who Shuffled His Way to an Unlikely Ultra Win  (Adventure Journal vi...

Colleges and universities all seem to have their own particular customs and traditions, but few have made students take a vow against one guy, as the University of Oxford did for centuries. Plus: today in 2018, some 18,000 people in Mexico City set a record for a particular type of photo. The persistence of tradition: the curious case of Henry Symeonis (Oxford Bodleian Library)  18,000 Mexicans ge...

National Train Day is this Saturday, and that may be an opportune time to drop by Budapest, Hungary, which is home to an entire train service run by children. Plus: starting today in Louisiana, it’s the Rayne Frog Festival.  The Budapest Children’s Railway (Kottke)   Rayne Frog Festival (Rayne Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture)  Keep this show on the tracks as a backer on Patreon

Today in 1927, the birthday of Edsel Ford Fong, who became an institution in San Francisco’s Chinatown. People said he was the rudest waiter in the world… and they loved him for it (!) Plus: a new installation at a modern art museum in Berlin lets visitors build with hundreds of thousands of wooden blocks. Memories, anecdotes and snippets through time of Sam Wo (SFGate.com via Archive.org)  Lina L...

Today in 1924, the Olympic Games were underway in Paris. And it was at these Games that a former Olympian swimming champion won a medal far outside the water. Plus: Clinton, Iowa has unveiled a series of wooden sculptures around town that nod to the community’s history with timber.  5 Odd Events from the 1924 Games We Will Sorely Miss at the Paris Olympics (Outside Online) Experience the Thomas Da...

For Orange Juice Day, the story of how the Florida Department of Citrus teamed up with Marvel Comics to create a superhero that promotes orange growers. Plus: NASA teams up with the alphabet for a new public tool called Your Name In Landsat. The Story of Marvel's New Branded Superhero, Captain Citrus (AdWeek) This tool from NASA uses fractions of the earths surface, taken by satellite, to spel...

Today in 1897, the start of an event which gave the city of Nashville a pretty memorable structure: a full-scale exact replica of the Parthenon. Plus: if you like to go to fairs mostly for the food, you may want to head today to Springfield, Missouri for the Corndog Kickoff. About the Parthenon (Nashville Parthenon) Corndog Kickoff (Ozark Empire Fairgrounds) It’s all Greek to me how crowdfunding w...

Today in 1934, the birthday of Mario Segale, a real estate developer in the Seattle area who ended up playing a pretty big role in video game history. Plus: today, Springfield, Missouri begins the Route 66 Centennial Kickoff. Mario Segale, Seattle-area real estate developer who inspired Nintendo’s Super Mario, dies at 84 (Seattle Times) Everything You Need to Know About the Route 66 Centennial Kic...

Today in 1999, the birthday of Tama the cat, who is likely the only cat who ever saved a train line in rural Japan from shutting down. Plus: this weekend in Pennsylvania, it’s the Lititz Pretzel Fest. The cat who saved a Japanese rail line (BBC) Lititz Pretzel Fest   We don’t have a cat, but our show does have great backers on Patreon. Join them today

Today in 2018, the official Twitter account for the country of Sweden made a shocking admission: the country’s culinary signature, Swedish meatballs, originally came from outside Sweden! Plus: this Saturday is Free Comic Book Day. And for the first time in a long time, kids in Sacramento, California will be able to legally take part. Swedish meatballs originally Turkish dish: Swedish government (H...

It's King’s Day in the Netherlands; maybe a few people will makr the holiday by taking part in a sport in which people essentially pole vault over water. Plus: there's a new installation at the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco that includes a lot of imagination and a bit of upcycling.  What is Fierljeppen? A look at the Netherlands' extreme canal vaulting sport (EuroNews) Ob...

This week we're replaying some of our favorite shows about the stuff that makes the world go round. In this episode from April 2022, a visit to a room at the Arkansas State Capitol where you can hold the state’s money in your hands. Plus: Albuquerque, New Mexico hosts the Southwest Chocolate and Coffee Fest. Arkansas Treasurer’s Office: About Us Southwest Chocolate & Coffee Fest Our Patreo...

This week we're replaying some of our favorite shows about the stuff that makes the world go round. In this episode from January 2020, the story of how printing enthusiast Benjamin Franklin used his cleverness and creativity to try to head off the big problem of counterfeiters. Plus: New Orleans hosts the Samantha Fish Cigar Box Guitar Festival. Library of Congress exhibit explores early Ameri...

This week we're replaying some of our favorite shows about the stuff that makes the world go round. In this episode from May 2019, Australians laugh, curse, sigh and facepalm over a misspelled word on the newest printing of their $50 note. Plus: a guy in Grand Haven, Michigan drives through town with a cardboard box containing $30,000 in cash. And of course the box fell off his truck and the m...

This week we're replaying some of our favorite shows about the stuff that makes the world go round. In this episode from July 2022, the story of how and why the US Congress decided that the name of our country’s currency would be the dollar. Plus: when Althea Gibson made history at Wimbledon, even the woman she beat was singing her praises. The Almighty Dollar  (AdamSmith.org) Althea Gibson: T...

This week we're replaying some of our favorite shows about the stuff that makes the world go round. In this episode from July 2022, a visit to Tenino, Washington, where wooden money has been making a mark for decades. Plus: if you feel like you’ve been to every museum and you’re not sure what to do next, try the German Food Additives Museum. Why Tenino is still printing wooden money (KING 5) T...

It's International Bat Appreciation Day. Bats are smart, versatile and often adorable in their way. But they do have minds of their own… which foiled a project that seemed like a useful idea for the Florida Keys. Plus: today in 2018, a story about a Pennsylvanian who had an airtight reason to get out of jury duty. BAT TOWER SEEMED LIKE GOOD IDEA, BUT NO ONE TOLD THE BATS (Chicago Tribune) 4-ye...

Today in 2018, Fast Company published an article called “What You Can Learn From 7 Of The Most Cringeworthy Job Interviews.” One lesson: yelling at your parrot for interrupting the conversation may not work out well. Especially if the parrot yells back. Plus: this month in Turkey, it’s the Istanbul Tulip Festival. What You Can Learn From 7 Of The Most Cringeworthy Job Interviews (Fast Company) Ist...

Greens are good for us, and a new study finds greens are good for soil that’s been contaminated with toxic metals… which may also be a big deal in the world of mining. Plus: this month in 1925, the state of Oregon first flew its official flag. It's the only American state flag where the image on the back is different from what’s on the front. Kale, cabbage found effective at mining toxic thall...

On this day in 1912, the Titanic, the iceberg… the whole thing. But there was a nearly-identical ship from the same company called RMS Olympic. How weird must it have been that right after the sinking, there was a very very similar ship out there on the sea?!? Plus: one guy who had been aboard both of those ships in their worst moments was also aboard like three other shipwrecks?!? Seeing Double:...