Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

It's not a direct route, but two researchers have figured out a way to take waste plastic, feed it to special bacteria, and then end up with nutritious protein powder. We'll explain. Plus: a guy has been growing plants inside a big glass bottle for decades - and because the bottle is sealed, they basically water themselves over and over! €1 Million Prize for Plastics-to-Protein Research Awarded to...

Today in 1947, two men who had climbed Oregon's Mount Hood and stayed overnight woke up to find a surprise: a quart of milk and the morning newspaper. Who would climb a mountain just to leave those items? Plus: a study out of the University of Greenwich finds that bees get an actual buzz out of naturally-occurring caffeine. A quirky little mystery from 1947 on the summit of Mount Hood is finally s...

Summer is beach season, and for those times when people leave litter and other waste behind, there are two separate projects to develop robots to clean up after them. Plus: Sunny, the radiated tortoise at the Dallas Zoo, gets a personalized, hand-built scratching station for those hard-to-get itches.  This beach-cleaning robot sifts sand for the tiny plastics that humans miss (Fast Company) B...

We're revisiting some of our favorite stops on the roads and highways this week. In this episode from August 2019, we visit a giant potato in Idaho that you can rent. Or, technically, a 28 foot long, 12 foot wide structure built in the shape of a potato. Plus: a man from the UK traveling through Amsterdam learns that an Airbnb listing for a "clean room with a private bathroom" can technically refe...

We're revisiting some of our favorite stops on the roads and highways this week. In this episode from December 2019, we head to Enterprise, Alabama, a community where you'll find in the middle of town a statue of a Greek woman holding a boll weevil. Plus: meet the most destructive holiday force ever, Treezilla! Boll Weevil Honored (Library of Congress) Treezilla! The Godzilla Christmas Tree (Steve...

We're revisiting some of our favorite stops on the roads and highways this week. In this episode from August 2020, we have the story of a water tower in northern Kentucky that was supposed to be an advertisement, but ended up becoming a local landmark. Plus: we'll explain one version of how Chicken Dinner Road in  Idaho got its name. Why does the Florence water tower say 'Florence Y'all,' any...

We're revisiting some of our favorite stops on the roads and highways this week. In this episode from May 2020, we visit a rock in Newbury, New Hampshire, with the words "CHICKEN FARMER I  STILL LOVE YOU" painted on it, and try to figure out why. Plus: why is there a giant statue of a  chicken eating burgers on top of a restaurant in Wisconsin? Lots of chicken mysteries out there, I gues...

We're revisiting some of our favorite stops on the roads and highways this week. In this episode from April 2021, we look at Route 66, the interstate highway with the most memorable roadside attractions - including the giant fiberglass sculptures known as Muffler Men and Uniroyal Gals. Plus: a sculpture contest at Baltimore’s American Visionary Art Museum: the Honey, I Shrunk The Kinetic Sculpture...

Today in 2016, Celeron, New York unveiled and dedicated a statue of its most famous resident, TV legend Lucille Ball. It took the place of a different statue from 2009 that had been nicknamed "Scary Lucy." Plus: this day in 1928 was the birthday of artist Andy Warhol, who, among many other accomplishments, helped make Pop Tarts popular. New Lucille Ball statue replaces ‘Scary Lucy’ (CNN) 13 Things...

The Olympic Games are supposed to bring the countries of the world together, but that isn't always what happens. Several times the Games have been canceled, and at other times, boycotts have led some countries to hold their own alternative competitions. Plus: we mark the birthday of the great Black scientist and inventor Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson. ...And Meanwhile In Philadelphia (Sports Illustrated...

Today in 1911, a very strange thing happened in a baseball game: a guy on second base ran backwards and stole first base, the base he'd just been on. Here's his very unusual story. Plus: today in 1901 music legend Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans, but if you want to take part in events to commemorate his birthday, you’re a month late. Germany Schaefer (Society for American Baseball Research...

Sometimes the Olympic athletes who don’t win are the ones who make big impressions. That includes swimmer Eric Moussambani of Equatorial Guinea, who was a hit at the 2000 Summer Games despite finishing well behind the rest of the competitors in his event. Plus: Canadian high jumper Derek Drouin won a gold medal in 2016 when his doctors might have preferred that he rest at home!  African novic...

Competitive juggling is a sport that requires skill, concentration, technical mastery and creativity. And there's a push to bring it to the Summer Games someday. Plus: the Sun and Earth are now in an alignment with Saturn, which means our most famous ringed planet is at its brightest in the night sky.  A circus act turned extraordinary sport is making its case for the Olympics (Inverse) You n...

The Summer and Winter Games are typically held once every four years, but for decades the rest of us have been getting into the Olympic spirit through video games. Here are a few of the most unusual ones. Plus: the story of a fencing match that definitely could've only happened in the real world.  15 of the most notable Olympic video games ever made (Yardbarker) France win fencing gold (BBC)...

In ancient Greece, the Olympics were for men only. But from what we can tell, women representing 16 city-states would come together every four years to weave a robe for Hera, the queen of the gods, and hold a footrace for single women. Plus: the 1960 Summer Games were the first to be telecast in the US. In the days before satellites, it took a lot of work to get tapes from the Rome Games to the US...

The original Olympic flag flew over the Games for the first time in 1920, in Antwerp, Belgium, but before it could be passed to the next host city, the “Antwerp flag” disappeared - for over seven decades. Plus: scientists have taught a robotic hand to play Super Mario Bros., because why wouldn't you?  OLYMPICS: NOTEBOOK; Missing Flag Returns to Glory, Courtesy of a Prankster (New York Times)...

Whenever the Olympic Games take place we see athletes giving their all to win gold and glory - but we also see great examples of competitors who show character and kindness toward each other. Here’s the story of two of those athletes, who ended up winning the only half-silver, half-bronze medals in Olympic history. Plus, a musical group finds out that the International Olympic Committee does enfor...

The men's marathon at the 1904 Olympics could have won a gold medal for biggest trainwreck in Summer Games history. Here's how dirt, dehydration, dogs and more helped make this as bizarre a run as they get. But then the 1904 Games were strange for several other reasons as well. We'll explain why.  Running a marathon was never crazier or harder than during the 1904 St Louis Olympics (ABC Austr...

For better or for worse, the Summer Olympics are finally here. We thought it would be a good time to look back at some of the lesser-known events in the history of the Games, like painting and cannon shooting. Plus: Tomas Gomez headed to the driving range just ahead of a storm, and his ball ended up getting hit by lightning.  Painting for Gold Medals: When Art Was an Olympic Discipline (Artne...

We've had stoplights to direct us and our vehicles through intersections for around a century now. A design studio in Moscow has a concept for a high-tech refresh of stoplight technology. Plus: LEGO builder Douglas Hughes pays tribute to the late, legendary game show host Alex Trebek with a LEGO kinetic sculpture of Jeopardy! The traffic light gets a dazzling, 21st century makeover (Fast Company)...

Like his famous brother Ernest, who was born today in 1899, Leicester Hemingway was a novelist and a storyteller. But Leicester did something even Ernest never did: he created his own micronation. Here's the story of the Republic of New Atlantis. Plus: back in 1958, a farmer in Florida made his first payment on a new Chevrolet in an unusual way.  Contents of a country: Leicester Hemingway’s R...

Today in 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. But as the Apollo 11 mission went on, they had a problem: a broken switch threatened to keep them from returning to Earth. Fortunately, they had a solution: office supplies. Plus: the Lunar Lander Dwelling in Washington state is a 250 square foot getaway in the shape of the lunar module. When Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstron...

It's National Ice Cream Day, so it's a good day to tell the story of Agnes B. Marshall. The "Queen of Ices" helped make this frozen treat the icon that it is today. Plus: on this day in 1975, ground control played the song “Hello Darlin” by country star Conway Twitty to astronauts in Earth orbit. Only this version of the song was a little different. The 19th-century entrepreneur who pioneered mode...

Washington DC is home to monuments, memorials and the largest library in the world. Here's some of the history of the Library of Congress. Plus: a real estate listing for waterfront land in Ontario had a price of $99,000, though with one big consideration. 10 Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About The Library Of Congress (DCist) Fascinating Facts (Library of Congress) Vacant lot in Ontario could be...

Today in 2006, Twttr launched; and in its early days the social media platform gained vowels in its name and fame for a cute whale that would show up during its then-regular outages. Here's the story of Lifting A Dreamer, aka the "Fail Whale." Plus: if you’re a fan of scuba diving or snorkeling, the Geneinno S2 undersea scooter is a new high tech way to do it.  Twitter launches (History.com)...