Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

On any given day McDonald's serves huge numbers of people, either in restaurants or via drive-thru windows. But once, in the 1990s, the company also tried to operate restaurant cars on a long-distance German train line. Plus: since April 15 is traditionally tax day, so did you know that ancient Rome once taxed bachelors?  The McTrain: The Rise and Fall of McDonald's Ambitious Plan to Conquer...

One of the more than 700 survivors of the sinking of RMS Titanic was Violet Jessop, a stewardess who helped passengers get into lifeboats and wait for rescue. Amazingly, Jessop had been in one shipwreck before that, and would go on to be in another. Plus: today marks 100 years since the death of the man who patented the Ouija board. His tombstone pays special tribute to his contribution.  The...

It's National Scrabble Day, marking the birth of the person who started it all. Here's some of how Alfred Mosher Butts and, later, James Brunot turned the game originally called Lexiko got its start. Plus: on this day in 1818, the U.S. begins adding stars (but no longer adding stripes) for each new state.  A Short History of Scrabble (and Some Fun Scrabble Facts) (New England Historical Socie...

Today is the birthday of Evelyn Berezin, whose inventions include the first computer-based word processor, the first computerized airline reservations system, and so much more that so many of us use regularly today. Plus: artist Nadia Gonegaï has made the Portrait Urn, a pretty special way to remember someone special.  The woman who invented the word processor and online flight booking system...

Two design students have come up with an idea to turn the stretchy, plasticky parts of chewing gum into new wheels for skateboards, so the gum isn't wasted. It's the kind of idea that just might stick. Plus: today in 1965, the Houston Astrodome opened. They had a plan to grow grass indoors, but they also had a Plan B.  These Students Designed A Way Of Repurposing Chewing Gum To Make Skateboar...

Next month the website Yahoo Answers is shutting down, after 16 glorious years of... everything that went on over there. We look back at the most famous moments on a site that became, as the New York Times put it this week, a “haven for the confused.” Plus: a company is making a pair of sneakers that was produced in part from grapes. Yahoo Answers, a Haven for the Confused, Is Shutting Down (New Y...

On this day in 1948, Idaho Fish and Game moved beavers to a new habitat in a very unusual way: they had the beavers parachute into the wilderness! We'll explain how they did it. Plus: a new map of New York City's most notable trees helps people find some unique green space even in the big city.  Parachuting Beavers Into Idaho's Wilderness? Yes, It Really Happened (Boise State Public Radio) Ne...

Chuck Lamb found a unique way into TV shows and movies: he became "Dead Body Guy," playing a range of characters who had already passed on. And, of course, he took an unusual path to get there. Plus: it's the birthday of Billy Dee Williams, so here's a few lesser-known facts about the actor who brought Lando Calrissian to life.  Why 'Dead Body Guy' is calling it quits on his acting career (As...

A device in Denmark, WasteShark, has been roaming through water to scoop up floating debris. Now it's going to have a flying companion drone to help spot waste and maybe even clean up oil spills. Plus: photographer Nancy Floyd has been taking self-portraits and other images, structured the same way, day after day since 1982, to show the passage of time. Talk about playing the long game.  Thes...

Today in 1827, Joseph Dixon began manufacturing pencils at his factory in Salem, Massachusetts, so it's a good day to go back through the centuries and centuries that helped make the pencil what it is now. Plus: there's a vintage and specialty pencil shop in Wisconsin called the Pencillarium! The Write Stuff: How The Humble Pencil Conquered The World (Popular Mechanics) A Visual History of the Pen...

As sea levels rise, small island nations like Kiribati face some tough choices. A European design studio has an idea that might help: sustainable buildings that can collect rainwater, generate electricity, and help grow food. And they float. Plus: Boston's Museum of Science joins with Leonard Nimoy's family to mark his 90th birthday in a fascinating way.  Kiribati Floating Houses address risi...

Today in 1889, the Eiffel Tower was dedicated and opened, but it was only one of hundreds of ideas for what should be built there. And some of the other proposed designs were wild. Plus: a new device would be able to extract water from the air wherever the user already is.  The Story Behind The Eiffel Tower's Forgotten Competitors (Ozy) The Eiffel Tower’s Long-Lost Competition: A Granite Ligh...

Babies born ahead of schedule can benefit from close contact with parents and caregivers - and for the times they're not available, there's a new hospital bed called Calmer that can simulate the rocking motion they feel when they're being held up close. Plus: anybody need a fancy door that can fold down into a ping pong table? Cause that exists now.  Pulsating bed could prevent brain damage i...

On this day in 1849, Henry Brown escaped slavery from a Virginia plantation in a very unusual way: he arranged it so he could hide in a small wooden box that was sent to Pennsylvania. Here's some of his story. Plus: it was on this day in 2011 that a paramedic rescued a doctor from a fiery car crash, 30 years after that same doctor had helped the paramedic survive as a newborn.  Slavery cost h...

Today in 1804, the US Senate held a party featuring something called the “Mammoth Loaf.” To explain, we have to first tell you about Thomas Jefferson, an enormous block of cheese and an archeology project. Plus: a very cold town in Siberia has some very cool music, thanks to spring ice drums.  Jefferson presented with a “mammoth loaf” of bread (History.com) Thomas Jefferson and the "mammoth l...

It's a state holiday today known as Maryland Day, so it's a good time to talk about how in 1962 Maryland named jousting its official state sport. Plus: in New York City there's a "space clearer" who removes the negative energy from homes that won't sell and apartments with unsettling or tragic histories.  A look into Maryland’s curious state sport: Jousting (Shore Monthly) Mary Lou Bartram (M...

An engineer and beekeeper in New England has developed a system using radar and vibrational sensors to detect when a hive is being robbed by a rival colony, or when some of the bees are about to leave and start their own colony. That should create a buzz among beekepers! Plus: IKEA has just published a digital "scrapsbook" intended to help people turn leftovers into new meals and not into food was...

It was on this day in 1857 that the first commercial elevator began operating at a department store in New York City. And once elevators took off, they started shaping the world around us in some pretty big ways. Plus: a city in Oregon is home to an elevator that is technically a street! March 23, 1857: Mr. Otis Gives You a Lift (Wired) Oregon City is home of America's steepest street (Offbeat Ore...

In northeast Georgia, there are giant stone slabs inscribed with ten rules to lead the world toward "an Age of Reason." But the reason for the rules - and who had them installed there - remain a secret. Plus: a new exhibition features works by acclaimed artist Jackson Pollock and his brother and fellow painter Charles Pollock, the first time their art has been shown together.  Nobody Knows Ho...

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 . Today we tell the story of a man who was all about getting people together. Over 40+ years, Jim Haynes brought thousands and thousands of people to his place in Paris to have...

It's our 500th episode! We're celebrating with a visit to the Compass Festival in Leeds, which will feature an art installation that will ring many of the community's pay phones at exactly the same time. Plus: did you know the first race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway wasn't a road race? This is why every phone box in Leeds will ring in unison on the same day at Compass Festival 2021 (Yorkshire Ev...

In Scotland's Shetland Islands, on the island called Unst, a 7 year old's request for a new bus stop led to a community tradition of making the space comfortable and colorful. Plus: a museum in South Bend, Indiana is showcasing cars of the 1970s, a time when cars were cars - sometimes a car was multiple cars.  Waiting in Style (Futility Closet) Website for Unst bus shelter is ‘essential readi...

A big problem in food waste is that people often refuse to buy fruits or veggies because of how they look. But a new study finds that grocers can sell misshapen or odd-looking produce if they market them as "ugly." Plus: if you're weary of remote meetings, a new web tool called Zoom Escaper may help you get a break.  Why calling food 'ugly' makes us want to buy it more (Vancouver Is Awesome)...

Today in 1980, the big U.S. TV networks began regularly using closed caption technology to serve Deaf viewers as well as hearing ones. That alone was a game-changer, but closed captioning has proven useful in some other big ways as well. Plus: in Russia, fans of a certain TV show set in a galaxy far, far away have built a replica of a certain ship that's home to a certain adorable baby puppet.&nbs...

Mary Fields was the first Black woman to receive a Post Office contract to deliver the mail, and in the Wild West, no less. Here's a little more about a pioneer who definitely made some history. Plus: the story of a sibling who found a practical use for her identical twin.  The Life and Legend of Mary Fields (Montana Women's History) Stagecoach Mary Fields (National Postal Museum) Fields, Mar...