Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

Scientists at universities in the UK and the Netherlands have been testing out a system in which algorithms parse through high-resolution images taken by satellites to identify elephants and their locations, which could help protect these endangered pachyderms from poaching and habitat loss. Plus: scientists discover a type of electric eel, previously thought to be loners, hunt - and zap - prey in...

In January 1997, Pat Boone - the pop and gospel singer - made a record where he sang Hendrix, AC/DC, Deep Purple and Metallica. How did he, of all people, end up "In A Metal Mood"? Plus: heavy metal is so popular in Finland that there's even a metal band geared toward little kids!  Pat Boone (AV Club) Heavy metal dinosaurs rock the kiddie crowd in Finland (The Age) If you think our Patreon ba...

Some presidential inauguration days are memorable; others are quiet. But the one for Martin Van Buren was probably cheesy, thanks to a giant cheddar sent to Andrew Jackson and a public party to eat it just before Van Buren moved into the White House. (Appropriately enough, today is also National Cheese Lover's Day.) Was the White House Really Trashed at Andrew Jackson's First Inauguration? (HowStu...

On this day in 1981, Muhammad Ali, a hero to millions inside the boxing ring, was a hero outside of it, convincing a man on a ninth-floor fire escape to come back inside the building and seek help.  When Muhammad Ali Met a Man on a Ledge (New York Times) The Time Muhammad Ali Stopped a Man From Leaping to His Death (Slate) If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, there is help :...

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. could stir hearts and provoke minds through his writing and his speeches like few others in history. And so it’s even more amazing that his first speech as a public figure, at the outset of the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955, came together with almost no time to prepare it. 32 things you probably didn't know about Martin Luther King Jr. (Insider) When Martin Luther King,...

The (possibly apocryphal) story goes that on this day in 1797, haberdasher John Hetherington walked onto the streets of London wearing the first top hat, which caused so much hubbub that he was arrested and fined for disturbing the peace! Plus: in January 1974, MIT professor James Henry Williams, Jr. built a 35 pound yo-yo made of two bicycle wheels, and dropped it off the side of a 21-story campu...

It was today in 1972 that NBC first broadcast one of the most memorable sitcoms in TV history, “Sanford and Son." Here's a few facts about the show and its star, Redd Foxx. Plus: photographer Mike Mayou went out with a drone-mounted camera in Minnesota to catch the sunset but got something even more amazing.  15 Big Facts About Sanford and Son (Mental Floss) Photographer Flies Drone To Discov...

Judging by metronome marks on his sheet music, Ludwig von Beethoven wanted his compositions played really, really fast. Or did he? A new data analysis suggests that the master composer and early metronome adopter may have just misread his device as he wrote down tempos. Plus: Lady Gaga has her own cookies!  Big data will analyze the mystery of Beethoven's metronome (EurekAlert!) REVIEW: Lady...

I certainly did not expect 2021 to be what it is, but what did people back in the day predict our world would be like now? Entrepreneur Magazine looked back at predictions from a hundred years ago, and some of them were surprisingly close to the mark. Plus: Robert "Buz" Chmielewski, who's had only limited feeling and movement in his hands and fingers for 30 years, is using special gear and the pow...

The sunk-cost fallacy - when we keep at something even when it’s really not worth it anymore, just because we’ve already put so much time or effort in - is a part of human nature. But new research shows it's also a part of the nature of - this is the best part - video game playing monkeys. Plus: our first story on world records of 2021. Meet the world's largest spam musubi!  Monkeys, Like Hum...

Today is the birthday of Edwin Perkins, who invented a sweet drink known the world over as Kool-Aid. It's the only drink with a mascot that can smash through walls and shout "OH YEAH!" Plus: it's also the birthday of Elvis Presley, who in 1956 volunteered to be photographed getting the then-new polio shot to encourage mass vaccinations. Another way he used his immense fame as a singer to take care...

After yesterday's stunning, discouraging events at the U.S. Capitol, we decided to make today's show a chance to get to know our Capitol building a little better. Here's some of what we learned, though we could do a whole week's worth of shows about the Capitol and the people who have made it what it is.  10 Facts About the U.S. Capitol Building (Mental Floss) A Native American tribe once cal...

Snow gets its white color because of the way light and color work - but in paintings, artists use a few other tones to make their snowscapes look more realistic and more interesting. Plus: why a New York City department store once tried to sell chips of 100,000 year old ice.  Why Is Snow White? (HowStuffWorks) Is Snow White? Maybe, or Maybe Not. (UCAR Center for Science Education) That Time B...

The U.S. had flagpole sitting a century ago, but the Netherlands has Paalzitten, a sport in which people try to outlast each other sitting on poles. It can get competitive, though finding a crowd to watch people sitting on poles can be tricky. Plus: on National Bird Day, we pay tribute to the shoebill, a large bird that looks a bit like a pelican crossed with a dragon.  St. Simeon Stylites (B...

Today is (we think) the birthday of Victor Lustig, perhaps the most notorious scammer of all time. He swindled Al Capone once and "sold" the Eiffel Tower twice! Plus: if you need help relaxing these days, try the ambient soundscapes of Swiss artist Zimoun. The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower. Twice. (Smithsonian) Smooth Operator: How Victor Lustig Sold The Eiffel Tower (Mental Floss) Sound Sculpture...

On this day in 1993, two new countries were born out of the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The Czech Republic and Slovakia spent months negotiating all of the old country's assets, even which side got which verses of the national anthem. Plus: many of us have tried to learn new skills during our extra time at home. Anna Chojnicka was one of them, and the skill she chose was to make art out of bana...

A paleoanthrological study in the caves of Atapuerca, Spain, finds that hundreds of thousands of years ago, human ancestors tried something along the lines of hibernation, holing up in the caves for months during winter. It didn't go all that well, though. Plus: you've heard of the ball drop on New Year's Eve in Times Square. But have you heard of the new year's pickle drop in Mt. Olive, North Car...

If one of your new year’s resolutions is to see if you can cut down on your energy use, this might be a way to do it: a tabletop laundry dryer that can finish a cycle in just 15 minutes. Plus: ever tried listening to a record made of chocolate? You can.  This Tabletop Clothes Dryer Uses Vacuum Dehydration Technology To Dry Clothes In 15 Minutes (Yanko Design) Playing a Chocolate Record (Techm...

A new study from researchers at Aoyama Gakuin University and Osaka University finds that something interesting happens when we’re trying not to reveal something: our perception of time slows down. Plus: MIT physicists have designed a model for a super-accurate atomic clock that even accounts for quantum physics.  New psychology research confirms that time slows down when you are concealing so...

On this day in 1973, something happened aboard the Skylab space station. Depending on who you talk to, it was somewhere between a "sensitivity session" between astronauts and ground crew, and a full-on space mutiny. Plus: Japanese Lego artist Jumpei Mitsui just created an all-brick version of Hokusai's famous print "The Great Wave off Kanagawa." The Real Story of the Skylab 4 “Strike” in Space (NA...

Ever tried to re-gift a present you didn't need? Two brothers-in-law kept giving each other the same pair of pants for decades - and in increasingly complicated wrappings. Plus: ever hear about the time Alex Trebek walked onto the Jeopardy! set without pants?  Brothers Traded Moleskin Pants as an Annual Christmas Gift (Snopes) Jeopardy! Flashback: Alex Trebek Without Pants (Jeopardy!)

Why does NORAD watch Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, while watching for missiles and bombers the rest of the time? It all started when an ad for a Santa Claus hotline accidentally published a military hotline number during the Cold War. Plus: a gag gift known as the "Nothing Box" was maybe one present that wasn't supposed to travel through the skies at Christmastime.  NORAD Santa Tracker: 64-ye...

In 1843, British civil servant Henry Cole wanted a way to send holiday greetings to friends, colleagues and loved ones without having to write letter after letter. And that's where commercial Christmas cards began. Plus: did you know that chili pepper plants were once considered just as festive as poinsettias? Dear (Whoever You Are), Here’s the First Christmas Card (Library of Congress) Intriguing...

For centuries, mistletoe has been a symbol of holiday love, renewal and fertility. Even though it's actually a parasite that steals nutrients from trees. Plus: a poinsettia in the suburbs of Montreal has gone from half-dead to entirely huge!  This Is Why We Kiss Under the Mistletoe (Readers Digest) 'Crappy half-dead' poinsettia from grocery store just won't stop growing (CBC) Our backers on P...

It was today in 1913 that the first modern crossword puzzle was published in the New York World newspaper, eventually leading to a craze that cruciverbalists all over the world have been enjoying ever since. Plus: an invention that didn’t last as long as the crossword - though it was designed to.  100 years of crosswords: the first appeared in New York on 21.12.1913 (The Guardian) Crossword P...