Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

You know how some couples have their own song? There’s actually psychological research into what are known officially as “couple-defining songs," and there are legitimate benefits to the relationship to choosing a tune to share. Plus: next time you're in Japan, drop by Neko Neko Shokupan and share one of their famous cat-shaped breads with someone special. Do You and Your Partner Have an "Our Song...

It would be understandable if you felt a little cut off from the rest of the world these days. Hopefully it won't be as challenging as it was for Dr. Leonid Rogozov, who on this day in 1961 had to remove his own appendix while stationed in Antarctica. Plus: today in 1970, Pink Floyd played a concert for public TV in San Francisco. Silence in the studio!  The Soviet Doctor Who Cut Out His Own...

Physical distancing has hopefully made us all appreciate the sense of touch a little more. Scientists in Ohio may have found a way to bring that sense back to people with spinal cord injuries. Plus: an octopus may have brought back a family heirloom to a woman in British Columbia, which is a pretty nice thing for an octopus to do.  Brain-decoding computer can restore this important human sens...

This month marks 50 years since the world learned The Beatles were calling it a day. So we're telling the story of the American Beetles - a knockoff band that toured South America, without quite telling everyone they weren't the genuine article. Plus: Spanish artist Bichopalo is not only making beautiful music, he's making beautiful musical instruments, too.  How the fake Beatles conned South...

Lead, unfortunately, is something that lingers, as was proven by scientists who used lead pollution from centuries ago to track the ups and downs of European monarchs. Plus: the story of a Japanese chef so good with a knife that he's created what's probably the world's thinnest sandwich.  Lead pollution in ancient ice cores may track the rise and fall of medieval kings (Science) Making the Wo...

Today is Arbor Day, and so we’re going to talk about the Friendship Oak, a remarkable tree in Mississippi that just keeps on keeping on. Plus: we'll visit Joe Bagley, who has 1,400 house plants in his apartment and for whom it might be said that every day is Arbor Day.  Friendship Oak (University of Southern Mississippi) Houseplant Enthusiast Turns Apartment into Urban Jungle with Over 1,400...

Music scholars at Cambridge University studied musical manuscripts without modern notation and after years of detective work, reconstructed what they would have sounded like. Plus: on this day in 1982 Key West, Florida declared independence from - and war on - the United States. For not very long.  First performance in 1,000 years: ‘lost’ songs from the Middle Ages are brought back to life (C...

Like people in other industries who have the means to do so, the scientists who operate the Curiosity Rover are working away from their office at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in southern California. Though technically when you run a craft that's on another planet, you're always working remotely. Plus: artist Greg Olijnyk makes intricate sculptures of robots, telescopes, ships and more out of p...

The University of Virginia's Disabilities Studies Symposium has produced a version of a 1950s opera called “Dialogues of the Carmelites" featuring both traditional opera singers and Deaf actors performing together and living up to the name of their workshop, "Breaking the Sound Barrier." Plus: a cat played a Theremin on the internet, because why not.  Singing and Signing: ‘Deaf Opera’ Comes t...

It's a very odd anniversary in the history of the US presidency. Today in 1979, President Jimmy Carter got into a fight (of sorts) with a swamp rabbit. Plus: today would normally be a big day in Zurich, when participants in the annual Sechselauten bring on spring by blowing up a snowman! In 1979, Jimmy Carter was attacked by a giant swimming rabbit (AV Club) The History of Sechseläuten (Zuerich.co...

Some health experts suggest that when the world gets back to normal we should do away with the handshake. It is an effective way to spread germs, but it's also had some pretty useful functions in its long history. Plus: since it's the anniversary of the first episode of "Game of Thrones," we visit a guy in California who installed a 15-foot-tall dragon in his front yard.  Why do we touch stra...

Falls on hard pavement can be very, very dangerous for some of us. That's why a research group called SAFERUP is trying to make safer, bouncier pavement. Plus: the Rakuten Monkeys baseball team in Taiwan is planning to have robot mannequins in the stands to cheer them on until fans can return to the ballpark.  Ground-Up Tire Pavement Could Be Safer for Pedestrians and Athletes (Popular Mechan...

Artist Itsuo Kobayashi has been keeping an illustrated food diary since 1980, drawing and describing each meal, the ingredients, the price and how it made him feel. Plus: for National Banana Day, we go to - where else - the International Banana Museum in California. For Over 30 Years Itsuo Kobayashi Has Been Keeping an Illustrated Food Diary (Spoon & Tamago) Opening a Banana Museum next to a t...

Today's the day in 1828 that Noah Webster went to the copyright office to register his work “An American Dictionary of the English Language.” This work, no pun intended, defined American English as people actually spoke it, but it also included some words that haven't exactly stayed with us. Plus: there are perhaps no words for the mulletty goodness that resulted when a woman in New Zealand tried...

A company called Carbios says it’s been using what it calls a “mutant enzyme” to break plastic down into the components to make new plastic in mere hours. But will this mutant eventually try to rule humanity for its own good? Plus: an education student in Kentucky creates see-through plastic masks to help deaf and hard of hearing people during the current difficulties.  This "Mutant Enzyme" C...

We're replaying some of our favorite robot-themed episodes of the show this week. In this episode from October 2019, we hear about an autonomous device that’s  ready to clean up after our dogs on demand, thanks to a large scooper on  its underside. If they’re willing to do this job, maybe robots aren’t  trying to conquer us after all. Plus: “dogfishing” is a problem for  online...

We're replaying some of our favorite robot-themed episodes of the show this week. In this episode from July 2019, we learn about a quadcopter drone that uses spring-loaded arms and a process called “rapid aerial morphing” to fold itself up as it flies. So we’re a  step closer to real-life Transformers. Plus: the story of the all-robot band Compressorhead, whose members twist and turn the...

We're replaying some of our favorite robot-themed episodes of the show this week. In this episode from July 2019, we check in on a little white robot swimming through rice fields in Japan, imitating a duck! It’s actually helping to grow the rice by aerating the  water and stopping weeds from growing. Plus: if you prefer non-robotic  ducks, then you’ve got some options with the World’s La...

We're replaying some of our favorite robot-themed episodes of the show this week. In this episode from June 2019, researchers teach robots to row themselves gently down the stream  and to connect to each other autonomously. They could help clean  the water or even turn themselves into temporary footbridges. Plus: a band in Mexico knew just what to do when the mall they were playing in st...

We're replaying some of our favorite robot-themed episodes of the show this week. In this episode from April 2019, a New Zealand company tests a robot that’s supposed to move through an apple orchard, spot ripe fruit, yank it from the tree and bring it back to the farmer.  They’re either helping us do a hard job or taking  the first step toward an agricultural Skynet. Your Apples May Soo...

Firefighters in Chongqing, China, may soon put out fires with help from a team of six large drones that can get in the air and quickly extinguish blazes. Plus: a guy in Tacoma, Washington is spreading positivity by yelling things at people for money.  China's firefighting drones: Unmanned aircraft can extinguish a blazing 10-storey building within minutes (Daily Mail) Driver on the Street: Ta...

They’re holding auditions for the next voice of Big Tex, the 55 foot tall cowboy that’s the embodiment of the Texas State Fair. He's joined forces with the X-Men and survived catching on fire, not he just needs someone to help him talk about his long career. Plus: today is National Burrito Day and we've spotted one that even Big Tex would probably have trouble finishing.  Big Tex needs a new...

Researchers have been studying LEGO longevity! Don't put them in the ocean, because they could last hundreds or even thousands of years - instead, maybe build something really cool to share with future generations. Plus: there's a new world record in the category of most walnuts cracked by an elbow in under a minute. Yes, that's a category.  Study: LEGO Bricks Can Survive in Ocean For 1,300 Y...

The Eiffel Tower was only supposed to stand in Paris for 20 years... but experiments in "wireless telegraphy" helped convince the powers that be to keep the tower in place. Plus: this gallery of the weirdest-looking cars to ever roll off the assembly line is maybe not the aesthetic equal of the Eiffel Tower, but it sure is fun.  15 Monumental Facts About the Eiffel Tower (Mental Floss) Damn Y...

There’s a website that shows seven sites on which European castles once stood - only partial structures now, but the site has filled the towers and other structures back in. Plus: the blare of a neighborhood car alarm gives Brooklyn musician Andrea Long Chu some inspiration.  This Is What 7 Castles Across Europe Looked Like Before Falling Into Ruins (Bored Panda) This Woman Transforms An Anno...