Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

It was this month in 1906 that radio pioneer Reginald Fessenden says he put a Christmas Eve transmission out on wireless that included a rendition of "O Holy Night," which would make it the first Christmas song ever played on the radio. Plus: if you’re into big holiday light displays, they don’t get much bigger or brighter than the ones in the Dyker Heights section of Brooklyn.  Reginald...

Today in 1979, Germany’s federal parliament, the Bundestag, welcomed a new member, one Jakob Mierscheid. The catch? Jakob Mierscheid is a fictional character, he's completely imaginary. Plus: the last circulating US pennies are being auctioned off starting today. A dubious existence (Süddeutsche Zeitung via Archive.org)  Last circulating cents to be sold in Dec. 11 auction (Coin World) Our Patreon...

Today in 1962, NBC broadcast a documentary showing a daring and dramatic effort to rescue people from Communist East Berlin. What was unusual was that NBC had essentially funded that rescue project. Plus: a raccoon breaks into a store in Virginia, gets drunk, passes out and gets in trouble with the law. Escape From East Berlin (New York Times) Drunk raccoon found passed out in Virginia store bathr...

Today in 1970, the release of the Donny Hathaway song "This Christmas." It's become a holiday classic, even if it took a couple decades to get there. Plus: in the Czech Republic you can get an Advent calendar that’s made of salami. Donny Hathaway's "This Christmas" (Chicago Sun-Times via Archive.org)  Salami Advent Calendar, Czech Republic (Present & Correct via Blu...

This year brought us some pretty awful wildfires. A project in Portugal called Trovador asks if robots could take on some of the post-wildfire work for us. Plus: a farm in Shelby, Ohio is offering yoga classes with its otters. tree-planting robot saves burned land from deforestation by putting seedlings in the ground (designboom) An 'otterly' good time: Ohio farm offers ‘world’s only’ yoga...

This week we're replaying our favorite shows about winged mammals. In this episode from April 2023, we visit two centuries-old libraries in Portugal where bat colonies actually offer some pretty useful service in protecting their extremely rare old volumes. Plus: there's a library in Washington state that collects unpublished manuscripts. These Portuguese Libraries Are Infested With Bats —...

This week we're replaying our favorite shows about winged mammals. In this episode from April 2022, research from Ohio State University finds bats can become close when they’re made to live together. Plus: in 1930, a BBC announcer came on the air to say “there is no news.” Like college roommates, vampire bats bond when randomly paired  (Ohio State University) #OnThisDay 1930: the BBC’s news an...

This week we're replaying our favorite shows about winged mammals. In this episode from November 2020, researchers at Johns Hopkins University say bats can essentially “hear” into the future to find food. Plus: when The MTV European Music Awards let fans vote on the internet for Best Act Ever, the internet Rickrolled music history. Hearing the Future (Johns Hopkins University) MTV EMAs name Ri...

This week we're replaying our favorite shows about winged mammals. In this episode from September 2021, research finds if you spend time with baby bats, you might hear them doing essentially the same babbling sounds that baby humans make. Plus: the YouTube channel Steadycraftin turns those orange into 3D printed robot figures. Baby Bats Babble Just Like Human Infants  (Treehugger) Turning Plas...

This week we're replaying our favorite shows about winged mammals. In this episode from June 2022, a study from Ohio State University finds bats can remember a ringtone for years if they associate the sound with food. Plus: a French company uses old face masks to make rulers and protractors for geometry class. A rare discovery of long-term memory in wild frog-eating bats  (Ohio State Universit...

A lot of people are out shopping today, so we'll look at the history of the unsung hero of all that fast and furious commerce, the bar code. Plus: If you’re in the community of Ariel, Washington, you might be marking DB Cooper Day. Scan here: Endowed professor delves into the history of the barcode (Clemson) A hijacker holiday in Washington (BBC) Scan yourself into our Patreon site as one of t...

Cranberry sauce is one of the most traditional Thanksgiving side dishes, but not in 1959. That was the year of what History.com has called the Great Cranberry Scare. Plus: years ago, the balloon wranglers at the big parade in New York used to just let them float free at the end of the event! How the Great Cranberry Scare of 1959 Set Off a Thanksgiving Panic (History.com) FREE-FLOATING NYC THANKSGI...

Today in 2021, the BBC reported on a winter storm that essentially trapped dozens of guests and an Oasis cover band for days at a Yorkshire inn… and they kind of loved it. Plus: a guy in France starts digging in his backyard and strikes gold. Actual gold. Storm Arwen: Customers set to spend third night at Britain's highest pub (BBC)  A Man Was Digging in His Backyard—and Found a Hidden Treasure Wo...

Today in 1992, the fast food chain Rax filed for bankruptcy, a few months after launching an ad campaign featuring the fast food world’s first smart-alecky, ironic and probably very depressed mascot. Plus: a contestant in the Miss Mundo Chile pageant performed an original death metal song, complete with roaring throat singing. The Short, Sad, Strange Life of Mr. Delicious (NathanRabin.com) Miss Ch...

Today in 1914, the birthday of Bessie Blount Griffin, physical therapist, inventor, forensic expert, writer, speaker.... the list goes on and on. Plus: a museum in Paris is auctioning off dozens of vehicles from popular movies and TV shows. BESSIE BLOUNT GRIFFIN (1914-2009) (Blackpast) Movie Car Museum Liquidating 50 Famous Vehicles at No Reserve (The Drive) Help move our show forward as a backer...

For years, we’ve been able to type on our devices just about anywhere we go. Now there’s a project that can let us type on just about any surface, not just on our phones or computers. Plus: tomorrow in Selma, North Carolina, it’s Santa's Groovy Disco Party.  New AR system turns common surfaces into high-precision keyboards for faster input (Interesting Engineering) Santa's Groovy Disco Par...

Today in 1866, the first US patent for the yo-yo. It’s a device that’s been around in some forms since ancient times, and there have even been a few occasions when it’s gone into space. Plus: starting tomorrow in Claremore, Oklahoma, it's Dickens on the Boulevard. Toys in space (UPI) Dickens on the Boulevard (TravelOK) Don’t let this show spin in place! Back us on Patreon today

Today in 1959, the premiere of the show we know today as Rocky and Bullwinkle. It was an extremely irreverent show, especially for its time… and that’s why one of its jokes ended up getting the producers in trouble. Plus: Chicago is celebrating 50 years of its famous film reviewing duo, Siskel and Ebert. Watch the Banned Bullwinkle Bumper That Had Kids Ripping Off TV Knobs & Parents Furious (M...

Peelware is a company selling paper plates that can be reused more than a dozen times. When you're done using it, peel off the top layer and today in 2115, the release of the Robert Rodriguez movie 100 Years. peelable layers of paper plates break down without additional waste as single-use dishware (designboom) 13 Completed Movies That Were Never Released (Screenrant) Our Patreon backers make...

For National Take A Hike Day, we look back at a time in the 1800s when huge crowds bought tickets to see people walk around in loops for days at a time. Plus: for National Homemade Bread Day, the story of the bakery that made an eight-foot-long loaf for "I Love Lucy." The strange 19th-Century sport that was cooler than football (BBC)  How Competitive Walking Captivated Georgian Britain (...

It's National Pickle Day! These briny cukes are versatile, and so is the word "pickle," even if some of the meanings of the word aren't very food related. Plus: there's a place in Utah that's famous for serving up pickle pie. Why Do We Say We're 'In a Pickle'? (HowStuffWorks) Utah Enjoys Its Pickles In A Sweet And Savory Slice Of Pie (Chowhound) It would be a really big dill if you backed our show...

Today in 1946, an airplane flying over Massachusetts gets snow to fall out of a cloud on demand. And that helped bring about the rise of artificial snow. Plus: today in 2023, Amber Harris of Tasmania has a very unusual reason for being late to work. Hacking The Weather To Make Man-Made Snow — In 1946 (GBH) The Olympics Have 100 Percent Fake Snow—Here’s the Science of How It Gets Made (Scientific A...

Spider webs are both works of art and extremely practical, and there’s new research that finds they’re even more practical than we’ve realized. Plus: in Tulsa, Oklahoma, there's a new art installation made from more than 45,000 guitar picks. Spiders weave secret alarm system through web zigzags for prey detection, study finds (Interesting Engineering) BOK reveals new art installation made with...

On this Veterans Day, the story of a young machine gunner with the 101st Airborne. His wounded friend asked for a drink and boy did he ever find one. Auburn soldier’s WWII experience became Bastogne legend (State Journal-Register)

This week in 1922, the birthday of Kurt Vonnegut. He wrote some of the most striking and acclaimed novels of the 20th Century, but before he became a literary giant, he tried his hand at something more small-scale: a board game. Plus: today in 2017, a fast food chain in Argentina decided to team up with its usual rival for a good cause. Kurt Vonnegut’s Lost Board Game Is Finally for Sale (Open Cul...