Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

This week we're replaying episodes that are anything but phoned in. For this episode from January 2021, the first transcontinental conference call had a very special guest on the line. Plus: a restaurant in Montreal has a menu that weighs the pros and cons of each dish. This 1915 conference call made history  (Computer World) Flashback 1914: Transcontinental Phone Line Finished  (Sound & V...

This week we're replaying episodes that are anything but phoned in. For this episode from July 2021, researchers found that for some Maasai herders in Tanzania, wrong number calls are an opportunity to get to know someone new. Plus: in 1294, a hermit monk chastised the cardinals of the Catholic Church for going years without choosing a new pope. So they promptly elected the monk. ‘Wrong number...

This week we're replaying episodes that are anything but phoned in. For this episode from November 2021, the first automatic dial network happened because of a business dispute between two undertakers. Plus: the story of John Baxter Taylor, Jr, the first Black American to win an Olympic gold medal. Almon B. Strowger: The undertaker who revolutionized telephone technology  (Spark Museum of Elec...

This week we're replaying episodes that are anything but phoned in. For this episode from October 2021, the story of how an Indianapolis utility physically moved its 11,000 ton, eight story central office to a different location, while people worked inside. Plus: the governor of Colorado announces (with tongue firmly in cheek) that his state is tied for the state with the fewest number of shar...

This week we're replaying episodes that are anything but phoned in. For this episode from April 2022, the story of several communities in Indiana that started their own wired telephone service, and the wire they used was plain old fence wire. Plus: Kansas City celebrates Fountain Day. Barb-Wire telephone line  (Insulators.info) Barbed Wire Telephone Lines Connected The Old Frontier  (Successfu...

Here in the US, we're getting ready for trick or treaters on this Halloween night. But in Scotland, kids go guising instead - because there, you can’t go door to door for candy without giving a bit of a show. Plus: a visit to a very creepy medical museum in Lexington, Kentucky. Halloween in Scotland (Historic UK) The Creepiest Museum In The Country Can Be Found Right Here In Kentucky (Only In...

A lot of us enjoy a good pretend-scare around this time of year.  But around this time in 1986, a school in California offered up a Halloween hoax that was a little too on the nose for the student body. Plus: a public library in Massachusetts has a ghost hunting kit that patrons can check out and use. School Prank--Pupils Told That War Has Started (Los Angeles Times) Ghost Hunting Kit Available at...

For National Cat Day, we have the story of how one of the biggest museums in the world once had to deal with a large collection of feral cats. Though of course the museum wasn't the only workplace in the UK that had cats in important places. The British Museum podcast: The purrrplexing story of the British Museum cats (British Museum) Bureaucats: The felines with official positions (BBC) Help...

Today in 1978, the premiere of the TV movie “KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park. It was meant to be a big moment for the band, but that's not quite how it worked out. Plus: today in 1933, a newsreel announced that to stop traffic jams in Bronxville, New York, police would enforce a three-second limit on kisses at the train station. KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park (BradyCarlson.com)  Kiss Ge...

New York City's subway system is, of course, mostly underground, but some of the equipment that isn't is hiding in plain sight. Like an equipment room that’s disguised as a brownstone in Brooklyn Heights. Plus: Austria could someday have electric towers designed to look like some of its signature animals. A Fake Brownstone in Brooklyn Hides a Secret Subway Ventilator (Untapped New York)  ...

In the Great Depression, people had to get creative to handle the many economic challenges that were coming their way.  Like how Pismo Beach, California found a good stand-in for regular currency: clamshells. Plus: three black bears at a zoo in California get a visit from a wild black bear. Clamshell Currency (Hakai Magazine) When Seashells Were Money (Messy Nessy Chic)  'Polite Visitor:'...

Ahead of National Hug a Sheep Day on Saturday, the story of a special treat that farmers in Wales used to make: Sheep-Shearing Cake. Plus: this Saturday in Claremore, Oklahoma, it’s the Route 66 Pecan & Music Festival.  Welsh Shearing Cake or Cacen Gneifo (Daffodil Kitchen) Route 66 Pecan & Music Festival   It would be shear perfection (pun intended) if you backed our show today on Patreon

It's National Color Day, so we have the story of how "jet black" became a phrase for a deep, dark black hue (and it isn't because of the jets that fly us around). Plus: today in 1973, the birthday of Ichiro Suzuki, a guy who kept his dog off the sports page for a very unusual reason. A forgotten gemstone that reigned during the Victorian era comes back into focus (CNN) Being Ichiro (New York Times...

Today in 1797, the launch of the USS Constitution , the oldest active duty ship in the US Navy’s fleet. And for the last half century or so, a part of keeping “Old Ironsides” in operation is a special US Navy forest. Plus: for National Teen Driver Safety Week, the story of a driver in South Korea who needed a lot of persistence to pass her driving test. The “Wooden Walls” of USS Constitution (USS...

Today in 1965, there was an unusual visitor high atop New York’s famous Empire State Building: a Ford Mustang. And it took some doing to get it up there. Plus: at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, this is Raisin Monday, which includes a big shaving cream fight on campus. 1965 Ford Mustang Empire State Building Stunt (Motor Trend) No place like foam (University of St. Andrews) Drive on ove...

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite episodes on the ice. In this episode from May 2024, linguistic research suggests that American hockey players sometimes start to sound more like Canadians as their hockey careers continue. Plus: The Atlantic Road uses seven bridges to connect a bunch of islands in Norway together, giving people the chance to drive right along the ocean. How do you pro...

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite episodes on the ice. In this episode from January 2020, we celebrate the Zamboni, and the guy who both invented it and gave the machine its name. Plus: the U.P. Supply Co. calculates out just what it would take to give the Zamboni treatment to the greatest of the great lakes, Lake Superior. Making Ice Nice Since 1949: A Brief History of the Zamboni (M...

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite episodes on the ice. In this episode from April 2023, a look at underwater hockey, where six swimmers on each side work to keep a 3 pound puck from ending up in their team’s underwater goal. Plus: Japan has an annual holiday known as Queen Day, as in the rock band fronted by Freddie Mercury. Deep dive into the world of underwater hockey  (ESPN) The Pa...

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite episodes on the ice. In this episode from January 2020, the story of Eddie Shore, a hockey player who just wasn’t going to miss his game. Plus: a company in Texas lets customers control a Chieftain MKG tank (just for a while though). How Eddie Shore’s Legendary Toughness Extended Off The Ice (The Hockey News) You Can Crush Cars While Driving A Tank At...

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite episodes on the ice. In this episode from December 2020, a look back at a game in 1953 in which two teams racked up a then-record 204 penalty minutes. In a game that’s officially 60 minutes long. Plus: a guitarist in Japan posts a video where he’s playing a fast bluesy riff, with a blue and white parakeet on his left hand. This Day in Hockey History –...

Autonomous vehicles have high-tech systems to see “see” what’s around them on the roads. A project in Germany asks if these cars also need to be listening to what’s around them too. Plus: today in Oklahoma, it’s the Watonga Cheese & Wine Festival. “Hearing Car” Detects Sounds for Safer Driving  AI and microphones are helping vehicles detect unseen hazards (IEEE Spectrum) Watonga Cheese Festiva...

As a Halloween week prank in 1998, DJs in Tennessee said people had to exchange their old $20 bills for the new ones, or they would become worthless. And some people ended up rushing to the bank. Plus: starting tomorrow in Kansas, it’s the Lenexa Chili Challenge. Banks boo $20-bill radio hoax (The Tennesseean via Newspapers.com)  Lenexa Chili Challenge   Back us on Patreon with a few dollars a mon...

For World Octopus Day, the story of Otto, who proved that not only is an octopus clever, it can be a little too clever. Plus: starting today in Westfield, New Jersey, it’s AddamsFest. The Story Of An Octopus Named Otto (NPR) AddamsFest   If you’re a human, back our show on Patreon - if you’re an octopus, carry on doing your mischief

It's National Cookbook Month, and sometimes a cookbook is more than a set of recipes: it’s a window into a culture. Like a cookbook the USSR published that revealed what the ruling class wanted people to think of their country, even if that wasn’t anywhere near the reality. Plus: today in 1957, a newspaper article proclaimed “it’s raining coins!” The great Stalinist bake off: Russia's kitc...

Today in 1927, the release of The Jazz Singer, the first "talkie," though in Japan even silent films had voices thanks to live performers known as benshi. Plus: this month at Peddlers Village in Pennsylvania, it’s Scarecrows in the Village. Think Again, Al Jolson: Japan’s Silent Movie Culture Is Still Going Strong (Peter Tasker) Scarecrows in the Village (Peddlers Village) Speak up for o...