Shows
Cool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonFashion Week: The Fabric With A Built-In Cooling SystemWe’re replaying some of our favorite shows about clothes and the people who wear them. In this episode from August 2020, a research team in China invents a fabric that can transfer heat away from us and back into the surrounding air. Plus: for National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, the story of the biggest chocolate chip cookie of all time. New fabric could help keep you cool in the summer, even without A/C (Science Daily)Largest biscuit / cookie (Guinness World Records)Nobody’s cooler than the Cool Weird Awesome backers on Patreon2025-06-2602 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonFashion Week: The Plastic Bags Of Today Could Be The Fashionable Fabric Of TomorrowWe’re replaying some of our favorite shows about clothes and the people who wear them. In this episode from July 2021, a multi-country research project thinks old plastic bags might be useful to the fashion industry. Plus: Many of us spend a lot of our waking hours typing, but James Cook turns his typing into art. Plastic Bags Could Be Recycled Into Wearable Fabrics, Says New Research (Designboom)This Artist Draws Using Only Letters and Numbers on Old Typewriters (The Sifter)Help make this podcast even more fashionable as a backer on Patreon!2025-06-2502 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonFashion Week: Bioprinting Clothes (And More) Out Of AlgaeWe’re replaying some of our favorite shows about clothes and the people who wear them. In this episode from May 2021, a research team at the University of Rochester and the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands makes some big advancements in bioprinting, which is 3D printing with living materials. Plus: a pro golfer and a race car driver set a world record for longest golf drive into a moving vehicle. Will your future clothes be made of algae? (University of Rochester)Watch a Pro Golfer Land a Golf Ball Into a Moving BMW M8...2025-06-2403 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonFashion Week: The First Top Hat Got Its Inventor ArrestedWe’re replaying some of our favorite shows about clothes and the people who wear them. In this episode from January 2021, the story of the debut of the top hat, and what a debut it was. Plus: the time in 1974 that a team at MIT built a 35 pound yo-yo and dropped it from a 21 story building. History of the Top Hat (International Formalwear Association via Archive.org)James H. Williams, Jr. and the world’s largest yo-yo, 1974 (MIT Black History)Hats or not, we think our Patreon backers are tops2025-06-2303 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonMonkeys Follow Some Of The Same Economic Principles As Humans DoToday in 2005, the release of a study that found something interesting: monkeys appeared to have some of the same economic ideas that humans have, especially when it comes to something known as loss aversion. Plus: tomorrow in Illinois, it's the Great Galena Balloon Race. Humans Rational and Irrational Buying Behavior Is Mirrored in Monkeys (Yale University)Great Galena Balloon Race (Enjoy Illinois)When you back this show on Patreon, everybody gains and nobody loses2025-06-2003 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonHow The Juneteenth Holiday Spread From Galveston, To Texas, To The Whole United StatesHolidays don't just show up; people make them happen. Here's the story of how a commemoration of a key moment in ending the institution of slavery eventually became a national holiday across the United States. Former State Rep. Al Edwards, Who Helped Make Juneteenth A State Holiday, Dies At 83 (Houston Public Media)How 97-Year-Old Activist Opal Lee Became the “Grandmother of Juneteenth” (Biography)2025-06-1903 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonThe Vatican Once Sang The Praises Of The Blues BrothersThis week in 2010, a classic movie gets a shout-out from a very unusual place: the Vatican was repping The Blues Brothers. Plus: starting tomorrow in Ingliston, Edinburgh, Scotland, it's the Royal Highland Show. Vatican beatifies Blues Brothers ... well almost (Reuters)World Highland ShowYou on the motorcycle! You two girls! Tell your friends! Back this show on Patreon!2025-06-1803 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonTo Get Kids To Eat Their Veggies, A Company Sold A Line Called “I Hate Peas”For National Eat Your Vegetables Day, the story of the time a company tried to get kids to eat French fry-shaped versions of dinner table vegetables, but with a name that may not have done them any favors. Plus: this weekend in Washington state, it's Sumner's Rhubarb Days Festival. Funky Fries and other foods that flopped (CNN)Rhubarb Days 2025 If you love this show as much as kids don’t love certain veggies, then back us on Patreon today2025-06-1703 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonCracker Jack Originally Came With More Peanuts And No PrizesToday in 1893, the invention of the beloved snack Cracker Jack, though there was a time when its signature sweet blend of peanuts and popcorn was considerably different, and the prizes were nowhere to be found. Plus: today in 2006, the end to a more than a century-long war, one that was only ever on paper. 14 Classic Facts About Cracker Jack (Mental Floss)Montenegro, Japan to declare truce (UPI)Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, Patreon’s the site where our show you can back2025-06-1603 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonThe Man Versus Horse Marathon Is Pretty Much What The Name SuggestsTomorrow in Wales, a race where there are human runners and horses with riders on the same course, trying to get to the finish line ahead of each other. And it all started with an argument in a pub. Plus: starting tomorrow in Brooten, Minnesota, it’s Redhead Creamery Curd Fest. 44th MAN VERSUS HORSE Redhead Creamery Curd Fest Race on over to our Patreon page so you can back this show2025-06-1303 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonEasy Listening Emerged From When Radio Programmers Tried To Target WomenToday in 1971 that the magazine Record World published an article about a new and very chill radio format that was the precursor of Easy Listening. Plus: this Saturday in New York City, it’s Pigeon Fest. Music Only for a Woman: The Birth of Easy Listening (JSTOR)Pigeon Fest Help keep this show chill as a backer on Patreon2025-06-1203 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonThe Centuries-Long Quest To Choose A Punctuation Mark For Irony And SarcasmToday in 1841, a newspaper publisher from Belgium put out an article that included a mark he called “un point d’ironie.” The history of punctuation is full of efforts to choose a mark that would make it clear to readers when the writer is being ironic or sarcastic. Plus: a couple in Sweden finds a way to make their home more eco-friendly while keeping them warm during the country's very cold winters. Can irony really be conveyed with punctuation? (Christian Science Monitor)Swedish Family Encloses Entire Home in Greenhouse Glass to Create Year-Round Warmth (My Modern...2025-06-1103 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonThe US Once Had A National Raisin ReserveToday in 2013, the US Supreme Court issued a ruling that put an end to something called the National Raisin Reserve. Here's why the US used to have a massive government stockpile of raisins. Plus: Memoria is a concept for a device for people with Alzheimer’s disease, prompting patients with information they might be trying to remember or use at that moment. One grower’s grapes of wrath (Washington Post via Archive.org)memoria home medical device and necklace help people with alzheimer's remember (designboom)Grow our show as a backer on Patreon2025-06-1003 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonDon Ritchie, “The Angel of the Gap”Today in 1926, the birthday of Don Ritchie, a man who helped hundreds of people in the most difficult moments of their lives and helped them find ways to carry on. (If today's topic is uncomfortable for you, no worries, we'll talk with you again tomorrow.) Plus: now underway in Michigan, it's the Mackinac Island Lilac Festival. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide or a mental health crisis, there is help available right now from the National Suicide Crisis Lifeline at 988An angel walking among us at The Gap (Sydney Morning...2025-06-0903 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonAs The Allies Stormed The Beaches On D-Day, Bill Millin Played The BagpipesToday in 1944, D-Day, the largest invasion force ever. There were hundreds of thousands of troops, tens of thousands of vehicles, over 100,000 tons of equipment, and at least one guy playing bagpipes. Plus: today in Franklin, Indiana, it’s the Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival. Bill Millin (The Economist via Archive.org) Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival Make some noise on behalf of our podcast as a backer on Patreon2025-06-0603 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonWhen Teenager Michael Chang Beat The World’s Top Tennis Player At The French OpenOn any given day, anybody can defeat anybody else. Today in 1989, a not very well known American tennis player proved it with an upset for the ages against one of the top names in the sport. Plus: starting Saturday in Lincoln, Nebraska, it’s the Flatland Juggling Festival. How Michael Chang defeated Ivan Lendl at the French Open in 1989 (The Guardian)Flatland Juggling FestivalWant more stories about great upsets? Back our little show on Patreon today2025-06-0503 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonTyromancy Is The Practice Of Fortune Telling Through CheeseIt's National Cheese Day, and while cheese is one of the world’s most influential foods, that's not the whole story. Some people claim that they can tell the future through cheese. Plus: for athletes who get tired just thinking about triathlons now have a race of their own: the Nice Tri. The Un-Brie-Lievable History of Tyromancy (Saveur)The Nice Tri It would be really Gouda to back our show on Patreon2025-06-0403 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonLiving Wall Coatings Could Make City Buildings GreenerResearchers in Austria and Slovenia have been developing a set of living surfaces to apply to the sides of buildings, that can filter pollutants and capture carbon from the air, and maybe even repair cracks to the buildings' exteriors. Plus: this Friday in Indiana, it’s the Strawberry Festival in downtown Kokomo. Living tattoos for buildings could turn city walls into pollution-fighting surfaces (Interesting Engineering)Strawberry Festival in downtown Kokomo!Help build up our show as a backer on Patreon 2025-06-0303 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonThe ReefRanger Is A Robot That Could Help Restore Coral ReefsA lot of people are trying to do something to help coral reefs these days. Now, those people can some help themselves from a robot. Plus: Texas-based artist Montrel Beverly is winning lots of attention for eye-catching recreations of famous artworks made of pipe cleaners. Robots that can climb trees or restore coral reefs (ETH Zurich)Montrel Beverly recreates the biblical and art history with pipe cleaners (It’s Nice That)We get help on this show from our backers on Patreon, join them today2025-06-0203 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonHome Sweet Home Week: There’s A House In The Middle Of France’s Loire RiverThis week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about houses and the people who live in them. In this episode from September 2022, La maison dans la Loire, or “The House In The Loire,” which was a house built for an art installation. Plus: Baltimore is home to the Big Dill, otherwise known as the “World’s Largest Pickle Party.”The Famous House in the Middle of the Loire River (Oddity Central)The Big Dill Our Patreon backers keep this show from getting all wet2025-05-3002 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonHome Sweet Home Week: In The 60s, There Was A Plan To Make Houses Out Of Heineken BottlesThis week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about houses and the people who live in them. In this episode from April 2022, beer magnate Alfred Heineken and architect John Habraken designed a house that could be built out of used Heineken bottles. Plus: it’s beer day every day at a spot in Taunton, Massachusetts. 100,000 Bottles of Beer in the Wall (Cabinet Magazine)Did Alfred Heineken Invent Bottle To Function as a Brick To Build Houses? (Snopes)Beer Can Museum & Beer Can Hall of FameWe raise a glass to our...2025-05-2903 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonHome Sweet Home Week: The Spite House, An Elegant, Expensive Way To Get Back At SomebodyThis week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about houses and the people who live in them. In this episode from September 2021, a look at spite houses, structures that have been built to block other coveted views or for maybe even more ice cold reasons. Plus: an interesting fact about Michelangelo's David. Five Spite Houses in New England (Boston Magazine)10 Fun Facts About Michelangelo’s David (The Florence Insider)Our Patreon backers help us build new episodes, but out of love, not spite 2025-05-2802 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonHome Sweet Home Week: A Guy In Massachusetts Made Pretty Much His Whole House Out Of Old NewspapersThis week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about houses and the people who live in them. In this episode from June 2022, the story of a guy in Rockport, Massachusetts who made almost an entire house out of old newspapers. Plus: a visit to the Mentone Egg Festival in northern Indiana. The Paper House—made of 100,000 newspapers—has a working fireplace, electricity, and running water (Roadtrippers)Mentone Egg Festival (Visit Indiana)Our Patreon backers always come first2025-05-2702 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonHome Sweet Home Week: They Built A Real-Life Simpsons House In NevadaThis week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about houses and the people who live in them. In this episode from December 2019, the story of the full-size, three-dimensional replica of the old Simpson place in Henderson, Nevada. Plus: the closest real-life community to the Simpsons' hometown, Springfield, may not be a Springfield at all. Duff beers, colorful walls and THAT saggy couch: Inside the real-life Simpsons house that was built as a competition prize in the 1990s … but the winner decided to take the money instead! (Daily Mail)25 things you never knew about The Si...2025-05-2603 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonLeonard Nimoy Once Drove The Bangles Around In A Music VideoToday in 1984, the release of The Bangles' debut album, All Over The Place. For one of the videos to promote that album, these 80s icons got a little help from an icon from the 60s. Plus: starting today in Louisiana, it’s the Gonzales Jambalaya Festival. Leonard Nimoy drove the Bangles to video stardom (Albany Park Press)Gonzales Jambalaya Festival You can help drive this show forward as a backer on Patreon2025-05-2303 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonWhen Mailman Floyd Martin Retired, The People On His Route Gave Him A Big SendoffToday in 2019, a community in suburban Atlanta wanted to show its appreciation for mailman Floyd Martin, who had been a daily part of their lives for more than three decades. Plus: starting today in Springfield, Illinois, it’s the International Carillon Festival. When their mailman retired, the neighbors along his route threw him one heck of a goodbye party (CNN)63rd Annual International Carillon Festival (Visit Springfield) Help us share more good news as a backer on Patreon2025-05-2203 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonBetty Crocker May Not Be A Real Person, But She’s Been A Real Help To Bakers For YearsWe're a few days out from World Baking Day, so here's the story of a woman who’s helped people find their way around the kitchen for more than a century… even though she isn’t a real person. Plus: starting tomorrow in Jeffersonville, Indiana, it’s Abbey Road on the River. Who Was Betty Crocker? (PBS)Abbey Road on the River You can be a helper to our show as a backer on Patreon2025-05-2103 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonHow The Streisand Effect Makes The Information People Want Hidden More PopularToday in 2003, the filing of a lawsuit that led to a fascinating and significant phenomenon here in the Information Age: it’s known as the Streisand Effect. Plus: for World Bee Day, the story of a 2014 art project created in part by bees! Streisand files $50 million lawsuit over aerial photos (SFGate)Artist Aganetha Dyck Collaborates with Bees to Create Sculptures Wrapped in Honeycomb (Colossal)Back this show on Patreon for just $1 a month, or $50 million if you’d prefer2025-05-2003 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonOhio Was The 17th State, And Also Kind Of The 48thToday in 1953, Ohio became a state... which was weird because Ohio had already been a state for a century and a half. Technicalities can be that way. Plus: for National Pizza Party Day, the story of a guy in Nashville who used social media to connect people in need with donors willing to send a little pizza their way. Ohio: The 48th State? (Ohio History Connection)Nashville man helps hundreds of people in need get a free pizza every week (NewsChannel 5 Nashville)Help keep sending our show out to every state in the...2025-05-1903 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonCalvin Coolidge’s Family Kept Their Pet “William Johnson Hippopotamus” At The National ZooThis month in 1927, Americans were fawning over an animal at the National Zoo in Washington: a presidential hippo named Billy. Plus: starting today in Elizabeth City, it’s the North Carolina Potato Festival. The Presidential Hippopotamus at the National Zoo (WETA) North Carolina Potato Festival Want more shows about famous zoo animals? Back our show on Patreon today2025-05-1603 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonWilliamina Fleming, The Onetime Maid Who Became A Legendary AstronomerToday in 1857, the birthday of Williamina Fleming, a big name in the world of astronomy but one who had a pretty low-profile start. Plus: starting tomorrow in Illinois, it’s the Long Grove Chocolate Festival. Williamina Fleming, From Scottish Maid to Harvard Astronomer (New England Historical Society)Long Grove Chocolate Festival Help this show shine as a backer on Patreon2025-05-1503 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonStop Signs Used To Be YellowThere may be no more important part of road safety than the bright red stop sign, though in the early days, they weren’t red. Plus: Leonardo the tortoise went missing from his home in England; after nine months, he didn't exactly get that far. Stop Signs Used to Be Yellow—More Recently Than You Think (Readers Digest)Tortoise missing for months found a mile from home (BBC)Make a stop at our Patreon page and back this show today2025-05-1403 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonThe Real-Life Kid Who Inspired Ezra Jack Keats’ “The Snowy Day”Today in 1940, Life Magazine published a series of photos of a little boy in Liberty County, Georgia - photos that, two decades later, would inspire one of the most famous picture books ever published. Plus: this Saturday in South Bend, Indiana, it’s the Donut & Beer Festival. The Enduring Footprints of Peter, Ezra Jack Keats, and The Snowy Day (The Horn Book)Donut & Beer Festival Help inspire our future stories as a backer on Patreon2025-05-1303 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonThe Strange Story Of Ireland’s Worst Driver EverIt's United Nations Global Road Safety Week, so here's the story of a driver in Ireland who seemed to be breaking every traffic law on the books... until the authorities figured out there was something more to their story. Plus: underway this week in Washington state, it’s the Spokane Lilac Festival. Dictionary helps crack case of notorious Polish serial offender (Irish Times)Spokane Lilac Festival (Visit Spokane)Drive on over to our Patreon page and back this show today2025-05-1203 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson“Pomp And Circumstance,” A Graduation Musical Tradition, Was Not Written For GraduationsCommencement season is here, which means a lot of people hearing a composition known as “Pomp and Circumstance.” Though that piece of music was not written with graduation in mind. Plus: today in 2023, a herd of cows help catch a guy who'd fled a traffic stop (!) The Beautiful Irony of Pomp and Circumstance (WCRB)After man flees traffic stop, cows lead officers "directly to where the suspect was hiding," North Carolina police say (CBS News)Backing this show on Patreon would be a nice gift for a new graduate, just saying2025-05-0903 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonOatman, Arizona, The Gold Rush Town That’s Now Home To Wild DonkeysIt’s World Donkey Day, so we're visiting an Arizona ghost town that's visited by a nearby colony of wild donkeys. Plus: in 2018 a donkey sanctuary in Ontario started giving its donkeys pants! How one town became infested with donkeys (ABC 10)Dapper donkeys: sanctuary fights flies with tailored trousers (CTV News)Want more donkey episodes like this? Back our show on Patreon2025-05-0803 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonWe Could Run Our Smart Speakers By Writing Into The AirSmart speakers can be really useful, but only if you have a voice to activate them. A new device called Scribe could help nonverbal users with their smart systems by letting them "write" commands into the air. Plus: RoboCake is, you guessed it, a robotic wedding cake featuring a series of dancing gummy bears. An Alternative to Speech: Writing in the Air With ‘Sonic Ink’ (University of Maryland)robotic wedding cake with dancing gummy bears moves using edible rechargeable batteries (designboom)Tell your smart speaker to play our podcast, and then back the podc...2025-05-0703 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonThe Only Guy Who Ever Broke Into The Bank Of England’s Vault Of GoldThanks to loads of security measures, no one has ever robbed the Bank of England. But if you ask whether anyone’s broken into the bank's famous gold vaults, the answer is a little more complicated. Plus: the English town of Burslem is about to dedicate a statue of a local rocker made good, Motorhead frontman Lemmy. Has any gold ever been stolen from the Bank of England? (Bank of England)Lemmy Forever Stoke-on-Trent statue unveiling ceremony and festivities announced (RadioX)Backing our show on Patreon is golden2025-05-0603 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonChimps Apparently Like To Get Together For DrinksMany people like to get together from time to time for adult beverages. New research finds chimpanzees apparently also gather to imbibe and share alcohol. Plus: trading card fans in Japan are enjoying cards that feature... middle aged guys doing their everyday jobs and hobbies? New Study Suggests Chimpanzees May Enjoy “Social Drinking” Just Like Humans (My Modern Met)Middle-aged men are the new Pokémon and we’re here for it (Collector Club)Let’s gather together over at our Patreon page and toast the success of this show2025-05-0503 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonMap Week: Every Six Months This Island Switches CountriesThis week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about maps and geography. In this episode from July 2020, the story of Pheasant Island, which is administered by several sovereign powers but not simultaneously. Spain and France take turns with it. Plus: auto racing fans in Lublin, Poland found a way to root for their favorite drivers while still social distancing during COVID. The island that switches countries every six months (BBC)Fans Rent Cranes to Watch Car Race from Outside Arena During Pandemic (Oddity Central)Start your weekend off right as a Cool We...2025-05-0203 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonMap Week: Canada Was Almost Named “Borealia”This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about maps and geography. In this episode from July 2020, the story of how Canada got its name, and a few of the country's most interesting alternates. Plus: several Canadian Tire stores in Ontario had to briefly shut down because a glitch made every item the workers scanned show up in the computer as a Mr. Potato Head toy. What Canada was ALMOST named (CBC Kids)Canadian Tire in Lindsay temporarily closed after every item scanned comes up as “Mr Potato Head” (Kawartha411)Join us as a b...2025-05-0103 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonMap Week: How To Find Where You Are In Just Three WordsThis week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about maps and geography. In this episode from August 2019, the app what3words breaks down all the spaces on earth into 3 meter by 3 meter squares and assigns each of those squares a unique set of three words, giving us a new way to pinpoint our locations. Plus: Athens, Wisconsin is home to the center point of the northern half of the western hemisphere. This Smartphone App Can Save Your Life with Just 3 Words (Interesting Engineering)45 X 90 Geographical Marker (Atlas Obscura)Back Cool Weird Awesome...2025-04-3003 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonMap Week: Earth Has Five Oceans Now, But Also Just One Ocean, It’s ComplicatedThis week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about maps and geography. In this episode from June 2021, a look at when the geographic powers that be recognized the Southern Ocean as its own entity, and also where the word "ocean" comes from. Plus: a South Korean designer develops a wearable “third eye” that watches for and warns you about any obstacles in your way so you can keep looking at your phone while walking, How many oceans are there? (NOAA)Dividing the Ocean Sea by Martin W. Lewis (Geographical Review via JSTOR)Nation...2025-04-2903 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonMap Week: Point No Point And Other Amazing, Actual PlacesThis week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about maps and geography. In this episode from July 2019, a look at Sad Topographies, a site that collects the most bummed-out place names on the map. Plus: If places with depressing names aren’t your thing, we've got an upbeat event: the annual World Santa Claus Congress in Denmark. 21 Of The Saddest Places On Earth From Instagram’s sadtopographies (Brilliant Maps)Shades of Death Road (Weird NJ)Washington State’s bummer place names, mapped (Curbed Seattle)World Santa Claus CongressFeelin...2025-04-2802 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonElla Fitzgerald And Marilyn Monroe Were Kind Of Besties For A WhileToday in 1917, the birthday of Ella Fitzgerald, a towering figure in jazz, a legendary voice, a star among stars… especially when she became pals with movie icon Marilyn Monroe. Plus: starting today in Georgia, it’s the Thomasville Rose Show and Festival. Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe: Inside Their Surprising Friendship (Biography)THOMASVILLE ROSE SHOW & FESTIVAL Be a star and back this podcast on Patreon2025-04-2503 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonA Political Dispute In Washington State Led To A Weird Race Between The Governor And Lieutenant GovernorAround this time in 1938, Washington state politics got really, really weird, when the Governor and Lieutenant Governor raced to return to the state to block each other. Plus: starting tomorrow in Houston, the World Coffee Roasting Championship. Meyers, Victor A. (1897-1991) (HistoryLink)2025 World Coffee Championships Race on over to our Patreon page and help support this show2025-04-2403 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonWhen Key West Left The US To Become The Conch RepublicToday in 1982, Key West, Florida, decided it was time to do its own thing, declaring independence from the United States and forming its own country. We'll explain why. Plus: this week in Indiana, the Orleans Dogwood Festival continues. The Founding of the Conch Republic (ConchRepublic.com)Orleans Dogwood Festival What do you say we be independent together? Back our show on Patreon today2025-04-2303 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonPlanet Earth Got Its Name From The Earth Beneath UsHappy Earth Day. Our planet is the only one in our solar system not named for a Greek or Roman god. At the risk of sounding flip, the name Earth comes from… earth. Plus: this weekend in North Carolina, it’s the Asheville Bread Festival. Why is Earth called 'Earth'? (BBC Sky At Night) Asheville Bread Festival We invite all Earthlings to back this show on our Patreon page2025-04-2203 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonQueen Elizabeth II Wrote A Letter To Sydney, Australia That Won’t Be Opened Until 2085Today in 1926, the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning queen on record, and one that left a letter that she said shouldn’t be opened until the year 2085. Plus: for National Tea Day in the UK, a visit to the world’s largest collection of teapots (which is not in the UK).The Queen Left Behind A Secret Letter That Cannot Be Opened Until 2085 (Elle)The World’s Largest Collection Of Teapots Can Be Found At The Trenton Teapot Museum In Tennessee (Only In Tennessee)Drop us a line on our Patreon...2025-04-2103 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonA Town In Northern Japan Says It’s Home To The “Tomb Of Christ”There’s a town in northern Japan that bills itself as the actual hometown of Jesus, and points visitors to a place named the tomb or grave of Christ. Not the Easter story most of us have heard. Plus: just outside the Austrian town of Gmünd, there’s a divided chapel, with parts on both sides of a road. Weird Legend of Jesus in Japan (ABC News)The Divided Church of Gmünd (Amusing Planet)Wherever you call home, you can support this show on Patreon2025-04-1803 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonIn Sweden And Finland, The Thursday Before Easter Is The Time For Trick-Or-Treating WitchesWe're just a few days away from Easter for many people around the world. For kids in Finland and Sweden, the Thursday before Easter is itself a pretty important time: it’s when they turn themselves into witches. Plus: today in 1967 was the last episode of the sitcom Gilligan’s Island. So we've got a story about a time the TV audience of the 60s stood up for the Skipper and his little buddy. Easter in Sweden comes in many shapes and forms. But there's no getting around the eggs (or the witches). (Sweden.se)Littl...2025-04-1703 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonOn The Micronesian Island Of Yap, Huge Stone Discs Are Used As MoneyThis is Money Smart Week, so we're going to look at what exactly money is and what it means, by looking at a kind of money on a Pacific island made out of huge stones. Plus: a shopping plaza in Greenfield, Massachusetts includes an ATM nestled inside a large fiberglass tree. The Island Of Stone Money (NPR)WOW: You Can Get Money Out of a Tree in This Massachusetts Town (WSBS)It only takes a little money on Patreon to make a big difference for this show2025-04-1603 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonA Museum In Virginia Is Home To A Ham From 1902It's National Ham Day, so we've got the story of a ham in Smithfield, Virginia that’s stood the test of time for over 120 years. Plus: if you build the LEGO Colosseum set, and you have a cat, that set could quickly turn into a cat bed. Isle of Wight Museum adds a new historic ham to the collection (WTKR) LEGO’s Colosseum Becomes a Regal Nap Spot for Cats Everywhere (My Modern Met)Help our show get old, tough and leathery when you back it on Patreon2025-04-1503 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonDon Calhoun, The Fan Who Hit The Chicago Bulls’ “Million Dollar Shot”Lots of teams have fans try really difficult challenges to win big prizes. Nearly all of them fail, but today in 1993, a guy in Chicago stepped onto the Bulls' home court for a million dollar shot… and made it. Plus: today in 1983, the release of “Murmur,” the first full album by rock greats R.E.M. And during the making of that record, a member of the band helped a very different recording project happen. The $1 million shot that changed sports contests forever (ESPN)R.E.M. Share Memories Of Debut Album Murmur Released 40 Years Ago To...2025-04-1403 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonAmerica’s Oldest Board Game Was A Road Trip Through The Early USIt's National Board Game Day, so we’re going back in time to the very first board game in US history. Though explaining which game was the very first is slightly complicated. Plus: opening tomorrow in Kansas City, it’s the Museum of BBQ. What America’s first board game can teach us about the aspirations of a young nation (The Conversation)Museum of BBQRoll on over to our Patreon page and back this show today2025-04-1103 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonWalter Hunt Invented The Modern Safety Pin To Pay Off A $15 DebtToday in 1849, the US issued a patent for one of the smallest big ideas of the century: the safety pin. And a big factor behind that little invention was paying off a big debt. Plus: today in 1921, the birthday of Robert Wade, a chess master who once proved that even top notch players can have a bad day. Three Millennia of Safety Pins (The Atlantic)Worst chess defeat (Generalist Academy)Pin yourself to our Patreon page so you can support our show2025-04-1003 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonPennsylvania Once Tried To Make It A Crime To Mock The Governor In Editorial CartoonsToday in 1843, the birthday of Samuel W. Pennypacker. When he was governor of Pennsylvania his supporters tried to make certain types of editorial cartoons a crime (!) Plus: today in 1942, a funeral for John Pecinovsky, known as “the Half-and-Half Man,” because he would wear clothes that were white on one side and black on the other. When Cartoonists Were Criminals (Historical Society of Pennsylvania) John Pecinovsky, the Half-and-Half Man (Weird Universe) Feel free to make a cartoonishly large donation to our show on Patreon2025-04-0903 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonThe Physiophone Turned Music Into Physical Sensations For Deaf People To Enjoy, And Dance ToThis month in 1920, the magazine Electrical Experimenter featured the physiophone. It was a Hugo Gernsback invention that turned sound into electrical impulses, so Deaf people could feel the music. Plus: for National Library Week, a visit to the central library in Kansas City, where the building itself looks like a bookshelf. This Invention From the Grandfather of Science Fiction Was Promoted as Music For the Deaf (Paleofuture)Here’s The Story Behind the Kansas City Public Library’s Giant Community Bookshelf (Kansas City Library)Feeling inventive? Drop by our Patreon site and create a do...2025-04-0803 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonBeavers Build Dams That Can Last Centuries, Maybe Even MillenniaHappy International Beaver Day! These toothy, flat-tailed rodents are some of the greatest builders on earth, and, as some scientific research has shown us, they build for the long term. Plus: for National Beer Day, the story of a beer receipt from ancient Mesopotamia. Beaver Dams Can Last Centuries, 1868 Map Shows (Treehugger)The Oldest Beer Receipt (Circa 2050 BC) (Open Culture)Build this show for the long term as a backer on Patreon2025-04-0703 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonSome Spiders In Loud Areas Soundproof Their WebsSpiders know what it's like to get distracted by excess noise. A new scientific paper finds certain arachnids in louder environments build their webs differently than those where it’s quiet. Plus: a film archive intern comes across a silent movie that researchers had long thought was lost to history. Getting Annoyed at Your Noisy Neighbor? Spiders Are, Too. New Research Finds They’ll Build Webs Differently in Loud Conditions (Smithsonian)Long-Lost Silent Film About Abraham Lincoln Discovered by an Intern (My Modern Met)Use the web to visit our Patreon page and...2025-04-0403 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonTo Protect Riders, This 3D Printed Bike Helmet Contracts During A CollisionBike helmets have been more or less the same for many years, but there’s a new effort to make safer and more responsive headgear with 3D printing. Plus: for National Burrito Day, the story of the first restaurant to put the breakfast burrito on its menu. Safer bike helmet with new design of material (University of Gothenburg) The Breakfast Burrito Was Invented At This Restaurant In New Mexico In The 1970s (Only In New Mexico)Ride on over to our Patreon page and support the show2025-04-0303 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonScientists Sent A Diaper-Wearing Ferret Named Felicia Through A Particle AcceleratorIt's National Ferret Day, so here’s the story of a ferret named Felicia who contributed to the field of physics as a kind of living pipe cleaner for some heavy-duty equipment. Plus: the Instagram account known as Chair of Virtue showcases and celebrates some of the wildest chair designs in the world. Felicia Ferret (Fermilab History and Archives Project via Archive.org) Bizarre True Story: Physicists Once Put a Ferret in a Particle Accelerator (Science Alert)Take a seat! This online magazine is dedicated to the wackiest chairs out there (It’s Nice T...2025-04-0203 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonThe BBC Once Ran An April Fools Day Story About Spaghetti Growing On TreesApril Fools Day is when people try to mislead each other, sometimes the people you’d least suspect. Like how on this day in 1957, one of the world’s most steady and preeminent news outlets reported that spaghetti was growing on trees. Plus: today in 2015, someone played an April Fools Day joke on the community of Winters, California, installing an old parking meter in town. BBC’s 1957 April Fool’s “spaghetti-tree hoax” is more relevant than ever (Ars Technica)The Lonely Parking Meter (Atlas Obscura)No fooling, our backers on Patreon make this show possible2025-04-0103 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonAn Engineer Wanted To Add Car Ramps To The Eiffel TowerToday in 1889, the formal opening and dedication of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. What a strange life it’s had, including a proposal in the 1930s to add two huge car ramps to the sides of the thing. Plus: the tower gets a fresh coat of paint about every seven years, but it hasn't always been the same color. 1936 Crazy Project to Make the Second Floor of the Eiffel Tower Accessible by Car (Vintage Everyday)Painting the Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel Paris)Ride with our show every day as a backer on Patreon...2025-03-3103 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson“Wing Walker” Gladys Ingle Could Change An Airplane’s Tire In The Middle Of The SkyToday in 1899, the birthday of Gladys Ingle. She was called a “wing walker," which meant she could walk on the wings of a plane in mid-flight and perform some of the most daring and death-defying stunts you could imagine. Plus: there's an online collection of uniforms for stewardesses and flight attendants through the years. Wing Walker Woman Climbs From One Plane to Another to Make a Mid-Air Tire Change in 1926 (Laughing Squid)Cliff Muskiet's Stewardess/Flight Attendant Uniform Collection Take off with our show as a backer on Patreon2025-03-2803 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonEliza Scidmore Lobbied For Decades To Bring Cherry Blossoms To Washington DCToday in 1912, the planting of two cherry trees along the banks of the Potomac River in Washington DC. There are now thousands of cherry blossoms in the nation's capital, and it all happened thanks to one very determined woman and a bunch of great minds all thinking alike. Plus: today in 1969, the birthday of singer Mariah Carey, who once threw herself a Mariah Carey-themed birthday party. How the Cherry Blossoms Came to Washington (American Heritage) Mariah Carey Threw Herself a Mariah Carey–Themed Party (Us Magazine)Help our show grow as a backer on Pat...2025-03-2703 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonThe Supremes Were Such A Popular Group, They Had Their Own BreadToday in 1944, the birthday of Diana Ross. In the 1960s she and the Supremes had hit record after hit record, and at one point, they were even the namesakes for a line of white bread. Plus: today in 1879, a newspaper article about an experiment in Belgium to see whether cats could be trained to deliver mail. Loafing Around – The Supremes White Bread (Voices of East Anglia via Archive.org)Mail-Delivering Cats You’ll hear a symphony when you back our show on Patreon2025-03-2603 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonHow A “Sea-Worm” Inspired Marc Brunel To Dig London’s Thames TunnelToday in 1843, the opening of the Thames Tunnel in London, the first tunnel of its kind and one inspired by a mollusc known as a shipworm. Plus: today in 2024, a story from Cheshire Live about a woman who came to the local animal hospital with a baby hedgehog in need of rescuing. Or at least that’s what she thought. The Epic Struggle to Tunnel Under the Thames (Smithsonian)Woman mistakes bobble for baby hedgehog and rushes it to Cheshire animal hospital (Cheshire Live)We think you’ll really dig backing our show on Pa...2025-03-2503 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonA Teacher In Illinois Made The Washington DC Trip A Spring Break TraditionWhy have so many students spent so many spring breaks in our capital city? The story starts with a single teacher. Plus: today in 1944, the birthday of decorated Marine and actor R. Lee Ermey. In Palmdale, California, there's something called the R. Lee Ermey Musical Road. This One Guy Made the Washington DC Field Trip a Middle School Rite of Passage (Thrillist)City of Palmdale Opens Musical Road on R. Lee Ermey Avenue (City of Palmdale)Take a quick trip to our Patreon page and support our show2025-03-2403 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonFarm Week: When A Giant Safe Showed Up In His Yard, A New York Farmer Decided To Embrace The MysteryThis week we’re replaying some of our favorite agricultural episodes. In this episode from August 2020, a farmer in western New York finds something in his fields that he definitely hadn’t planted: a giant old safe. Plus: the British Antarctic Survey studies satellite images and spotted 11 new colonies of Emperor penguins.What’s inside this mystery safe? Orleans Co. farmer says it should stay unknown (WHAM-TV)Scientists Just Discovered 11 New Emperor Penguin Colonies. From Space (Popular Mechanics)No mystery here – Patreon backers make every episode of Cool Weird Awesome possible!2025-03-2102 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonFarm Week: Dogs Are Saving Citrus Orchards From DiseaseThis week we’re replaying some of our favorite agricultural episodes. In this episode from February 2020, dogs' amazing sniffing ability may be very useful for orchards as they try to head off a disease called citrus greening. Plus: police in New South Wales, Australia stop a man for using his cellphone while riding a horse.Dog sleuths sniff out crop disease hitting citrus trees (KCRA)Man riding horse stopped by police for using phone (Weekly Times Now)Outside of a dog Cool Weird Awesome’s Patreon backers are a person’s best friend. Inside o...2025-03-2003 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonFarm Week: Robots And Soap Bubbles Might Help Pollinate CropsThis week we’re replaying some of our favorite agricultural episodes. In this episode from June 2020, scientists at Washington State University are testing out a robotic system that might give us another way to pollinate as we try to help bees get their buzz back. Plus: researchers in Japan are testing out a pollination system using soap bubbles, like the ones kids like to create and pop.Robotic crop pollination awarded $1 million grant (Washington State University)Blowing bubbles: Soapy spheres pop pollen on fruit trees (BBC)Want to help something grow? Back Cool Weir...2025-03-1902 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonFarm Week: Laser Apple RobotsThis week we’re replaying some of our favorite agricultural episodes. In this episode from April 2019, a robotics firm in New Zealand is testing a robot that’s supposed to move through the rows of the apple orchard, spot ripe fruit, yank it from the tree with lasers and bring it back to the farmer. Plus: a strongman/YouTuber ordered literally everything on the menu at his local Taco Bell for a single meal. Your Apples May Soon Be Picked By Laser-Shooting Robots (Wired)Brian Shaw Devours Nearly Everything on The Taco Bell Menu (Muscle and Fi...2025-03-1802 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonFarm Week: That Time More Than 300 Nebraskans Moved A Barn By HandThis week we’re replaying some of our favorite agricultural episodes. In this episode from July 2020, in 1988, a whole bunch of people in Nebraska got together to lift a nine-ton barn, move it 110 feet uphill, and rotate it clockwise. Plus: Harrison McIntyre build a mechanical contraption to launch M&Ms at his face.Nebraska family looks back on barn moving event (WOWT)Guy Builds Machine That Shoots Chocolate into His Mouth on Command (Interesting Engineering)Backing Cool Weird Awesome on Patreon is a little bit like a barn raising, every little bit helps2025-03-1702 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonTim Wong Became The Best Friend A Rare Butterfly Ever HadIt's National Learn About Butterflies Day, so here’s the story of a guy who turned his backyard into a habitat for a rare type of butterfly, and it worked out pretty well. Plus: today is also National Save a Spider Day, and the community of Avoca, Iowa has saved a spider of a sort. How one man repopulated a rare butterfly species in his backyard (Vox)VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE SPIDER (Olio in Iowa)Keep this show flying as a backer on Patreon2025-03-1403 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonSS Baychimo, The “Ghost Ship” That Kept Reappearing In The OceanThis month in 1962, one of the last appearances of a ship that would reappear from time to time off the western coast of North America, decades after it was abandoned. Plus: today in 1967, the state of Utah officially designated its state cooking pot.Baychimo: The Adventures of the Ghost Ship of the Arctic (Manitoba Museum via Archive.org) STATE COOKING POT (Utah.gov)Back our show on Patreon so it will keep reappearing2025-03-1303 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonMitchelville Was The First US Town Led By Formerly Enslaved PeopleThis month in 1863, the founding of a town that made history: Mitchelville was the first town in the United States to be governed by formerly enslaved people. Plus: it’s National Girl Scout Day, and a scout troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma gets the credit for the first ever sale of Girl Scout cookies in 1917. This Island in South Carolina Has the First Self-governed Town of Formerly Enslaved People in the U.S. (Travel and Leisure)Statue commemorates first cookie sale (Muskogee Phoenix)You can help build our show as a backer on Patreon2025-03-1203 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonThe “Petticoat Rulers” Of Jackson, WyomingWomen’s History Month is here, and in 1920 a group of women made history in Jackson, Wyoming, as one of the first-ever all-female town councils in the United States. Plus: for National Worship of Tools Day, a visit to the world's largest chainsaw. Petticoat Rulers: 1920 All Women Jackson Town Council Inspires Women Today (Wyoming Public Media)Big Gus is the world's largest chainsaw (Boing Boing)Our Patreon backers rule2025-03-1103 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonIn The 1950s, Groups Of College Students Tried To Cram Themselves Into Phone BoothsIt's National Landline Telephone Day. In the landline era, if you were out in the world and needed to call someone, you usually had to find a phone booth to do it - and at one time, college students tried to cram themselves into those booths by the dozens. Plus: the story of a stray cat who decided to start dropping flowers off at a lady's front door. Cramming People Into A Thing: A Photo History (Mental Floss)Thoughtful Pregnant Stray Cat Brought Pink Flowers to a Woman’s Door Who Then Let Her Inside to...2025-03-1003 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonFor 18 Days, Lake Champlain Was A Great LakeToday in 1998, a little-noticed line in a funding bill for the National Sea Grant Program led the United States to declare that there were not five but six Great Lakes. Plus: starting tomorrow in south Georgia, it’s the Valdosta-Lowndes Azalea Festival. When Lake Champlain Became A Great Lake… For 18 Days (All That’s Interesting)Valdosta-Lowndes Azalea Festival Our Patreon backers make this show great, support our show today!2025-03-0703 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonDuring World War II, The US Used Trampolines To Train PilotsToday in 1945, George Nissen received the patent for a “tumbling device” which we now call the trampoline. And while most of the time that device has been used for tumbling, during World War II the trampoline became a key part of training fighter pilots. Plus: this month in 1929, the start of a high-flying advertising campaign known as the Baby Ruth Flying Circus. Trampoline Training During World War II (West View Trampoline Community via Archive.org) The day Baby Ruth candy bars rained down from heaven (Aerotech News)Help our show bounce higher and higher...2025-03-0603 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonEdith Keating Let The World See What The World Looked Like From The AirToday in 1884 was probably the birthdate of a pioneer in aerial photography, Edith Keating. Plus: today is the first day of the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival. In 1920s New York, This Woman Typist Became a Pioneering Aerial Photographer (Smithsonian)Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival Fly high with this podcast on Patreon2025-03-0503 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonKing Cakes: Two Holidays, Three Colors, Lots Of Little Plastic BabiesIn New Orleans, king cake is a Mardi Gras tradition, though it's one that started with an earlier holiday. Plus: this month in Janesville, Wisconsin, the Lincoln-Tallman Museum hosts the Gowns & Guns Exhibit. The Tradition Behind The Mardi Gras King Cake (Southern Living) Gowns & Guns Exhibit (Janesville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau) Don’t give up this show for Lent, back it on Patreon2025-03-0403 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonThere’s An Official Spanish-Language Version Of “The Star-Spangled Banner”Today in 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed a bill that made “The Star-Spangled Banner” the national anthem of the United States, more than a century after it was written. Another fun fact about the anthem: there's an official Spanish-language version. Plus: today in 1920, the birthday of James Doohan. His Star Trek character, Mr. Scott, has a plaque in the town where he's supposed to be born in 2222. Not Lost in Translation: The Life of Clotilde Arias (National Museum of American History) LINLITHGOW FUTURE HERITAGE Thanks to all our Patreon backers (or, in Spanish, gracias)2025-03-0303 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonThe Most Interesting Story Out Of Boring, Oregon Involves A Boxing Champion And A “Town Pest”Earlier this week we had a story out of the community of Boring, Oregon, which is named for a guy named William Boring. In other words, it’s anything but boring in Boring, and today we have the story to prove it. Plus: it’s the last day of February everywhere except for a cemetery in Ashmore, Illinois, where a tombstone seems to say February has 31 days. No, the town of Boring wasn't named such because it was a dull place to be (KGW)St. Omer Cemetery Witch Grave (Atlas Obscura)Back our show...2025-02-2803 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonThe Philadelphia Phillies Were Also Sort Of The “Blue Jays” For A WhileToday in 1944, the end of a contest in which baseball’s Philadelphia Phillies decided to take on a nickname, briefly becoming known as "blue jays." Plus: today in 1980, a 70s icon wins the one and only Grammy for Best Disco Recording. How the Phillies also briefly became 'Blue Jays' (MLB.com)“I Will Survive” wins the first—and last—Grammy ever awarded for Best Disco Recording (History.com)Give yourself the nickname of “backer” when you support our show on Patreon2025-02-2703 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonThe Fight Of The 80s Was Johnny Cash Vs. Waldo The OstrichToday in 1932, the birthday of Johnny Cash, a singer/songwriter who who seemed like he’d seen and done it all. And in some ways, that was true: for example, Johnny Cash is one of the few music stars who ever got in a fight with an ostrich. Plus: today in 1953, the birthday of singer Michael Bolton, who reportedly once auditioned to be the lead singer of the heaviest metal band of all time. Johnny Cash once tried to fight an ostrich and, predictably, suffered a heavy defeat (Farout)Tony Iommi says Michael Bolton once aud...2025-02-2603 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonThe Squeaky History of the Rubber DuckToday in 1970, Ernie from Sesame Street first sang his signature song, “Rubber Duckie.” So it's a great time to talk about how so many people became awfully fond of rubber ducks. Plus: the town of Boring, Oregon didn't get its name because it's a boring place! Rubber ducks (Quartz)No, the town of Boring wasn't named such because it was a dull place to be (KGW)Float on over to our Patreon page and help this show grow2025-02-2503 minCool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonThanksgiving Week: We’re Grateful For Off The Wall Thanksgiving SidesThis week we’re replaying some of our past episodes about the holiday and its traditions. In this episode from November 2019, we celebrate that for which we are all most grateful: the bewildering foods that inexplicably become part of our annual Thanksgiving dinners. Plus: at this time of year, enthusiasts who turn their houses into massive holiday light displays, like the one known as Peteyville in Hammond,
Indiana.
i cannot wait to hear about the recipes you’re all excited to make for thanksgiving (Maya Kosoff on Twitter)
Instant Appetizer (Brady Carlson on Twitter)
Pe...2024-11-2603 min
History ShortsConversations: Visiting the graves of all American Presidents, w/ Brady CarlsonMr. Brady Carlson is a reporter, author of Dead Presidents, on-air NPR host, and podcast producer and host of the Cool, Weird Awesome podcast. https://www.patreon.com/c/HistoryShortsPodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices2024-07-2620 min
Mending on the FlyHealing on the Fly: Brady Busby's Journey of Resilience, Conservation, and the Power of Fly FishingIn this moving episode, we welcome Brady Busby, a veteran, fly fishing guide, author, artist, and Arizona congressional candidate. Brady shares his remarkable journey of overcoming adversity, including his battle with PTSD and the devastating loss of his daughter. Discover how fly fishing, fly tying, and the great outdoors became powerful tools for healing and growth in Brady's life. We discuss his work with the Ashes Grove Foundation, supporting fellow veterans and trauma survivors through outdoor therapy and conservation advocacy. While this episode is not a political endorsement, Brady's story of resilience, hope, and the transformative power of nature...2024-03-111h 14
Carlson Cards Sports Card PodcastTOM BRADY & MOST INSANE SET RAINBOW YOU WILL EVER SEE w/ Caleb Peterson (@powerwh33ls)In this week's episode, we are joined by Caleb (@powerwh33ls on Instagram). Caleb's collecting strategy is extremely direct. He buys cards he loves of players he loves, and holds on to them for the long haul (while never going above his means to do so). His collection includes one of the most ridiculous Tom Brady rainbows you will ever see from Topps Finest. Caleb's journey has SO MANY learning lessons for all of us!2023-08-151h 08Cool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonWe Let AI Write This Show And Host Most Of It, TooThis bonus episode is a way to say thanks for all your generosity and encouragement since we debuted on this day in 2019. We had ChatGPT write what it thought was an episode of our podcast; then we had an AI-generated version of Brady's voice "read" that script. It's... interesting.
Thanks to our Patreon backers for making every episode of our show possible!2023-03-3103 min
Cool Weird Awesome with Brady CarlsonUnusual Music Week: The Pizza and Pipe Organ ConnectionThis week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about music that sounds a little different. In this episode from April 2019, we visit Organ Piper Pizza in Greenfield, Wisconsin. As you eat, an organist plays an enormous Wurlitzer organ, which also controls stage lights, disco balls, a mechanical gymnast and a family of singing ducks. Plus - a story that's, amazingly, not an April Fool's Day prank, in which police in Madrid respond to a guy on a bus sharpening a big carving knife (!)
The Carlson Kids Visit Organ Piper Pizza (YouTube)
Remembering the Dining Fa...2022-06-1303 min
SammsyIs Brady naturally this good looking?Brady, Sam, and Brady pick each other’s brains to find out a little more about life, love, and even Hitler?
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This episode is sponsored by
· Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app2020-06-151h 00
The Formula Podcast with Trevor CarlsonThe Keto Diet and Optimizing Your Body for Performance with Dr. Brady Salcido #45On this episode of the Formula, Trevor Carlson and Dr. Brady Salcido breakdown the ketogenic diet and how YOU can optimize your body for its highest performance. Who this episode is for: -People looking for a boost in brain or body performance -A lifestyle change to improve energy -The Ketogenic Diet -Improving your diet overall On this episode Trevor and Dr. Salcido discuss: -What is the KETOGENIC diet -Why do people feel so good on the ketogenic diet? -Quick tips to get more fat throughout the day (hint: bulletproo...2018-07-1752 min
...These Are Their Stories: The Law & Order PodcastBrady Carlson: L&O S7 E11 "Menace"On this installment, author and Law & Order savant Brady Carlson joins Kevin and Rebecca as they dig into the classic Mothership episode, season 7 episode 11, "Menace." A woman jumps from a crowded bridge. Did she kill herself or was she chased to her death?2016-10-2542 min
Enter a New World Through Your Headphones With Free AudiobookDead Presidents: An American Adventure into the Strange Deaths and Surprising Afterlives of Our Nation's Leaders Audiobook by Brady CarlsonListen to this audiobook in full for free onhttps://hotaudiobook.com/freeID: 317884
Title: Dead Presidents: An American Adventure into the Strange Deaths and Surprising Afterlives of Our Nation's Leaders
Author: Brady Carlson
Narrator: Tom Zingarelli
Format: Unabridged
Length: 08:02:06
Language: English
Release date: 02-01-16
Publisher: HighBridge Company
Genres: History, North America
Summary:
An entertaining exploration into the varied ways we remember and memorialize the American presidents. In Dead Presidents, NPR host Brady Carlson takes readers to presidential gravesites, monuments, and memorials to tell the death stories of our greatest leaders. Mixing biography and travelogue, Carlson explores whether William Henry Harrison...2016-02-018h 02
Billy and Devo talk Sports and ManlinessTom Brady is Rude and Toddler Toilet HumorAside from the usual fantasy recap, we talk about why Tom Brady is a rude bastard, the University of Florida did the right thing where Florida State didn't and the rest of college football's wild weekend. Away from sports, we talk about Devo's experience bringing a toddler to a wedding and wrap it up with some toddler toilet humor. Music credit: Ice Flow, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/2014-10-0859 minBilly and Devo talk Sports and ManlinessThe Fading Tom Brady and USF Battles the BadgersThis week, we have the usual fantasy recap (no more winless teams!). We also unveil our newest project, discuss the fading Tom Brady, USF's battle with Wisconsin and we close out by discussing Will Ferrell's best 3 and worst 3 movies. Music credit: Ice Flow, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/2014-10-0158 min