Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

Today in 1911, the birthday of Isabel Morgan, a scientist and researcher whose breakthroughs in polio helped protect millions of kids from that terrible disease. Plus: Pixply is a digital game board that can change its layout depending on which game you want to play. Forging the Trail for Polio Vaccination: Isabel Morgan and Dorothy Horstmann (American Society for Microbiology)Pixply Rollable Digital Game Board (The Awesomer)Keep this show healthy as a backer on Patreon

The potato’s influence stretches out well beyond French fries and tater tots. In fact, there was a study in 2017 that said the potato helped keep the peace in Europe for centuries. Plus: a Prince Edward Island town is home to the Canadian Potato Museum. Potatoes helped keep peace in Europe for hundreds of years (Earth.com)The Canadian Potato Museum Potatoes can't back our show, but you can, join us on Patreon today

Today in 1961, a news report in the Santa Cruz Sentinel about a strange bird event along the coast of California that ended up shaping an iconic movie about a strange bird event. Plus: this week in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania, the King Coal Show. Here’s the real story behind Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ (Popular Science)King Coal Association Back our show today on Patreon and keep the shows about weird bird happenings coming

It’s National Spork Day! The spork gets a lot of grief, but not as much as one of its parents used to get. At one time, eating with a fork was a scandal. Plus: Arcola, Illinois is home to a 62 foot long Hippie Memorial. FORKS (California Academy of Sciences)One and Only Hippie Memorial (Roadside America)Serve up more episodes of our show as a backer on Patreon

Today in 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law. Americans who pay into the system and receive benefits have Social Security Numbers, so who had the first one? The answer is kind of strange. Plus: starting tomorrow in Indiana, it’s the Elwood Glass Festival. New Rochelle Man Was First Person to Get a Social Security Number (Talk of the Sound)Elwood Glass Festival Secure the future of this show as a backer on Patreon

Today in 2024, Guinness announced a world record for most gaming consoles connected to a single TV, 444 in all. Here's how the record holder does it. Plus: this Friday at Georgia Tech University, it’s The Great Cardboard Boat Race. Guy Plugs A Record-Breaking 444 Video Game Consoles Into A Single TV (Kotaku)THE GREAT CARDBOARD BOAT RACE Connect with us as a backer on Patreon

Today in 1938, the birthday of Paul Craft, an acclaimed songwriter and musician whose catalog includes probably the world’s best known religious country football song: “Drop Kick Me Jesus (Through The Goalposts Of Life).” Plus: starting this Friday in Glasgow, Scotland, it’s the World Pipe Band Championships. Drop Kick Me Jesus (Through The Goalposts Of Life) (Songfacts)World Pipe Band ChampionshipsKeep this show moving toward the goalposts as a backer on Patreon

If you’re near Moses Lake, Washington in the next couple days, you can try an iconic fair food: the Spaceburger. Plus: today in 1911, Hawaii's Duke Kahanamoku breaks a world swimming record by so much that the athletic organizers can't quite believe it. History & Mysteries of the “Space Burger” in Moses Lake, WA (The Quake 102.1) Duke Kahanamoku (Library of Congress)Space out with us on our Patreon page

We've done a lot of shows about robots, and we've done a lot of shows about pizza. Now, we're doing a show about a robot that's learning to make pizza with help from a team at Virginia Tech. Plus: Baltimore is home to the world’s tallest five-sided building in which the sides are all equal length. But first, pizza: Team creates assistive robotics that can make you a meal (Virginia Tech)  The World’s Tallest Regular Pentagonal Building Is In Baltimore And You’ll Want To Visit (Only In Your State)Keep these human-powered podcasts coming as a backer on Patreon

Sarah Winchester's decades-long renovation project turned an eight-room farmhouse into hundreds of rooms, and sparked endless rumors that at least some of those rooms are haunted. Plus: starting tomorrow in Ohio, it’s the Reynoldsburg Tomato Festival. Everything you think you know about the Winchester Mystery House probably isn't true (SFGate)TOMATO FESTIVAL REYNOLDSBURG, OHIO Help us build this podcast as a backer on Patreon

Today in 1928, the birthday of Andy Warhol. He made a mark with his paintings of Campbell's Soup cans, though the company wasn’t immediately thrilled with his work. Plus: starting tomorrow in Indiana, it’s the Van Buren Popcorn Festival. Why Campbell Soup hated, then embraced, Andy Warhol’s soup can paintings (CNN)Van Buren Popcorn Festival If you like the art we produce every day, back it on Patreon

It's World Ant Day, so we’re looking at an ant species that got so comfortable living in New York City that it earned the nickname “ManhattAnt.” Plus: if you missed National Mustard Day over the weekend, check out a pizzeria in New Jersey known for making the "mustard pie." Scientists identified the ‘ManhattAnt’ — and they have theories on why it’s taking over NYC (CNN)Papa's Tomato Pies, the oldest pizzeria in NJ, is home of the mustard pie (NorthJersey.com)Let’s build a big colony of backers on our Patreon site

Today in 2018, a dad in Sydney, Australia saw his kid in danger and put himself on the line to make sure that kid was safe. Here's his story. Plus: today in 1922, a very quiet moment in the history of telecommunications. Heroic father breaks skull leaping off 4m balcony to cushion son’s fall (News.com.au)Telephones Were Silenced for One Minute After Alexander Graham Bell Died (Smithsonian)You don’t have to put yourself in danger to help our show, just back us on Patreon

Today in 1981, the debut of MTV. It brought music videos to the mainstream, but it didn't invent them - in fact, there were proto-music videos almost a century before the cable channel first appeared. Plus: starting tomorrow in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the 4th Annual Youth Hoop Dance Championship. The Complete History of the Music Video: From the 1890s to Today (Open Culture)4TH ANNUAL YOUTH HOOP DANCE CHAMPIONSHIPIf you want your Cool Weird Awesome, support it as a backer on Patreon

Today in 1928, the debut of Leo, MGM's roaring lion. One of the lions that played Leo in the movies used up more than a few of its nine lives while traveling for the movie studio. Plus: starting today in Indiana, it’s the Jasper Strassenfest. Meet ‘Leo The Lucky’—The MGM Lion Who Cheated Death 6 Times (Forbes)Jasper Indiana Strassenfest Send a little good luck to this show as a backer on Patreon

Today in 1863, the birthday of Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company. The automaker has had a huge impact on the auto industry, but not all of its ideas worked out. Like the time it tried to reinvent the (steering) wheel. Plus: starting tomorrow in Brownstown, Indiana, it’s the Jackson County Watermelon Festival. Mercury “Wrist-Twist” Steering Tried a Tesla Model S–Style Yoke in 1965 (Motor Trend)Jackson County Watermelon Festival Drive on over to our Patreon page where you can support this show

New research finds a way to take waste plastic that might end up in landfills and turn it into a common pain medicine. Plus: starting Friday in South Dakota, it's Clark Potato Days. Microbes transform plastic waste into paracetamol (University of Edinburgh)CLARK POTATO DAYS Our backers have transformed this show into what it is today, join them on Patreon

Today in 1934, a big day in the history of sending mail by rocket. There's a whole history of rocket mail that goes back two centuries. Plus: today in 2017, the birth of a calf in Kerrville, Texas. that looked a little like a certain fire-breathing member of KISS. The rise and fall of rocket mail (Engadget) Texas calf resembles Kiss rocker Gene Simmons (BBC)Help launch our show forward as a backer on Patreon

This week we're replaying our favorite shows about writers and the printed page. In this episode from September 2022, National Read A Book Day brings to mind an article from HowStuffWorks called “What is the oldest book in the world?” Plus: Ithaca, New York is home to a tribute to the world of growing, eating, sharing and decorating gourds of all kinds. What Is the Oldest Book in the World? (HowStuffWorks)Ithaca is ‘gourd-geous’: Welcome to Gourdlandia, where the world’s most versatile vegetable is transformed into art (Roadtrippers)Our Patreon backers are as wise as a classic book

This week we're replaying our favorite shows about writers and the printed page. In this episode from March 2020, Sri Lankan author Sybil Wettasinghe set a world record for the most alternative endings in a single book. Plus: in the early days of COVID-19, a pilot in Austria goes up in the air to do his part for social distancing. Children’s book gets Guinness record with 1,250 alternative endings (UPI)Pilot writes message for world in the sky: ‘Stay home’ (CNet)Cool Weird Awesome on Patreon