Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

This week we're replaying some of our favorite hoops-related episodes. In this episode from July 2022, the story of Wataru “Wat” Misaka, who became the first non-white player to be drafted into what is now the NBA. And basketball wasn't the only sport in which he excelled. Plus: the Twin Cities hosts a "kick volleyball" competition at the Hmong International Freedom Festival. Japanese American Former Basketball Star Inspired On And Off The Court (NPR)Hmong International Freedom Festival (Visit Saint Paul)Our Patreon backers are championship material

This week we're replaying some of our favorite hoops-related episodes. In this episode from February 2022, Lisa Leslie, a high school basketball player who would later become one of the biggest names in the WNBA, had a record day, scoring 101 points in just 16 minutes. Plus: research finds a silver lining for Olympic runners up. That One Time: Lisa Leslie Scored 101 Points in a High School Game (24/7 Live Culture)Olympians That Win Silver Tend To Live Longer Than Those That Win Gold (UNILAD)Let’s set some records together, join our show as a backer on Patreon!

This week we're replaying some of our favorite hoops-related episodes. In this episode from March 2022, we look at one of the most stunning performances in the history of pro sports: Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in an NBA game. Plus: a short film called “Donkey Baseball” featured fans in a baseball game where, yes, most of the players had to ride donkeys. The Legacy Of Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-Point Game (WBUR)Five things you didn’t know about Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game (Sporting News)Donkey Baseball (YouTube)Our Patreon backers are all winners

Today in 1910, the birthday of Charlie Douglass, who popularized the use of prerecorded laughter to help TV comedies seem more funny. Amirite folks? Plus: an astronaut uses microgravity to demonstrate a shape that we can't reproduce on Earth. Charles Rolland 'Charlie' Douglass (Variety via Archive.org)  The Art of Science: Soft Cell in Space (University of Oxford) Laugh along with our show every day as a backer on Patreon

A brand new year can be confusing for lots of reasons, but for Romans, the year 46 BC was when they tried to fix all the issues with their calendar and it made time literally drag on. Plus: a new wooden compass could help people with dementia find their way through the world. Why Julius Caesar's Year of Confusion was the longest year in history (BBC)wooden compass with single red arrow leads people with dementia to their homes (designboom)Our Patreon backers are also getting an exclusive bonus episode today - join them now!

New Year’s Eve is full of traditions, including several in different parts of the world where people wear red underwear for luck as one year ends and the next begins. Plus: in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, the New Year's disco ball drop comes with a Pennsylvania Dutch twist. Grab Your Red Underwear and Get Ready for New Year’s Eve (Ripley’s) PEEPS, PICKLES, AND PUCKS: Unique New Year’s celebrations planned across Pennsylvania  (ABC 27)Thanks to our Patreon backers for supporting our show all year long! Why not join them in 2026?

ToFuel is a research project in Europe that aims to collect the stems, leaves and other uneaten tomato bits into an alternative and more eco-friendly fuel for jets. Plus: today in 1941, a photograph for the ages, thanks to a photographer with some gumption.  Scientists turn tomato waste into climate-friendly jet fuel to cut aviation emissions (Interesting Engineering)The Taming of Winston Churchill (On This Day)Fuel our podcast every day as a backer on Patreon

Today in 1962, the US designated Hawaii's Fort Elizabeth as a National Historic Landmark. The fort was the idea of Georg Schäffer, who thought it might be step one in making Hawaii a colony of Russia. Plus: a scientist in Hungary has been teaching rats how to play the 90s video game Doom II. Russian Fort/ Fort Elizabeth (National Park Service)Rats Successfully Trained to Shoot Demons in “Doom” (Futurism)Help build up our show as a backer on Patreon

If you’re in Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria or several other countries in southeastern Europe today, be careful and keep your wits about you. This is when Christmas goblins are on the loose again. Plus: if you've ever just wanted to sit for a bit with a nice hot cup of coffee, we have a moment in patent history for you. Kallikantzaroi: Tree-Chopping Christmas Goblins (The Atlas of Christmas by Alex Palmer, via Google Books) James H. Mason (Franklin Historical Museum)Legend has it that one way to stop the Christmas goblins is to back a really good podcast on Patreon

Merry Christmas! If you lived in Boston in the 1920s, you might have come across a hot dog vendor who decided to give hungry kids a special treat on December 25. He became known as the city's "Hot Dog Santa." Plus: one family Christmas tradition involves cataloguing everybody's weirdest mistakes and then giving out the family "Goober award." Hot Dog Santa Brings Christmas Cheer to Children (Newspapers.com) 30 People Are Sharing Weird And Wholesome Traditions That Make Their Christmas Special (Bored Panda)Thanks so much to our Patreon backers for all the gifts and support this year!

It's said that today in 1822, Clement Clarke Moore wrote the verses to what is now the most famous Christmas poem of all time. But the eminent professor wasn't always thrilled that this poem was his most famous written work. Plus: Did you know that there was once a tourist town in Arizona called Santa Claus? Time for a Visit from St. Nicholas (Library of Congress)Santa Claus, Arizona (Atlas Obscura)We’re directing Santa toward our Patreon backers, since they’ve been so good this year

According to Seinfeld, December 23 is Festivus. It's a made-up TV holiday that has roots in a real family's tradition, though it may be even more inexplicable than the famous version. Plus: December 23 in Oaxaca, Mexico is known as “Night of the Radishes.”What is Festivus? The 'Seinfeld' holiday has real 'sinister' origins (Cincinnati Enquirer) Mexico's Night of the Radishes, a Quirky Christmas Tradition (How Stuff Works)Back our show on Patreon, or at least make a donation in our name to the Human Fund

Today in 1882, a big moment in holiday decorations: thanks to inventor Edward H. Johnson, for the first time, a Christmas tree festooned with colorful electric lights. Plus: Iceland has a fascinating Christmas tradition: the Yule Cat. Who invented electric Christmas lights? (Library of Congress)A festive feline: Iceland's terrifying Christmas Yule Cat (History.co.uk)Light up our podcast as a backer on Patreon

Today in 1892, the birthday of Fred Thomas, who had the unusual distinction of being an active duty member of the military while playing in baseball’s World Series. And his two jobs helped lead to a pretty big custom in modern American sports. Plus: this Sunday in Anchorage, Alaska, it’s the Winter Solstice Festival. Fred Thomas (Society for American Baseball Research)Winter Solstice Festival We have a job for you: back this show on Patreon

Today in 1620, people aboard the English ship Mayflower dropped anchor supposedly at Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts. Only the story of the rock came much later, and then people had a hard time keeping the rock in one piece. Plus: some online reviewers have not exactly been rocked by visiting Plymouth Rock. Thomas Faunce: The Man Who Saved Plymouth Rock (New England Historical Society)The Funniest Reviews of Plymouth Rock Left by Disappointed Tourists (Thrillist)Nobody rocks as much as our Patreon backers rock

Happy Hanukkah! In this episode from December 2022, we visit Hanukkah House in Houston. When most people mark Hanukkah with lights, they mean candles on a menorah. But Philip Grosman brings all the lights for the festival.⁠Houston's famous Hanukkah house shines bright for the holidays⁠ (KHOU)⁠This show is powered by our backers on Patreon!

A little over a century ago, a group of women, fed up with the overly commercial side of Christmas, formed the Society for the Prevention of Useless Giving, or SPUG. And they made a pretty big splash along the way. Plus: today in 1773, the Boston Tea Party, though it was known by a slightly wordier name in its time. Only You Can Prevent Useless Gifts (JSTOR)The Destruction of the Tea (Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum) You don’t have to turn in your Spug button to back our show on Patreon, because it’s very practical

Happy Bill of Rights Day! One of the original amendments Congress sent to the states for ratification made it into our governing document two centuries later. It's literally a long story. Plus: students at Osaka Public University in Japan just built a bicycle that flies. 27th Amendment or Bust (The American Prospect)Japanese Students Successfully Build a Flying Bike That Gets off the Ground by Pedaling (My Modern Met)Don’t wait a couple centuries to back our show on Patreon, join us today

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 Fessenden (National Park Service) Dyker Heights Christmas Lights Back our show on Patreon and we’ll keep sending sound out into the world too

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 backers make a real difference for our show, join them today