Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

This Sunday on Okinawa in Japan, it’s an event on a grand scale: the Naha Great Tug of War, with thousands of people pulling a 200 meter long rope. Plus: researchers at the University of New South Wales have developed a more eco-friendly lithium-ion battery that uses acids from foods and wine. Naha Tug of War  Booze to battery: Wine powers new energy storage tech, can boost EV range, performance (Interesting Engineering)  Pull our show into the future as a backer on Patreon --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1997, a very gourd day on the campus of Cornell University: people found a very large pumpkin on top of McGraw Tower, 173 feet in the air. Plus: this Sunday, in Austin, Texas, it’s Quesoff. HOW THE PUMPKIN GOT ON THE TOWER (Cornell Sun via Archive.org)  Quesoff Help our show keep climbing as a backer on Patreon --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Welcome to National Newspaper Week. The newspaper business has changed a lot since the peak of print, like how the New York Times took a very small but important punctuation mark out of its logo. Plus: there's now a luggage set you can buy where the cases are shaped like LEGO. The Daily Heller: The Designer Who Put a Full Stop to the Period! (Print Magazine) LEGO Luggage (The Awesomer) Our Patreon backers make this show possible, period --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1957, Sputnik because the world’s first artificial satellite. This changed the world around us in countless ways, including one that doesn’t get a lot of attention: it gave the English language a brand new word. Plus: today in 1992, two Toronto Blue Jays stars pranked their rookie teammate by pretending to give away his car on Fan Appreciation Day. How the Beat Generation Became “Beatniks” (JSTOR Daily) WHEN THE BLUE JAYS GAVE AWAY DEREK BELL’S CAR, AND OTHER PRANKS (SB Nation) Help keep our show beeping, so to speak, as a backer on Patreon --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

It's National Roller Skating Month, and we’re going all the way back to the guy who created the first skates. It's a little reassuring that even he had trouble rolling along like the rest of us. Plus: Starting tomorrow in Massachusetts, it’s SandwichFest. The History of Roller Skating (HowStuffWorks) Sandwich Fest  Help keep our show rolling as a supporter on Patreon --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1869, inventor Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès received the French patent for margarine. The butter substitute is used around the world today, though for a while it was banned in parts of the US. Plus: an explorer accidentally drops his GoPro off the side of a cruise ship and ends up with a kind of candid camera for sea life. This week in science history: Margarine inventor’s fame spreads (Cosmos via Archive.org)  The Butter Wars: When Margarine Was Pink (National Geographic) Man Drops GoPro Overboard on Cruise Ship, Captures Incredible Undersea Footage (My Modern Met) Our backers on Patreon are smooth --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1935, the birthday of Walter De Maria, an artist behind one of the most unusual art installations you’ll ever come across: a loft in New York that he filled with dirt. Plus: the Morris Arboretum and Gardens at the University of Pennsylvania is now home to an immersive audio installation by artist Richard Hamilton. Inside The SoHo Apartment That's Been Filled With Dirt Since 1977 (Gothamist) Take a Journey of Sound Through the Morris (Morris Arboretum & Gardens) Our Patreon backers fill our show with support every day --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1951, the birth of Barry Marshall, a Nobel Prize winning doctor who, while working with colleague Robin Warren, proved what was behind most ulcers by giving himself an ulcer. Plus: an 11 year old in England saves an engraving from the dumpster that turns out to be pretty important. The Doctor Who Drank Infectious Broth, Gave Himself an Ulcer, and Solved a Medical Mystery (Discover Magazine) Dürer Engraving Found by 11-Year-Old in Dumpster Sells for $44,000 (Hyperallergic) Keep this podcast healthy as a backer on Patreon --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Tomorrow is International Rabbit Day, so today we’re going to celebrate the real and very cute sport known as rabbit show jumping. Plus: starting tomorrow in Nevada, it’s the Genoa Candy Dance, a fundraiser with a long and electric history. Rabbit, Run Is an Exhortation Oft Heard in England Now (Wall Street Journal) Genoa Candy Dance  Hop on over to our Patreon page and support the show --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Around this time of year, volunteers on the Westman Islands, off Iceland's southern coast, are on puffling patrol, trying to help lost baby puffins get to sea by tossing them off cliffs. As one does. Plus: starting this Sunday, it's the Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin' Festival. Why it's perfectly normal to see baby puffins thrown off cliffs in Iceland each year (NPR) Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin' Festival  Give our show a nudge in the right direction as a backer on Patreon --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Astronauts who live and work on space stations have to make sure to clean every last spot in their quarters, partly to keep big balls of moldy goo from growing! There's research underway to help keep the microbes from moving in. Plus: starting tomorrow in Kingwood, West Virginia, it’s the Preston County Buckwheat Festival.  Keeping mold out of future space stations (Ohio State University) Preston County Buckwheat FestivalHelp our show grow as a backer on Patreon --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1929, Lieutenant James H. Doolittle did what no other pilot had done before: take off, fly and land only using instruments and radio. Plus: today in 2021, Japan's Narita Airport had to delay a flight because of a turtle on the runway. Flying Blind (Air & Space Forces Magazine) Errant turtle closes runway, delays turtle-themed plane at Japan's Narita Airport (The Mainichi)  Back our show on Patreon and we’ll keep flying high together --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Around this time in 2011, two people in Oklahoma gave themselves and their part of the state a very off-the-beaten-path anniversary gift: the Winganon Space Capsule. Plus: ever hear someone call a run-down cafe or bar a “hole in the wall”? There’s a coffee shop in the Philippines that serves drinks through an actual hole in the wall. The Winganon Space Capsule: Oklahoma, We Have A Problem (MAKE)  filipino café serves beverages straight through a hole in a concrete wall (designboom) Help this show blast off (so to speak) as a backer on Patreon --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1977, the first broadcast of the Happy Days episode in which Henry Winkler’s character, The Fonz, jumps over a shark on water skis. "Jumping the shark" is a phrase we use today to talk about shows that get weird and go downhill, but why was Fonz jumping over the shark to begin with? Plus: starting tomorrow in Springfield, Missouri, the Cider Days festival. Henry Winkler is 'very proud' to be the face of the 'jump the shark' meme (Yahoo! Entertainment) CIDER DAYS  Back this show on Patreon before we eventually jump the shark --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1986, Australian cricketer Dean Jones stepped up during a really important match, literally leaving it all on the field as he played through high heat and humidity, dehydration, exhaustion and illness. Plus: today in 1911, the birthday of author William Golding, whose biggest novel only became a hit after being rejected over and over again. 'I can't remember a thing after 120 in that innings' (The Cricket Monthly) William Golding (Biography) If you’re feeling up to it, how about backing our show on Patreon --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

For National Cheeseburger Day, here’s the story of the guy who brought us one of the world’s most massive and massively popular burgers: Jim Delligatti, the inventor of the Big Mac. Plus: a designer in Belgium, Mathilde Wittock, has come up with a way to upcycle used tennis balls into furniture. Michael "Jim" Delligatti, Big Mac creator, dead at 98 (CBS News) Artist Makes Furniture Out of Tennis Balls That Otherwise Would Take 400 Years to Decompose in Landfills (Good News Network) Back this show on Patreon for less than the cost of a Big Mac a month --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

New research finds that couples can keep a conflict from escalating by taking a short break - and I mean, really short - during an argument. Plus: for National Pet Bird Day, a heavy metal band led by a South African Grey Parrot doing "death squawking” over the music. Cheaper than couples counselling: take a five-second break (University of St. Andrews) Hatebeak (Metal Archives) No need to pause if you’re headed over to the Patreon page to back our show --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

For Mexican Independence Day, the story of how Mexican music and movies found fans in a place you might not expect: post-war Yugoslavia. Plus: what's even wilder than a video of two bicyclists doing some of their best stunts?  A video of two bicyclists doing some of their best stunts while also on a moving train. In mid-'60s Yugoslavia, mariachi music was really popular (The World)  A Series of Bike Stunts Performed on a Moving Train (Neatorama) Spread this podcast worldwide as a backer on Patreon --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

The trope about Friday the 13th is that it's extra-unlucky and scary, so to address any fears his young viewers might have about this day, Mister Rogers decided to make it a really fun day, especially for the King of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. Plus: today in 1991, Nirvana had quite a wild release party for their landmark record "Nevermind." HOW MR. ROGERS MADE FRIDAY THE 13TH LESS SCARY (Now I Know) FOOD FIGHT! Nirvana gets thrown out of their record release party on Friday the 13th, 1991 (Dangerous Minds) Thanks so much to our neighbors who back us on Patreon --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1995, the Harlem Globetrotters lost! It hasn't happened often, but we'll tell you about two times the storied team didn't come out on top. Plus: this Saturday in Vermont, it’s the Rutland Whoopie Pie Fest. Harlem Globetrotters’ 8,829-game winning streak snapped (History.com) KING OF THE LOSERS I played for the worst basketball team of all time – we lost 17,000 games but I loved every single minute of it (The Sun) RUTLAND WHOOPIE PIE FEST --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support