Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

AI chatbots are big again, so let's hang out with the OG AI chatbot: Microsoft Word letter writing helper extraordinare, Clippy the paper clip. Plus: a cemetery in Illinois marks an impossible anniversary every February.  The Twisted Life of Clippy (The Seattle Met) St. Omer Cemetery Witch Grave (Atlas Obscura) It looks like you'd like to support this podcast. Would you like to join our community on Patreon?  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

There's a team at Northwestern University that's ready to help the tired vocal cords of the world: a wearable device that can tell when a voice needs a break. Plus: it's the birthday in 1902 of John Steinbeck, who wrote some timeless literary classics and also a werewolf novel.  First wearable device for vocal fatigue senses when your voice needs a break (Northwestern University) Beast of Eden (Stanford Magazine) Raise your voice and help this show grow as a backer on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1955 Steve Jobs was born. His biggest contributions to the tech world are well known, but one you might not have heard of? Steve Jobs was also the first person to order a pizza on the internet. Plus: this weekend in Anchorage, Alaska, the annual Outhouse Races. AppStorey talks with Steve Green about Steve Jobs, The Smithsonian and how a pizza with basil became the first food delivered via the web (AppStorey) On a roll: At Alaska’s annual Outhouse Races, there’s no shame in being number two (Roadtrippers) Our Patreon backers are the apple of our eye --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

For National Play Tennis Day, the story of Ora Washington, one of the great early stars of women's tennis who also happened to be one of the great early stars of women's basketball. Plus: this weekend in Edison, Washington, the annual Edison Chicken Parade. Long before Serena Williams, there was Ora Washington. Few remember her. (Washington Post) The Nearly Forgotten History Of Basketball HOF Inductee Ora Washington (WBUR's Only A Game) The Edison Chicken Parade is a must-see event (KING 5)  Our Patreon backers are champions every day --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Today was the birthday in 1918 of Robert Pershing Wadlow. Fans of world records remember him as the tallest man who ever lived, but there was more to the Alton Giant than his height. Plus: starting today in Glendale, California, it’s the Twist & Shout Balloon Convention. 100 facts about Alton's gentle giant, Robert Wadlow (STL Today) Twist & Shout Balloon Convention Our Patreon backers help us achieve great heights --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

It's National Mother Language Day. Many of the world's thousands of languages are spoken, written and/or signed... and at least a few are whistled. Plus: researchers say they've found evidence of the largest penguin species that ever lived.  Just Put Your Lips Together and Blow: How Whistled Languages Work (HowStuffWorks) Nearly extinct whistling language revived (CNN via Archive.org) The largest penguin that ever lived (University of Cambridge) Add your voice (or your whistle) to our community of backers on Patreon  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Today is the observance of President's Day, originally a holiday marking the February 22nd birthday of George Washington, but along the way it also became known as Bicycle Day. Plus: chocolate wizard Amaury Guichon took over 500 pounds of chocolate and turned into an eight foot tall velociraptor.  When Presidents’ Day Was Bicycle Day (The Atlantic) Making a Chocolate Velociraptor (The Awesomer) Join our Patreon backers for this Presidents Day backing event! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

There’s a new effort during this Black History Month to highlight the work of a man who helped get people talking about Black inventors: a patent officer named Henry Edwin Baker. Plus: this weekend in Waseca, Minnesota, it’s the annual Sleigh & Cutter Festival. How one man’s list gave Black inventors the credit they deserved (WTOP)  Henry E. Baker (1857-1928) (BlackPast) Waseca Sleigh & Cutter Festival  Our Patreon backers deserve all the credit for making this show possible --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1931, the birthday of Edward Packard, who along with R.A. Montgomery founded a book series that let millions of young readers pick the ending to the story: Choose Your Own Adventure. Plus: today in 1967, the first appearance of the Star Trek villain Khan Noonien Singh, who Gene Roddenberry named as a shout-out to an old war buddy.  The Enduring Allure of Choose Your Own Adventure Books (The New Yorker) The Name's Familiar Mr. Leotard, Barbie, and Chef Boyardee (via Google Books) If you choose to help this show grow, go to our page on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Engineering students at Johns Hopkins University have been building adaptive controllers to make the Minecraft universe more accessible. Plus: today in 1564, the birthday of astronomer Galileo Galilei, who didn't like being told what to wear.  JOHNS HOPKINS ENGINEERING STUDENTS DEVELOP GAMING PROSTHESES FOR AMPUTEES (Johns Hopkins University) 15 Fascinating Facts About Galileo (Mental Floss) Without our Patreon backers it would be game over for this show --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

If you know your biology, you know that the classic heart shape we see everywhere on Valentine's Day is not at all what an actual human heart looks like. So where does this shape come from and how did it get associated with hearts? Plus: how a place called Why, Arizona got its name.  The Shape of My Heart (Slate) WHY WHY IS WHY (Arizona Oddities)  We ♥ our Patreon backers --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1997, a container ship ran into a massive wave off the coast of Cornwall, in southwest England. Close to 4.8 million Legos went overboard, and ever since that day, they've been washing up on beaches all over. Plus: the Bronx Zoo has an unusual Valentine's Day offering for you and your significant other.  20 YEARS AFTER THE GREAT LEGO SPILL, THEY'RE STILL WASHING ASHORE (Inverse) 10 ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO CELEBRATE VALENTINE’S DAY IN NYC (Untapped New York) Support us on Patreon and you'll help build every episode of our show --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1955, the birthday of a basketball champion named Lusia “Lucy” Harris. Though "basketball champion" may not be quite the right term for her: she’s also been called the Queen of Basketball. Plus: this weekend in Martin City, Montana, it’s Cabin Fever Days, featuring the world championship for barstool ski races. Lusia Harris, ‘Queen of Basketball,’ Dies at 66 (New York Times) LUSIA HARRIS (1955- ) (BlackPast) Montana’s Barstool Ski Races Are Exactly What They Sound Like (Thrillist) Our Patreon backers are champions --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Today was the birthday in 1914 of the wildest owner Major League Baseball ever saw: Bill Veeck. We'll look through some of his unusual life in baseball. Plus: tomorrow is known in The Netherlands as Warm Sweater Day. Bill Veeck (SABR) Warm Sweater Day (Treehugger) The wild stories on this show are made possible by our backers on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

There's evidence humans have been building figures out of snow for centuries. But they haven't always been called "snowmen" and they haven't always looked the way they look now. We'll explain how we got the shape and the name. Plus: if you’re looking to liven up your Black History Month, you can head to Baltimore, Maryland, home to the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum.  Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition  The Snowman: A brief history of a winter entertainment (Obscure Histories) Baltimore’s National Great Blacks in Wax Museum teaches visitors that knowledge is power (Roadtrippers) Let's build more episodes of this show together - support us on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1984, two US astronauts walked in space. And, for the first time, they weren’t connected to anything. Plus: the New York Historical Society features an exhibition through early April on the history of the city's Jewish delis. 35 YEARS AGO: FIRST UNTETHERED SPACEWALK (Kennedy Space Center) In Pictures: A New York Exhibition Celebrates the Delicious History of Jewish Delis, Matzo Balls and All (Artnet) Our Patreon backers keep this show flying every day --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Supposedly this month in 1891 a sailor named James Bartley was swallowed by a whale and lived! But The Straight Dope took a closer look and found this story was almost certainly too good to be true. Plus: this week in Saranac Lake, New York, near Lake Placid, it’s the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival. The Straight Dope (Chicago Reader) Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Help us sort fact from legend as a backer on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Today is Take A Cruise Day. Cruise ships aren’t for everybody, but some of us really take to them, especially Clara MacBeth, who spent entire decades on cruise ships sailing around the world. Plus: today in South Haven, Michigan, the first day of the Ice Breaker Festival. Sail away from the January blues (Evening Standard via Archive.org)  29th Annual Ice Breaker Festival We keep cruising thanks to our Patreon backers! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Rechargeable batteries like the ones in our smartphones typically last a few years, but a new project out of Australia could lead to batteries that last nearly a decade. And that's thanks in part to sound waves. Plus: February is Black History Month, and few people spent as much time collecting artifacts from Black history as Elizabeth Meaders. Australian tech could triple phone battery life and solve e-waste crisis (The New Daily) Why a Schoolteacher Spent 70 Years Collecting Thousands of Black History Artifacts (Smithsonian) We're all charged up thanks to the support of our Patreon backers  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

On this day in 1790 the US Supreme Court held its first session. Back then, the Court didn't have its own building, but now it does, and that building includes a basketball court. Plus: on the birthday of Rick James, the story of how the funk legend once got a special gift from none other than Salvador Dalí.  The Highest Court in the Land (Sports Illustrated) From Dali to Bestiality: The 10 Craziest Stories in Rick James’ Memoir (Rolling Stone) Our Patreon backers help us take it to the hoop every day --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support