Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

This week we're replaying some of our sweetest episodes of all time. In this episode from April 2019, we look at Peeps, which are the stuff of candy and cultural legend. Not only are there billions of them produced, eaten and/or used in dioramas every year, there's a PeepsMobile, a converted Volkswagen Beetle with a giant yellow Peep on top, and there's PeepResearch.org - an entire website devoted to researching what happens to the candies when you mess with them. The sticky, sugary history of Peeps (Vox) Emory pair unlocks the mystery of Peeps (Emory University) RAM 10th Annual International PEEPS Art Exhibition (Racine Art Museum) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Today is the anniversary of the release in 1954 of the classic monster movie “Creature From The Black Lagoon.” The woman who designed the creature, Milicent Patrick, was almost forgotten, but film lovers and fans have been working to make sure her story is told. Plus: for those who find working from home isn't really working, Japan has a solution that's increasingly popular: an office-in-a-box known as a Telecube.  Movie monster maker Milicent Patrick finally gets her due in ‘The Lady From the Black Lagoon’ (Los Angeles Times) Get your work done inside Tokyo’s first convenience store private working booth (Sora News 24) The people who really make our show happen are the Cool Weird Awesome backers on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

New research shows certain types of male butterflies can create an anti-pheromone they cover their partners in, hoping that the smelly chemical will ward off other males. Definitely not the most thoughtful Valentine's Day gift ever. Plus: data analysis shows the language people use about their relationships can predict a breakup months before it happens!  Butterflies Mark Their Mates To Repel Other Suitors (University of Cambridge) Reddit Study Reveals How Many Months It Takes To Get Over A Breakup (Inverse) We love our Patreon backers with all our hearts, so share the love today --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Frost damage is a growing problem for fruit growers, but a team at Washington State University has developed a cellulose nanocrystal coating that can insulate the buds of grapes and cherries and keep them safe during cold snaps. Plus: a meteorologist who worked in Antarctica just got back the wallet he accidentally left there more than half a century ago.  Cellulose nanocrystals insulate crops against frost damage (Washington State University) San Diego man reunited with wallet lost in Antarctica 53 years ago (San Diego Union Tribune) Help this show grow as a backer on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Millions of people are wearing masks these days to protect themselves and others. And researchers in Australia have found a way to reuse those single-use, disposable masks to make new roads. Plus: it's National Pizza Day, so here's a very geometry-heavy way to slice up a pizza and still make it equal for two eaters.  Used face masks can make roads: Aust study (The West Australian)  The Pizza Theorem (Futility Closet) We'd grab a pizza with our backers on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Building new schools can take lots of time and money, but a new initiative has developed a construction method using 3D printing that they say can put an entire classroom together in a week or less. Plus: a new photo project is recreating great images from fine art and pop culture, but with all the people and characters replaced by hot dogs! The schools of the future can be built in less than a week (Fast Company) Pop Culture and Fine Art Recreated With Hot Dogs (Laughing Squid) We don't need to 3D print our show, but if we did, we'd probably be able to because of our backers on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Guitars as we know them date back to 16th century Europe, but stringed instruments have been around for even longer. And the earliest guitar-like instrument we've been able to find appears to have belonged to Har-Mose, who played for Queen Hatshepsut 3500 years ago in ancient Egypt. Plus: it's National Weatherpersons Day, and boy are we getting lots of weather at our show's HQ.  Guitar: The Instrument That Rocked The World (Visit Omaha) A Brief History of the Guitar (Science of Rock) 5 Facts About the Trickiness of Weather Forecasting (Mental Floss) Rock out with us as a Cool Weird Awesome backer on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

It was today in 1932 that the makers of the cheese curl (or one of them, there are several origin stories) applied for a patent for their creation. Only their creation was supposed to be something entirely different. Plus: LEGO City is a bustling place, and some fans are hoping it will add bike lanes for LEGO riders.  Junk Food’s Happiest Accident (Tedium) Elmer's Cheesy History (Elmer's CheeWees) LEGO bike lanes might be on their way thanks to this idea (Designboom) This podcast and its backers on Patreon are a delicious combination --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

A new website called the Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction is taking us back through the words that have made sci-fi what it is and showing how much this genre has shaped popular culture. Plus: meet a planet that's barely orbiting a brown dwarf, some 450 light years from earth, a spot in the actual universe that seems more like science fiction.  A New Way to Trace the History of Sci-Fi’s Made-Up Words (WIRED) The Weirdest Binary: Planet and Not-a-Star Barely Orbit Each Other (Bad Astronomy) Space is the place for us and our backers on Patreon, join us! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Sagarmatha, aka Mount Everest, is the world's highest mountain, and the site of a growing environmental problem. A new initiative wants to remove trash and recyclables from the peak and turn some of them into art. Plus: a year after its founding, the Black Art Library is bringing new attention to great Black visual artists and is itself an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit. A Museum in the Himalayas Has a Solution for the Tons of Trash Climbers Leave on Mount Everest: Turn It Into Art (Artnet) Black Art Library is a resource of rare publications highlighting the work of Black artists (It's Nice That) Join us as a backer on Patreon and together we'll make some great art --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

On this day in 1976, Elvis Presley apparently got so excited describing the Fool's Gold sandwich, made at a restaurant in Denver, that he flew to Denver that night to eat it, only to fly right back to Memphis when he was done. And that's not the only food Elvis loved; did you know about his penchant for BBQ bologna?  Elvis Presley’s “Fool’s Gold” sandwich was born in Denver (Denver Post) A Dish Fit for a King (NPR) Well you can do anything but don't step on our Patreon backers' shoes --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Champ and Major are the new White House dogs, but there have been lots of pets at the president's house over the years, including Rebecca the raccoon, who definitely left her mark on the place during Calvin Coolidge's presidency. Plus: a company in the UK just made a 500-plus pound protein bar. Do you eat it to refuel after an ultramarathon, maybe?  When Rebecca the Raccoon Ruled the White House (Library of Congress) Calvin Coolidge’s Reuben (Presidential Pet Museum) British company creates world's largest protein bar (UPI) Our Patreon backers deserve any pet they like, even a presidential raccoon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

The next Mars rover is set to land next month, and it's equipped with microphones to make the first audio recordings on another planet. So how does sound work on Mars, which has about 1 percent of the atmosphere Earth does? Plus: Saturn's ringed moon Rhea is getting a chemical coating that likely started on another moon.  New Mars rover may collect first sounds recorded on another planet (UPI) Saturn's Moon Rhea Has A Mysterious Material On Its Surface (Inverse) Cool Weird Awesome's Patreon backers are the best backers in the whole solar system --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

It was on this day in 1955 that began a promotional campaign for the ages: where you could buy a box of cereal and find a deed to some land inside each specially marked box. Plus: a guy in the UK was trying to spot birds, but instead found 1,300 handmade gold coins nearly 2,000 years old.  The Yukon Square Inch Land Rush of 1955 (Amusing Planet) British Birdwatcher Accidentally Discovers 1,300 Pieces of Buried Treasure (My Modern Met) We don't have land for our Patreon backers, but we do have some pretty great extras --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

On this day in 1917, a massive storm destroyed most of the small village of Hallsands, in southern England. Nearly everyone in town moved away after that, but one resident, Elizabeth Prettejohn, stayed for the rest of her life, until the mid 1960s. Plus: why a university in Melbourne, Australia has an upside-down statue.  The strange but true life of Elizabeth Prettejohn who lived alone in ruined Hallsands (Devon Live) Upside Down Statue (Atlas Obscura) You're never alone as a Cool Weird Awesome backer on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Today's an interesting anniversary for those of us doing virtual meetings, parties and play dates: the anniversary of the first transcontinental conference call, starting at the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition in San Francisco and calling a very special guest in New York. Plus: a restaurant in Montreal is winning fans for a menu which weighs the pros and cons of the restaurant's own dishes.  This 1915 conference call made history (Computer World) Flashback 1914: Transcontinental Phone Line Finished (Sound & Vision) 'We are simply not the best,' Montreal restaurateur says of his very honest menu (As It Happens) Our Patreon backers really are the best  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Scientists at universities in the UK and the Netherlands have been testing out a system in which algorithms parse through high-resolution images taken by satellites to identify elephants and their locations, which could help protect these endangered pachyderms from poaching and habitat loss. Plus: scientists discover a type of electric eel, previously thought to be loners, hunt - and zap - prey in groups.  Scientists Use Satellite Imagery to Count Elephants (Interesting Engineering) Shocking Study Finds Electric Eels Hunt Together (Smithsonian) Help keep our show going as a backer on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

In January 1997, Pat Boone - the pop and gospel singer - made a record where he sang Hendrix, AC/DC, Deep Purple and Metallica. How did he, of all people, end up "In A Metal Mood"? Plus: heavy metal is so popular in Finland that there's even a metal band geared toward little kids!  Pat Boone (AV Club) Heavy metal dinosaurs rock the kiddie crowd in Finland (The Age) If you think our Patreon backers aren't the ones who make this show possible, you got another thing comin' --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Some presidential inauguration days are memorable; others are quiet. But the one for Martin Van Buren was probably cheesy, thanks to a giant cheddar sent to Andrew Jackson and a public party to eat it just before Van Buren moved into the White House. (Appropriately enough, today is also National Cheese Lover's Day.) Was the White House Really Trashed at Andrew Jackson's First Inauguration? (HowStuffWorks) The Real Story of the Huge Chunk of Cheese That Sat in the White House for a Year (Food and Wine) NATIONAL CHEESE LOVER’S DAY – January 20 (National Day Calendar) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

On this day in 1981, Muhammad Ali, a hero to millions inside the boxing ring, was a hero outside of it, convincing a man on a ninth-floor fire escape to come back inside the building and seek help.  When Muhammad Ali Met a Man on a Ledge (New York Times) The Time Muhammad Ali Stopped a Man From Leaping to His Death (Slate) If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, there is help: contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/, or the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message