Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

A lock of Abraham Lincoln's hair just sold for $81,000 at auction, a reminder that a) people will pay lots of money for lots of things, and b) hair was a pretty important keepsake in the 19th century - people back then even made it into art. Plus: a couple in England decides to upgrade their garden, which the husband decides means installing a 12-foot statue of a T. rex.  The Curious Victorian Tradition of Making Art from Human Hair (Artsy) Lock of Abraham Lincoln's hair sells for more than $81,000 (ABC News) What a disat-saur! Husband shocks wife who suggested he liven up their garden by installing a 12-ft replica T-REX on the patio (Daily Mail) Back this show on Patreon for just $1 a month (but please don't sell your hair to come up with the money) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

A study out of Ohio State University found that people who take acetaminophen, one of the most common over-the-counter painkillers, are apparently more willing to take risks. Plus: the story of a guy who ended up taking quite a risk by setting up a tent - he just didn’t know it at the time. A pain reliever that alters perceptions of risk (Ohio State University) How this Nova Scotia man ended up accidentally camping in the Atlantic Ocean (CBC) Forget risk, how about getting the rewards of being a Cool Weird Awesome backer on Patreon? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

John Cage once wrote a score with the instructions that it be played "As Slow As Possible." So that's what an organ is doing in Germany, for more than 600 years. Plus: a YouTuber trains his cat to put out fires, sort of.  John Cage musical work changes chord for first time in seven years (BBC) I Trained My Cat To Put Out Fires (William Osman on YouTube) Joining our community of backers on Patreon is quick and easy and won't take 639 years --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

On this day in 1947, a team working on a computer at Harvard University discovered the first computer bug: a moth that had gotten trapped in the electronics. Plus: today in 2005, a guy writes to Major League Baseball to get that expressed written consent they always talk about to rebroadcast or retransmit a game.  Sep 9, 1947 CE: World’s First Computer Bug  (National Geographic) Making Sure You Have Your Expressed Written Consent (Deadspin) Help keep our show running smoothly as a backer on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

A research project has built a handheld device modeled on Nintendo's Game Boy that gets its power from solar panels and the energy created by pushing buttons - no batteries necessary. Plus: a programmer has recreated the classic video game Doom inside an electronic pregnancy test. Technology is pretty versatile, isn't it?  Battery-free Game Boy runs forever (Northwestern University) Programmer makes original Doom playable on pregnancy test (CNet) Cool Weird Awesome is powered by its backers on Patreon, join today! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Computers and the Internet have changed so much of the world, but older technology that still has a home in the world and there are still people who still make it all work, like the family that runs the Gramercy Typewriter Company in Manhattan. Plus: sitting in a box of ice up to your shoulders may or may not be a job, but the guy who set the world record last week definitely worked.  Inside One of NYC’s Last Typewriter Stores (Untapped New York) Chilling out: Austrian breaks record for standing in box of ice (Reuters) Keep this show as cool as ice as a backer on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Research at the University of Oslo shows that humans have an almost unstoppable urge to start moving when the music starts - though, of course, some kinds of music and other factors can lead to more moving than others. Meanwhile, in Austin, Texas, you can (virtually) move through some of the city's most unusual houses through a virtual Weird Homes tour.  Not moving to dance music is nearly impossible, according to new research (University of Oslo via Medical Xpress) 2020 Austin Weird Homes Virtual Tour Cool Weird Awesome backers on Patreon make this show move forward, so join us!  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

The strangeness of this year has been messing with our internal clocks and our sense of how days, weeks and months go. But sometimes it's good to rethink how we understand time, like though Tahoe Timescape, a project to take photographs over one thousand years. Plus: New York City is where King Kong ran wild in the movies, but a new statue could help rebuild the relationship between NYC and big apes. Artist tries 1,000-year time lapse photo of Lake Tahoe (US News & World Report) Photos: King Nyani, the Largest Bronze Gorilla Statue Arrives in NYC (Untapped New York) Help keep this show going for years to come as a backer on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Decades ago researchers announced a Rembrandt painting was not actually by Rembrandt at all. But on Sunday, researchers said they'd looked again and the painting probably was an actual Rembrandt. There are lots of challenges to verifying whether a Rembrandt is really his work or just a simulation. Plus: an interactive online map of continental drift can show you where a town or city used to be hundreds of millions of years ago.  The Rembrandt Research Project: Past, Present, Future  A Supposedly Fake Rembrandt Might Just Be Real (Vanity Fair) Map Lets You See How Your Hometown has Moved Across 750 Million Years of Continental Drift (Good News Network) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

As a very unusual school year gets underway, here's the story of the Trapper Keeper, a school supply that made binders cool - at least for my generation. Plus: a 10 year old in Northern Ireland digs up some history before the school year even starts.  The History of the Trapper Keeper (Mental Floss) Beginner's luck for 10-year-old metal detectorist (BBC) Back this show on Patreon and you'll be as cool as a fifth grader in the 80s with a brand-new Trapper Keeper --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Autonomous vehicles need to learn how to avoid collisions. Locusts are really good at avoiding collisions. So a research project in Pennsylvania is modeling a new collision detection system on the way locusts get out of each other's way. Plus: there's an online community built around finding what businesses move into old Pizza Hut buildings after the Hut moves out.  Locust swarm could improve collision avoidance (Penn State University) Hundreds of Pizza Huts Are Closing. What Happens to Those Weird Buildings? (The Daily Beast) Backing Cool Weird Awesome on Patreon will make you feel as happy as pizza does. Probably.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

In 1939 some ranchers in the West proposed taking parts out of Wyoming, South Dakota and Montana and creating a new state, called Absaroka. It never won approval from Congress but it did have its own license plates and beauty pageant. Plus: how come a spot in Tulsa is known as the center of the universe?  The State of Absaroka (South Dakota Magazine) The Center of the Universe (Atlas Obscura) Cool Weird Awesome's backers on Patreon are the center of our universe. Join us today! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

What's In A Name Week continues with the story of a water tower in northern Kentucky that was supposed to be an advertisement, but ended up becoming a local landmark. Plus: we'll explain one version of how Chicken Dinner Road in Idaho got its name.  Why does the Florence water tower say 'Florence Y'all,' anyway? (WCPO) The Story Of How Chicken Dinner Road In Idaho Got Its Name Is Strangely Fascinating (Only in Idaho) Y'all should join us as backers on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

What's In A Name Week continues with the story of Brookeville, Maryland, and how on this day in 1814, this small town gained a prominent visitor - President James Madison - and a new nickname: U.S. Capital For A Day. Plus: the story of Glen Campbell, Pennsylvania, a town that, in case you were wondering, was not named for singing star Glen Campbell.  "Here all seems security and peace!": How Brookeville, Maryland Became United States Capital for a Day Became United States Capital for a Day (Gettysburg College) Town of Brookeville When Glen Campbell Visited Glen Campbell (Hip Quotient) Add your name to the illustrious list of Cool Weird Awesome backers on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

What's In A Name Week continues with a look at the Oomphalapompatronium, a creation of Boston-area musician, composer and inventor Len Solomon. And it definitely fits the name. Speaking of words that fit with what they describe, did you know about the word "aptronym"? Meet the Guy Who Invented the Oomphalapompatronium (Wired) Aptronym (Raven the Science Maven on Twitter) Our favorite names are the names of our backers on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

It's What's In A Name Week, where we're telling the stories of some of the most memorable names in the world. Today we look at a town in the Texas Hill Country that wanted a post office but couldn't get the feds to agree to any of their suggested names, until they said, let it be nameless! Plus: the story of how Lizard Lick, NC ended up with its one-of-a-kind name.  Nameless, TX (Hill Country Explorer) What's In A Town Name? Pure Americana (WFMY) Most People Don’t Know The Meaning Behind These 10 North Carolina Towns (Only In Your State) Add your name to the list of Patreon backers that make this show happen! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

A farmer in Barre, NY found a massive old safe in his fields, with a note on the side saying whoever could open it could have what was inside. But he decided maybe it would be better not to spoil the surprise. Plus: scientists studying satellite photos of Antarctica were able to spot new colonies of Emperor penguins! From space!  What's inside this mystery safe? Orleans Co. farmer says it should stay unknown (WHAM-TV) Scientists Just Discovered 11 New Emperor Penguin Colonies. From Space (Popular Mechanics) No mystery here - Patreon backers make every episode of Cool Weird Awesome possible! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Before there was digital recording, we had cassettes, reel to reels, phonographs, and even wire recordings! That's a little-known system that was invented at the very end of the 19th century. Plus: meet a building in Italy that's been designed to replicate the shape of an orchestra.  Welcoming a new cast of characters into the archives: Wire recordings (Penn Libraries) Solar-powered House of Music mimics the shape of an orchestra (Inhabitat) Keep our recordings coming as a backer on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

The mullet may take you back to the 70s or 80s, but it's a timeless hairstyle. No, really: there's evidence that the ancients were wearing business in the front, party in the back thousands of years ago. Plus: another thing that transcends time is the urge to break stuff in a controlled environment, hence an ad for a "frustration room" in the 60s.  Amazing Photos From the Australian Mulletfest 2020 (Laughing Squid) Whence the Mullet? (Slate) Frustration Room (Weird Universe) Party with Cool Weird Awesome as a backer on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

One hundred years ago today Tennessee became the 36th and deciding state to approve the 19th amendment to the Constitution. That's due to Febb Ensminger Burn, who lobbied her 24 year old in the Tennessee legislature to "be a good boy" and vote for women's suffrage. Plus: scientists in South Korea have developed a super-fast robotic tongue, just in case we might need one.  Their great-grandma helped secure women's suffrage. Now, they're the first female owners of the family business (Knox News) How one Tennessee mother's influence changed history and led to women's suffrage (Tennessean) Scientists develop a lightning fast robot tongue (Yahoo) Treat your mother right and also back Cool Weird Awesome on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message