Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

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

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. could stir hearts and provoke minds through his writing and his speeches like few others in history. And so it’s even more amazing that his first speech as a public figure, at the outset of the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955, came together with almost no time to prepare it. 32 things you probably didn't know about Martin Luther King Jr. (Insider) When Martin Luther King, Jr. Became A Leader (The New Yorker) (1955) Martin Luther King, Jr. “The Montgomery Bus Boycott” (BlackPast.org) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

The (possibly apocryphal) story goes that on this day in 1797, haberdasher John Hetherington walked onto the streets of London wearing the first top hat, which caused so much hubbub that he was arrested and fined for disturbing the peace! Plus: in January 1974, MIT professor James Henry Williams, Jr. built a 35 pound yo-yo made of two bicycle wheels, and dropped it off the side of a 21-story campus building.  History of the Top Hat (International Formalwear Association via Archive.org) James H. Williams, Jr. and the world's largest yo-yo, 1974 (MIT Black History) Hats or not, we think our Patreon backers are tops --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

It was today in 1972 that NBC first broadcast one of the most memorable sitcoms in TV history, “Sanford and Son." Here's a few facts about the show and its star, Redd Foxx. Plus: photographer Mike Mayou went out with a drone-mounted camera in Minnesota to catch the sunset but got something even more amazing.  15 Big Facts About Sanford and Son (Mental Floss) Photographer Flies Drone To Discover a Once-in-a-Lifetime Shot of 3 Bobcats Sitting on a Log (My Modern Met) Join Cool Weird Awesome as a backer on Patreon for a price even Fred Sanford wouldn't mind paying --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Judging by metronome marks on his sheet music, Ludwig von Beethoven wanted his compositions played really, really fast. Or did he? A new data analysis suggests that the master composer and early metronome adopter may have just misread his device as he wrote down tempos. Plus: Lady Gaga has her own cookies!  Big data will analyze the mystery of Beethoven's metronome (EurekAlert!) REVIEW: Lady Gaga Oreo Cookies (The Impulsive Buy) Every moment with our Patreon backers is like a symphony of greatness --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

I certainly did not expect 2021 to be what it is, but what did people back in the day predict our world would be like now? Entrepreneur Magazine looked back at predictions from a hundred years ago, and some of them were surprisingly close to the mark. Plus: Robert "Buz" Chmielewski, who's had only limited feeling and movement in his hands and fingers for 30 years, is using special gear and the power of his mind to control prosthetics and serve himself dessert.  What Will Happen In 2021? Here's What People In 1921 Predicted. (Entrepreneur) Quadriplegic patient uses brain signals to feed himself with two advanced prosthetic arms (Johns Hopkins University) We predict you will greatly enjoy being one of our backers on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

The sunk-cost fallacy - when we keep at something even when it’s really not worth it anymore, just because we’ve already put so much time or effort in - is a part of human nature. But new research shows it's also a part of the nature of - this is the best part - video game playing monkeys. Plus: our first story on world records of 2021. Meet the world's largest spam musubi!  Monkeys, Like Humans, Persist At Tasks They’ve Already Invested In—Even When They Don’t Succeed (Georgia State University) The world’s largest spam musubi is not from Hawaii (KHON) No sunk costs with our Patreon backers!  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Today is the birthday of Edwin Perkins, who invented a sweet drink known the world over as Kool-Aid. It's the only drink with a mascot that can smash through walls and shout "OH YEAH!" Plus: it's also the birthday of Elvis Presley, who in 1956 volunteered to be photographed getting the then-new polio shot to encourage mass vaccinations. Another way he used his immense fame as a singer to take care of business.  History of Kool-Aid (Kool-Aid Days) Kool-Aid (Quartz) When Elvis Helped to Conquer Polio (Politico) We drink to our backers on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

After yesterday's stunning, discouraging events at the U.S. Capitol, we decided to make today's show a chance to get to know our Capitol building a little better. Here's some of what we learned, though we could do a whole week's worth of shows about the Capitol and the people who have made it what it is.  10 Facts About the U.S. Capitol Building (Mental Floss) A Native American tribe once called D.C. home. It’s had no living members for centuries. (Washington Post) Evolution of the Capitol (VisitTheCapitol.gov) Philip Reid and the Statue of Freedom (Architect of the Capitol) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Snow gets its white color because of the way light and color work - but in paintings, artists use a few other tones to make their snowscapes look more realistic and more interesting. Plus: why a New York City department store once tried to sell chips of 100,000 year old ice.  Why Is Snow White? (HowStuffWorks) Is Snow White? Maybe, or Maybe Not. (UCAR Center for Science Education) That Time Bloomingdale’s Sold Ice from a 100,000 Year Old Glacier in Greenland (Untapped New York) Our backers on Patreon come through, whatever the weather  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

The U.S. had flagpole sitting a century ago, but the Netherlands has Paalzitten, a sport in which people try to outlast each other sitting on poles. It can get competitive, though finding a crowd to watch people sitting on poles can be tricky. Plus: on National Bird Day, we pay tribute to the shoebill, a large bird that looks a bit like a pelican crossed with a dragon.  St. Simeon Stylites (Britannica) In the Netherlands Sitting on a Pole for Hours on End Is a Competitive Sport (Oddity Central) The Shoebill: Or, the Most Terrifying Bird in the World (Audubon) We would sit on a pole for our Patreon backers! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Today is (we think) the birthday of Victor Lustig, perhaps the most notorious scammer of all time. He swindled Al Capone once and "sold" the Eiffel Tower twice! Plus: if you need help relaxing these days, try the ambient soundscapes of Swiss artist Zimoun. The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower. Twice. (Smithsonian) Smooth Operator: How Victor Lustig Sold The Eiffel Tower (Mental Floss) Sound Sculptures (Nag on the Lake) Join our listener-powered podcast as a backer on Patreon!  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

On this day in 1993, two new countries were born out of the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The Czech Republic and Slovakia spent months negotiating all of the old country's assets, even which side got which verses of the national anthem. Plus: many of us have tried to learn new skills during our extra time at home. Anna Chojnicka was one of them, and the skill she chose was to make art out of bananas. Czechs consider national anthem update (BBC) Amazing Banana Art Made by Poking and Bruising the Skin, No Ink is Used (The Sifter) Our Patreon backers are set to get an exclusive bonus episode on Saturday, join them!  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

A paleoanthrological study in the caves of Atapuerca, Spain, finds that hundreds of thousands of years ago, human ancestors tried something along the lines of hibernation, holing up in the caves for months during winter. It didn't go all that well, though. Plus: you've heard of the ball drop on New Year's Eve in Times Square. But have you heard of the new year's pickle drop in Mt. Olive, North Carolina?  Humans Used to Be Able to Hibernate, Evidence Suggests (Popular Mechanics) This Town Celebrates New Year's Eve With A Pickle Drop (Delish) Happy new year to all, but especially to our backers on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

If one of your new year’s resolutions is to see if you can cut down on your energy use, this might be a way to do it: a tabletop laundry dryer that can finish a cycle in just 15 minutes. Plus: ever tried listening to a record made of chocolate? You can.  This Tabletop Clothes Dryer Uses Vacuum Dehydration Technology To Dry Clothes In 15 Minutes (Yanko Design) Playing a Chocolate Record (Techmoan on YouTube) The warmest people in the world are our Patreon backers --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

A new study from researchers at Aoyama Gakuin University and Osaka University finds that something interesting happens when we’re trying not to reveal something: our perception of time slows down. Plus: MIT physicists have designed a model for a super-accurate atomic clock that even accounts for quantum physics.  New psychology research confirms that time slows down when you are concealing something (PsyPost) New type of atomic clock keeps time even more precisely (MIT News) It's time for you to join our amazing backers on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message