Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

Bees are running into a lot of challenges lately, and while there are efforts to help the bees get their buzz back, scientists are testing out systems that might give us other ways to pollinate. One, at the Washington State University, involves cameras and robot hands - while another, in Japan, involves soap bubbles.  Robotic crop pollination awarded $1 million grant (Washington State University) Blowing bubbles: Soapy spheres pop pollen on fruit trees (BBC) Want to help something grow? Back Cool Weird Awesome on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

This is about the time we were all supposed to be gearing up for the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. Since that's on hold, let's instead talk about the Inter-Allied Games, which began in Paris on this day in 1919. Plus: if you'd like some fierce sporting competition from this century, try out the American Hedgehog Bowling Association (and don't worry, the hedgehogs aren't bowled down the lanes).  WWI Soldiers Held their Own Olympics After the War (History.com) Two Little Hedgehogs Try to Knock Down as Many Pins as They Can in an Adorable Bowling Tournament (Laughing Squid) Backing Cool Weird Awesome will give you the thrill of victory, and never the agony of defeat --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

One of the many special places you can mark Juneteenth is at the George Washington Carver Museum in Austin, Texas, with an art installation that has five statues and six pedestals. Plus: the summer solstice is this weekend, and while crowds won't be on hand the usual way at Stonehenge, they can take in the whole event virtually. Juneteenth Memorial Monuments Find a Home (AustinTexas.gov) You Can Watch the Summer Solstice Live From Stonehenge This Year (Thrillist) Celebrate every day with us as a backer on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

It's the birthday of Roger Ebert, a great film critic, TV host and author, and a pioneer in developing realistic-sounding electronic voices. Today we have the story of how he worked to create a voice called "Roger Jr." Plus: how about teaching the electronic voices to read some of Ebert’s hilariously devastating negative movie reviews? Remaking my voice (TED Talks) Roger Ebert's New Voice (CBS Sunday Morning)  Ebert's Most Hated (RogerEbert.com) Speak up as a Cool Weird Awesome backer on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Video games are now as artistically and technically challenging as any other art form. But now they've really leveled up: the FDA has just approved a video game-based treatment for ADHD. Plus: a school librarian in western Virginia just found a clever way to get books to her students while schools and libraries are closed.  Children with ADHD can now be prescribed a video game, FDA says (CNN) Google-backed drones will drop library books so kids in Virginia can do their summer reading (Washington Post) Patreon backers can say "All your Cool Weird Awesome are belong to us"  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Sometimes you go into space to land on the moon, and other times it’s for maintenance purposes. NASA is planning a mission to replace the toilet on the International Space Station. Plus: this is Waste and Recycling Workers Week, are you paying tribute to those who collect all the stuff we toss out?  The International Space Station is getting a new toilet this year (Space.com) The Week of June 17th is Waste and Recycling Workers Week  Cool Weird Awesome's backers on Patreon are very clean  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

It was on this day in 1954 that one of the most important monster movies most people have never heard of was released: "Them!" (note the exclamation mark in the title) featured giant irradiated ants, James Arness, the Wilhelm Scream, Fess Parker, Leonard Nimoy and more! Plus: science has determined how to give the perfect hug, so start practicing.  11 Fun Facts About Them! (Mental Floss) Hug me tender: scientists unlock the secret to the perfect cuddle (Yahoo! News) Protect yourself from giant movie monsters as a Cool Weird Awesome backer on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Today's the anniversary of a pretty unusual moment in the history of human flight: on this day in 1979, an airplane flew over the English Channel that was entirely powered by its pilot. Plus: watching the heaviest airplane ever built take off is a sight to see.  Pedal-Driven Plane Flies Channel (Washington Post) Gossamer Albatross' famed flight 33 years ago today (Hartford Courant) Good Lord: Watching The World's Heaviest Aircraft Take Off (Geekologie) Fly high as a Cool Weird Awesome backer on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Our planet is sometimes called the big blue marble, but Professor Shiladitya DasSarma of the University of Maryland-Baltimore has a hypothesis that suggests if you look way back in time, Earth may have once been bright purple. Plus: meet a guitar with LEDs built into its body that can flash in time with the music. Why Early Earth May Have Been Mostly Purple (Real Clear Science) The LED Guitar (Immerge Interactive via YouTube)  Make the world a little more colorful as a Cool Weird Awesome backer on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Scientists at the University of California - San Diego are trying to help robots walk better on uneven terrain - and, amazingly, coffee is part of the solution. Meanwhile, a robot in Australia is learning how to lay bricks, and it's got a very appropriate name for its job.  Scientists Invent Coffee-Filled Feet That Make Robots Walk Faster and Better (Interesting Engineering) Hadrian X Breaks New Lay Speed Record (FBR on YouTube) Robots have infallible logic circuits and they think you should join us as a backer on Patreon  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Hundreds of thousands of laborers toiled for decades to build Egypt's legendary Great Pyramid... or did they? Professor Emeritus Vaclav Smil of the University of Manitoba did the math and found a very different conclusion. Plus: it's the birthday of baseball great Dave Parker, who once hit a home run that stopped 150 miles away from the ballpark.  How Many People Did it Take to Build the Great Pyramid? (IEEE Spectrum) Dave Parker Lives With Parkinson's Disease As Another Hall Of Fame Class Heads To Cooperstown Without Him (The Undefeated) Knock it out of the park every day as one of our backers on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Researchers at the National University of Singapore have developed a "shadow effect energy generator" which can make the most of the contrast between bright and dark. Plus: many kickboxers can't compete or even train together now, so some have been taking part in a virtual shadow-kickboxing competition online.  A new device can produce electricity using shadows (Science News) Moroccan Maria Oudghiri Wins Arab Shadow Kickboxing Virtual Championship (Morocco World News) Join Cool Weird Awesome as a backer on Patreon today and make the world a little brighter --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

It was on this day in 1876 that the U.S. first fell in love with the banana, when it was introduced at the World's Fair in Philadelphia. Though, back then, eating a banana was quite a bit different than it is today. Plus: on National Doughnut Day, we mark the moment in 2012 when festival-goers in Ukraine proved doughnuts were as good for art as they were for snack time.  Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World by Dan Koeppel 10 Things You Might Not Know About the 1876 Centennial Exhibition (Philadelphia Magazine) A Look at the Guinness World Records of Doughnuts In Celebration of National Doughnut Day (Newsweek) Treat yourself to the good life, as a Cool Weird Awesome backer on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Many of us are getting ready for our weekly shopping trips over the weekend, figuring out what we want to put in our carts. Those carts, by the way, are all due to a guy in Oklahoma who, on this day in 1937, decided to take the shopping basket and give it wheels. Plus: on National Cheese Day we pay tribute to the hardest, chewiest cheese in the world: churrpi!  June 4, 1937: Humpty Dumpty and the Shopping Cart (Wired) The Strange History of the Shopping Cart (Snopes) Trying the Hardest Cheese in the World (Great Big Story on YouTube) Add becoming a Cool Weird Awesome backer to your cart on Patreon (do they have carts?)  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Today in 1967, the town of St. Paul, Alberta officially opened the world’s first UFO landing pad. So why is there a UFO landing pad in east central Alberta? Plus: on this date in 1941, a man called Richard Burgess received a patent for exercise wings - but don't worry, they weren't intended to get their users to fly.  Ready and waiting: Alberta town built world’s first UFO landing pad 45 years ago (National Post) Exercise Wings (Weird Universe) Fly like an eagle into the future as a Cool Weird Awesome backer on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

For a time the powers that be only named hurricanes after women. Roxcy Bolton spoke out for years to change that policy, arguing that women “deeply resent being arbitrarily associated with disaster.” Plus: roller coasters are fun to ride, but they're even more fun when the passengers are all teddy bears.  A Woman to Know: Roxcy Bolton (A Woman To Know) Knuffelberen in #UNTAMED (Walibi Holland on YouTube)  Joining our backers on Patreon doesn't keep storms from forming - but it probably doesn't cause them, either  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

The word "dinosaur" was coined in the 1840s, but people have been finding dinosaur fossils for thousands of years. So what did people think dinosaur bones were before we had an idea that dinosaurs existed? Plus: if your dream is to find a dinosaur-shaped waffle cone with a scoop of ice cream in its mouth, there's a place in southern California that can help you.  What Did People First Think When They Found Dinosaur Bones? (Today I Found Out) The Dinosaur-Themed Ice Cream Shop In Southern California, Sweetosaur, Is The Coolest Place On Earth (Only In Your State) If we were all Jurassic Park characters, our Patreon backers would probably be Ian Malcolm --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Most audio these days (including this show) is recorded digitally, but there are lots of ways to document sounds, including one that's built around a paper cup-turned-microphone. Plus: a programmer has designed a face mask with a lit up, virtual mouth!  An audio recording made using a cup. (Dust To Digital on Instagram) I have finished my face mask (Tyler Glaiel on Twitter) The sweetest sound we can make is when we say thank you to our backers on Patreon!  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Agent 007 is known for living as large as you can - fast cars, fancy clothes, expensive hotels, and fancy food and drink. But writer Ian Fleming once admitted that Bond was originally going to eat pretty much just one food. Plus: if you're going to stick with a single food, why not the extraordinary pies made by Karin Pfeiff-Boschek and their intricate, artistic pie crusts?  Ian Fleming Explains How To Write A Thriller (LitHub) Doughy Braids and Sliced Fruits Arranged into Sumptuous Pies by Karin Pfeiff-Boschek (Colossal) Our Patreon backers leave us stirred, not shaken --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

There are lots of human efforts to help bees out, but there’s also some new research out that says bees help themselves by taking steps to get plants to flower earlier than usual. Plus: a man in Canada ordered hair cream in 2012, and it just arrived this month. Patience is a virtue!   Bumblebees Bite Plants to Force Them to Flower (Seriously) (Scientific American)  Toronto man says Canada Post just delivered package he ordered 8 years ago  (CTV News)  This show's Patreon backers create all the buzz - you should join them --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message