Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

This week we're replaying episodes that are anything but phoned in. For this episode from November 2021, the first automatic dial network happened because of a business dispute between two undertakers. Plus: the story of John Baxter Taylor, Jr, the first Black American to win an Olympic gold medal. Almon B. Strowger: The undertaker who revolutionized telephone technology (Spark Museum of Electrical Invention)First African American Olympic gold medalist was a Penn grad (University of Pennsylvania)Help us invent hundreds more episodes of our show as a backer on Patreon

This week we're replaying episodes that are anything but phoned in. For this episode from October 2021, the story of how an Indianapolis utility physically moved its 11,000 ton, eight story central office to a different location, while people worked inside. Plus: the governor of Colorado announces (with tongue firmly in cheek) that his state is tied for the state with the fewest number of shark attacks. An Incredible Move: The Indiana Bell Telephone Building (Amusing Planet)Colorado tied for state with fewest shark attacks, Gov. Jared Polis boasts (Denver Post)Our Patreon backers are number one in all the good categories

This week we're replaying episodes that are anything but phoned in. For this episode from April 2022, the story of several communities in Indiana that started their own wired telephone service, and the wire they used was plain old fence wire. Plus: Kansas City celebrates Fountain Day. Barb-Wire telephone line (Insulators.info)Barbed Wire Telephone Lines Connected The Old Frontier (Successful Farming podcast)Everything You Need To Know About Fountains In Kansas City (VisitKC)Reach out and touch someone (figuratively speaking) as a backer on Patreon

Here in the US, we're getting ready for trick or treaters on this Halloween night. But in Scotland, kids go guising instead - because there, you can’t go door to door for candy without giving a bit of a show. Plus: a visit to a very creepy medical museum in Lexington, Kentucky. Halloween in Scotland (Historic UK)The Creepiest Museum In The Country Can Be Found Right Here In Kentucky (Only In Your State)Give yourself a treat when you back this podcast on Patreon

A lot of us enjoy a good pretend-scare around this time of year.  But around this time in 1986, a school in California offered up a Halloween hoax that was a little too on the nose for the student body. Plus: a public library in Massachusetts has a ghost hunting kit that patrons can check out and use. School Prank--Pupils Told That War Has Started (Los Angeles Times)Ghost Hunting Kit Available at the Public Library (Neatorama)It’s no hoax to say that our Patreon backers make this show happen, join them today

For National Cat Day, we have the story of how one of the biggest museums in the world once had to deal with a large collection of feral cats. Though of course the museum wasn't the only workplace in the UK that had cats in important places. The British Museum podcast: The purrrplexing story of the British Museum cats (British Museum)Bureaucats: The felines with official positions (BBC)Help this show avoid cat-astrophe as a backer on Patreon

Today in 1978, the premiere of the TV movie “KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park. It was meant to be a big moment for the band, but that's not quite how it worked out. Plus: today in 1933, a newsreel announced that to stop traffic jams in Bronxville, New York, police would enforce a three-second limit on kisses at the train station. KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park (BradyCarlson.com) Kiss Get Superpowers In A TV Movie (Songfacts)Commuters' Kisses Cut By Police To End Traffic Jam (Newsreels.net)Rock out with us as a backer on Patreon

New York City's subway system is, of course, mostly underground, but some of the equipment that isn't is hiding in plain sight. Like an equipment room that’s disguised as a brownstone in Brooklyn Heights. Plus: Austria could someday have electric towers designed to look like some of its signature animals. A Fake Brownstone in Brooklyn Hides a Secret Subway Ventilator (Untapped New York)  power lines shaped as animal sculptures supply electricity across austria (designboom)Keep our show moving along like a subway car as a backer on Patreon

In the Great Depression, people had to get creative to handle the many economic challenges that were coming their way.  Like how Pismo Beach, California found a good stand-in for regular currency: clamshells. Plus: three black bears at a zoo in California get a visit from a wild black bear. Clamshell Currency (Hakai Magazine)When Seashells Were Money (Messy Nessy Chic) 'Polite Visitor:' Bear Sneaks Into NorCal Zoo To Visit Fellow Bears (Patch)Share a few clams a month on our Patreon page and keep this show growing

Ahead of National Hug a Sheep Day on Saturday, the story of a special treat that farmers in Wales used to make: Sheep-Shearing Cake. Plus: this Saturday in Claremore, Oklahoma, it’s the Route 66 Pecan & Music Festival. Welsh Shearing Cake or Cacen Gneifo (Daffodil Kitchen)Route 66 Pecan & Music Festival It would be shear perfection (pun intended) if you backed our show today on Patreon

It's National Color Day, so we have the story of how "jet black" became a phrase for a deep, dark black hue (and it isn't because of the jets that fly us around). Plus: today in 1973, the birthday of Ichiro Suzuki, a guy who kept his dog off the sports page for a very unusual reason. A forgotten gemstone that reigned during the Victorian era comes back into focus (CNN)Being Ichiro (New York Times)Jet on over to our Patreon page, where you can back our show

Today in 1797, the launch of the USS Constitution, the oldest active duty ship in the US Navy’s fleet. And for the last half century or so, a part of keeping “Old Ironsides” in operation is a special US Navy forest. Plus: for National Teen Driver Safety Week, the story of a driver in South Korea who needed a lot of persistence to pass her driving test. The “Wooden Walls” of USS Constitution (USS Constitution Museum)More than 4 in 10 people fail driving test (CBS News)Sail on over to our Patreon page and back our podcast

Today in 1965, there was an unusual visitor high atop New York’s famous Empire State Building: a Ford Mustang. And it took some doing to get it up there. Plus: at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, this is Raisin Monday, which includes a big shaving cream fight on campus. 1965 Ford Mustang Empire State Building Stunt (Motor Trend)No place like foam (University of St. Andrews)Drive on over to our Patreon page and back the show

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite episodes on the ice. In this episode from May 2024, linguistic research suggests that American hockey players sometimes start to sound more like Canadians as their hockey careers continue. Plus: The Atlantic Road uses seven bridges to connect a bunch of islands in Norway together, giving people the chance to drive right along the ocean. How do you pronounce “hockey”? US players say it with “fake Canadian” accent. (Ars Technica)The Atlantic Road (Explore Scandanavia)For just one Canadian loonie a month you could back our show on Patreon!

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite episodes on the ice. In this episode from January 2020, we celebrate the Zamboni, and the guy who both invented it and gave the machine its name. Plus: the U.P. Supply Co. calculates out just what it would take to give the Zamboni treatment to the greatest of the great lakes, Lake Superior. Making Ice Nice Since 1949: A Brief History of the Zamboni (Mental Floss)It’d take 693 years to resurface Lake Superior with a Zamboni, study says (Detroit Free Press)It only takes a few minutes to back Cool Weird Awesome on Patreon! 

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite episodes on the ice. In this episode from April 2023, a look at underwater hockey, where six swimmers on each side work to keep a 3 pound puck from ending up in their team’s underwater goal. Plus: Japan has an annual holiday known as Queen Day, as in the rock band fronted by Freddie Mercury. Deep dive into the world of underwater hockey (ESPN)The Pandemic Hasn’t Dulled Japan’s Special Love for Queen (Atlas Obscura)Team up with us! Back this show on Patreon for just a dollar a month

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite episodes on the ice. In this episode from January 2020, the story of Eddie Shore, a hockey player who just wasn’t going to miss his game. Plus: a company in Texas lets customers control a Chieftain MKG tank (just for a while though). How Eddie Shore’s Legendary Toughness Extended Off The Ice (The Hockey News)You Can Crush Cars While Driving A Tank At DriveTanks in Uvalde, Texas (Only In Your State)Tanks to all of Cool Weird Awesome’s backers on Patreon! 

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite episodes on the ice. In this episode from December 2020, a look back at a game in 1953 in which two teams racked up a then-record 204 penalty minutes. In a game that’s officially 60 minutes long. Plus: a guitarist in Japan posts a video where he’s playing a fast bluesy riff, with a blue and white parakeet on his left hand.This Day in Hockey History – December 9, 1953 – Canadiens Rhubarb Leafs (The Pink Puck)Guitarist Plays a Rockabilly Riff With Bird on His Hand (Laughing Squid)An exclusive bonus episode is coming soon for our Patreon backers, join today!

Autonomous vehicles have high-tech systems to see “see” what’s around them on the roads. A project in Germany asks if these cars also need to be listening to what’s around them too. Plus: today in Oklahoma, it’s the Watonga Cheese & Wine Festival. “Hearing Car” Detects Sounds for Safer Driving  AI and microphones are helping vehicles detect unseen hazards (IEEE Spectrum)Watonga Cheese Festival (TravelOK)If you like what you hear on our podcast, back us on Patreon

As a Halloween week prank in 1998, DJs in Tennessee said people had to exchange their old $20 bills for the new ones, or they would become worthless. And some people ended up rushing to the bank. Plus: starting tomorrow in Kansas, it’s the Lenexa Chili Challenge. Banks boo $20-bill radio hoax (The Tennesseean via Newspapers.com) Lenexa Chili Challenge Back us on Patreon with a few dollars a month; in exchange, you’ll get some great podcast episodes