Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

For IT Professionals Day, the history of the screen saver, which was originally just supposed to keep monitors from getting overworked but eventually took on a whimsical style of their own. Plus: Warsaw, Poland is encouraging commuters to try something other than looking at their phones. Saving One Screen At A Time (Tedium)Warsaw opens metro station ‘express’ library to get commuters off their phones (The Guardian)Save our show as a backer on Patreon

Today we pay tribute to Maru the cat, one of web culture’s most beloved cats. YouTube cat fans and cardboard boxes will never be the same without him. Plus: today in 2015, a guy in Louisiana realizes he's in no condition to drive, so he finds a very different way home. The World Will Always Remember Maru (Neatorama)Drunk cowboy: 'Horse knows the way home' (WBRZ)Want more episodes about legendary internet cats? Back our show on Patreon today

Today in 1975, Pink Floyd released the album Wish You Were Here. It's a landmark both musically and visually, thanks to its cover featuring two men in suits are shaking hands… and one of them is on fire. Plus: starting tomorrow at the Nelson-Adkins Museum of Art, it’s the Kansas City Deaf Cultural Festival. The Story Behind Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were Here’ Album Cover (American Songwriter)Kansas City Deaf Cultural Festival (Nelson-Adkins Museum of Art)Shine on you Patreon backers

Today in 2001, as the world watched the horrific scene in lower Manhattan, and as those on scene faced all kinds of obstacles, a guide dog named Roselle stayed focused on her job, and helped her human get to safety. Michael Hingson (911Memorial.org)

We have baths and we have showers, but now a company in Japan is offering a pod that it says will wash and dry a person in about 15 minutes. Plus: today in 1881, a big first for Major League Baseball. Japan’s Innovative “Human Washing Machine” Can Clean up and Dry a Person in 15 Minutes (My Modern Met)Grondahl: Historian finds first grand slam in MLB history - in Rensselaer (The Times-Union)Keep this show clean and clear as a backer on Patreon

It’s Teddy Bear Day. Kids of all kinds have loved and been loved by this OG stuffie, even if there was a time when Very Concerned People thought the teddy bear could imperil the nation’s future. Plus: a town in South Dakota used to be home to an enormous collection of teddies. The Teddy Bear Was Once Seen as a Dangerous Influence on Young Children (Smithsonian)The World’s Largest Indoor Teddy Bear Collection Is Right Here In South Dakota At Teddy Bear Town (Only In Your State)Bear down and back this show today on Patreon

Today is Actors Day, and few actors have left an impression like Robert "Romeo" Coates, who was sort of the Florence Foster Jenkins of English stage stars. Plus: today in 2022, the passing of Queen Elizabeth II of England, which triggered a very old custom of notifying the royal bees. The Amateur of Fashion: Robert "Romeo" Coates (Folger Shakespeare Library)The Queen’s Bees Have Been Informed of Her Passing (Vanity Fair)Act now to support this show on Patreon

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes when the world of sports went off course. In this episode from March 2021, Maryland was the first state to adopt an official state sport, and that official state sport is jousting. Plus: a woman in New York does “space clearing,” which removes the negative energy from a home that won't sell. A look into Maryland’s curious state sport: Jousting (Shore Monthly)Mary Lou Bartram (Maryland Jousting Tournament Association)The Healer That Real-Estate Agents Call to Clear Their Cursed Apartments (Curbed)Our backers on Patreon help this show hit its targets every time

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes when the world of sports went off course. In this episode from June 2021, the story of a guy who took two sports and fused them into one: Ed Headrick, known today as the Father of Disc Golf. Plus: an exhibit highlights the original rainbow Pride flag, the one Gilbert Baker designed for San Francisco’s Gay Freedom Day Parade in 1978.The Father of Disc Golf (Disc Golf Association)History of disc golf (part 1): the early days (Murray Ledger)The Original Pride Flag Is Now on Display in a San Francisco Museum (Travel and Leisure)Keep our show flying as a backer on Patreon!

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes when the world of sports went off course. In this episode from June 2021, the winner of the prestigious 1934 U.S. Open golf tournament was sick as a dog the whole time. And the winner wasn’t the only golfer who had an odd time at the event.Bobby Cruickshank – the war hero who became one of Scottish golf’s nearly men in United States (The Scotsman)Olin Dutra overcomes bout of food poisoning to win by one stroke over Sarazen at Merion (U.S. Golf Association)Our Patreon backers always help us reach the green

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes when the world of sports went off course. In this episode from January 2021, a look at how one of the popular fads of the 1920s was flagpole sitting. Plus: for National Bird Day, a look at the shoebill, a bird for the record books. 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!

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes when the world of sports went off course. In this episode from March 2021, about 200 runners in Los Angeles set out to run all the way to New York City. Plus: The Long Trail is a 272 mile hike through Vermont's Green Mountains, from the Massachusetts line to the border with Quebec. Endurance Racing: First Leg, the Bunion Derby (New York Public Library)The 1928 Bunion Derby: America’s Brush with Integrated Sports (BlackPast)The Long Trail (Green Mountain Club)We’ve got some big plans with our Patreon backers this month (but don’t worry, none of them are cross-country foot races)

Kids in my town are headed back to school next week. The buses they use will be very similar to ones dating back to 1939, when a bunch of experts chose a bright shade of yellow as the standard school bus color. Plus: starting today in Tilburg, in the Netherlands, it’s the Redhead Days Festival. Why Are School Buses Yellow? (HowStuffWorks)Redhead Days Festival The wheels on this show’s bus keep turning because of our supporters on Patreon

Today, a report in the San Francisco Examiner about Paul Granveaud of France, who was training to become an astronaut. Two important notes here: the report came out in 1927, long before humans ever went to space, and Paul Granveaud was just six years old. Plus: starting tomorrow in Rollag, Minnesota, it’s the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion. First Boy in Space: The 1927 Moon Shot Craze (Paleofuture)WESTERN MINNESOTA STEAM THRESHERS REUNION Launch our show into the stratosphere as a backer on Patreon

Today in 1974, the US issued a patent to one Becky Schroeder, an extremely inventive kid. After all, not many of us have our very own patent at age twelve. Plus: starting this Friday in Indiana, it’s the Marshall County Blueberry Festival. Girl Finds Way to Write in Dark (New York Times)Marshall County Blueberry FestivalHelp our show glow as a backer on Patreon

It's National Dog Day, so let’s talk about a dog who definitely found a way to carry on during World War II: Rip the dog, who rescued Londoners from rubble after Nazi bombing raids. Plus: in Spartanburg, South Carolina there's a statue of Chaser, known as the "Smartest Dog In The World."Medal for Dog Rip, Who Saved 100 People, Fetches 24,250 Pounds (Bloomberg via Archive.org) Smartest Dog Ever Can Pick Out 1,022 Toys By Name (Popular Science)You can help our show as a backer on Patreon

Today in 1835, the start of a six-part series in the New York Sun newspaper about fantastical creatures living on the moon. It wasn't true, but it was wildly popular. Plus: starting today, an auction of some rare US gold coins from the collection of an 80s rocker and avid collector. The Great Moon Hoax of 1835: The Birth of Fake News? (Interesting Engineering)Rick Springfield Collection of U.S. gold coins to be sold (Coin World)It would be fantastic (but not fantastical) for our listeners to back our show on Patreon

Today in 1865, newspapers published "Letter From A Freedman To His Old Master," Jordan Anderson's note perfect response to a guy who probably shouldn’t have written to him in the first place. Plus: starting today in Illinois, it’s the Dekalb Corn Fest. How did ex-slave's letter to master come to be? (Salt Lake Tribune via Conifer) Dekalb Corn Fest Get in touch with us as a backer on Patreon

it’s World Goat Day, so we’re heading to a spot in Sister Bay, Wisconsin, where goats get to go on the roof. Plus: today in 2023, the start of a contest to find the laziest citizen in Montenegro. Why Are There Goats on the Roof at This Swedish Restaurant in Wisconsin? (Thrillist)Montenegrins vie for record in lying down contest (Reuters)Our Patreon backers are all GOATS

Today in 1911, the birthday of Isabel Morgan, a scientist and researcher whose breakthroughs in polio helped protect millions of kids from that terrible disease. Plus: Pixply is a digital game board that can change its layout depending on which game you want to play. Forging the Trail for Polio Vaccination: Isabel Morgan and Dorothy Horstmann (American Society for Microbiology)Pixply Rollable Digital Game Board (The Awesomer)Keep this show healthy as a backer on Patreon