Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

Today in 1982, the World Series St. Louis Cardinals made baseball history with the first major league team-wide dogpile. We explain how players who are celebrating a big moment can sometimes inadvertently hurt each other. Plus: today in 1973, the opening of the Sydney Opera House, where a chicken in an opera once landed on top of a cellist. UVA Baseball Players Attest: Dogpiles Come With Temporary Pain, But Forever Joy (University of Virginia)  The art of the dogpile (ABC News) Interesting facts about the Sydney Opera House (Sydney Opera House) Crowdsounds courtesy Pixabay  Support for the show courtesy our backers on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

It's a big and little development in medicine and technology all at once: a robotic system that can autonomously move a medical needle safely through living tissue. Plus: starting tomorrow in Grand Marais, Minnesota, it's the Moose Madness Family Festival. Medical robot steers needle through living lung (University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill) Moose Madness Family Festival Make all the big and little things happen for this show as a backer on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1867, the United States formally purchased the land now known as Alaska. The day before had been a Friday, but because of the transfer, that day became a Friday too. Plus: today in 2019, a hard-hitting news story out of Biddeford, Maine about a student ID photo and a hot dog costume. When the Day After Friday is Friday (Now I Know)  Seward's Bargain: The Alaska Purchase from Russia (Archives.gov) Maine school allows student to wear hot dog costume for his ID picture Back this show on Patreon and you'll help this show seven (or sometimes eight) days a week --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1978, Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand released their enormous hit duet "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." a duet that pretty much happened by accident. Plus: today in 1989, a massive earthquake strikes just before a World Series game in the Bay Area, and a baseball legend reportedly responds in an unusual way. The Number Ones: Barbra Streisand & Neil Diamond’s “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” (Stereogum)  Book: Lawyer Cheated DiMaggio You don't need to bring us flowers, but you could back us on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1869, one of the most famous hoaxes of the 19th century began, when workers in Cardiff, New York supposedly uncovered the remains of a 10 foot tall man known as the Cardiff Giant. Plus: today in 1962 Manute Bol was born. At 7 foot 7 inches, he was the tallest player in NBA history, and yet, when he first came to the US from Sudan, his passport said he was just 5 foot 2!  “A Remarkable Deception”: The Cardiff Giant Hoax (Massachusetts Historical Society) A Tall Story You can make a giant difference in our show as a backer on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

A lot of people believe Friday the 13th is bad luck, and that comes from a lot of legends and traditions. But a guy in 19th Century New York decided to rep this maligned number by flouting superstition and holding regular meals for what he called the Thirteen Club. Plus: the Chicago Botanic Garden is welcoming visitors for the Night of 1,000 Jack-o'-Lanterns. Origins of Friday the 13th: How the Day Got So Spooky (Live Science)  Night of 1,000 Jack-o'-Lanterns (Chicago Botanic Garden) Let's make some good luck together, back our show on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 2020, the Nobel Foundation tried to call a Stanford professor to tell him he'd won the Economics Prize... except that he was asleep with his phone in Sleep Mode! Fortunately they found a good workaround. Plus: this weekend in Goffstown, New Hampshire, it’s the Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off And Regatta.  Doorbell camera captures moment Nobel Prize winner is told he won (NBC News) Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off & Regatta   All of our backers on Patreon deserve awards --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Flip a standard coin and you’ve got a 50 percent chance of heads and a 50 percent chance of tails, right? Well, there’s new research out that says… maybe not quite. Plus: for National Coming Out Day, the story of a teen who came out to her family with a cake and a pun-filled letter. Coin toss not so random after all, says groundbreaking study (Boing Boing)  Girl comes out to parents with help from a cake (Yahoo) It's not a coin flip when you back our show on Patreon, there's a 100% chance you'll make something great happen --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

This month in 1870, a magazine called The Galaxy published a puzzling article that essentially asks, what's the big deal about Yosemite?  Plus: the channel Jamie’s Lego Jams just used LEGO to build an air-powered pipe organ. Is Yosemite Worth It? This 150-Year-Old Negative Review Laughingly Misses the Mark (Outside via MyYosemitePark.com)  LEGO Pan Pipe Organ (The Awesomer) You'll make our show a big deal when you back us on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Today we’re learning about new research on learning in jellyfish that suggests that you can learn even if you don’t have a brain! Plus: we have a new record holder for the world’s longest mullet! Brainless jellyfish show they can learn from past experience (Interesting Engineering)  I Have The World's Longest Mullet! (Guinness World Records via YouTube) Let's put our brains together and support this podcast on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

This month in 1993, the start of a project that is going to take a while: the Zeitpyramide, a 120 block art installation that’s being built at the rate of one block every decade. Plus: starting tomorrow in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, it’s the Wisconsin Mac & Cheese Fest. Zeitpyramide  Wisconsin Mac & Cheese Fest Back us on Patreon and, over time, we'll build something great together --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

This month in 1930 an experiment to document a very, very slow process began. It holds the world record for longest-running lab experiment: the Pitch Drop Experiment at the University of Queensland. Plus: this weekend in Easton, Pennsylvania, the Easton Garlic Fest. Pitch Drop experiment (University of Queensland) Easton Garlic Fest  No rush, but could you please drop a few bucks in to support this show on Patreon? --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1936, the premiere of Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 1. That was 71 years after the symphony was written, which is what happens when a symphony is thought to be lost. Plus: atarting tomorrow at the Conner Prairie outdoor history museum in Indiana, it's the Headless Horseman Festival. José Serebrier writes about the strange history of Dvořák’s First Symphony, The Bells of Zlonice (Classical Source) Antonín Dvořák and the lost symphony (Radio Prague International)   Headless Horseman Festival at Conner Prairie   Let's make beautiful music together, back us on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

This month in 1995, the conclusion of a very odd saga involving one Patrick Combs, who deposited a promotional check from a piece of junk mail and actually got the money! Plus: it's the Day of German Unity. Under a German law, if a family had a seventh kid, the country's president would automatically serve as godparent! Playing With Money / How a $95,093.35 junk mail check changed Patrick's life (SFGate.com) Unlucky number seven causes headache for German president (Deutsche Welle)   Back our show on Patreon and you may have already won! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Today was the birthday in 1890 of Groucho Marx, perhaps the best known of the comic geniuses known as the Marx Brothers. And yet, if it hadn’t been for a runaway mule, they might never have ended up doing comedy. Plus: today in 2006, musician Katie Melua and her band set a world record for deepest underwater concert by playing over 300 meters below sea level, for workers in an oil rig in the North Sea. Marx Brothers' road to stardom began in Nacogdoches (Houston Chronicle) Melua's deep sea gig sets record Back our show on Patreon and I'll give you my personal note for ninety days. If it isn't paid by then, you can keep the note --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

It's National Coffee Day, and while most coffee fans prefer to brew and drink the stuff, there are other options. For example, have you ever tried coffee jelly? Plus: Binasco, Italy is home to MUMAC, which in Italian is an acronym for the Museum of Coffee Making Machines. Boston's Forgotten Coffee Jelly Lives On in Japanese Desserts (VICE)  Coffee Machine Museum (Bookofjoe) For less than the cost of a cup of coffee, you can brew up more episodes of this show as a backer on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Around this time in 2011, an event that was definitely not a “blink and you’ll miss it” affair: a staring contest that took over 40 minutes. Plus: a research team in Japan has developed an artificial intelligence system "capable of interpreting various emotional states in chickens." Victory for 'Eyesore' in 40-minute staring competition (ABC Australia)  Scientists Say New AI Can Translate What Chickens Are Saying (Futurism) Back our show on Patreon and we'll all stare at a great future together --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Around this time of year, the Tiwi Islands in northern Australia can start counting on pretty much the same thunderstorm showing up at the same time every day. It's so reliable, they even named it. Plus: this weekend in Newport, Indiana, it's the annual Antique Auto Hill Climb. Hector arrives promptly at 3pm. But Hector isn’t a person (CNN)  Newport Antique Auto Hill Climb Help us show up at the same time every day as a backer on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1774 was the birthday of Johnny Appleseed. In some ways, the real life John Chapman was like the person depicted in books and movies. But he was also a savvy, albeit eccentric, entrepreneur whose apples were less for eating than they were for drinking. Plus: a billboard to promote the Beatles album Abbey Road (released today in 1969) loses a head! The Real Johnny Appleseed Brought Apples—and Booze—to the American Frontier (Smithsonian)  Billboard USA: when rock took over advertising's roadside monoliths (The Guardian) A Patreon backer a day keeps the show growing --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1897, the birthday of William Faulkner, the Nobel Prize winning author of novels like The Sound and the Fury, and, for a few years, one of the most unproductive postmasters the US mail has ever seen. Plus: on this day in 2020, a German rapper calling himself Hans Solo released the first full-length hip hop album entirely in Klingon.  William Faulkner Was Really Bad at Being a Postman (Lit Hub)  Hans Solo NUQNEH (Upcoming Vinyl) Not everyone makes a great postmaster, but everybody would make a great Patreon backer for our show --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support