Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

We're a few days out from World Baking Day, so here's the story of a woman who’s helped people find their way around the kitchen for more than a century… even though she isn’t a real person. Plus: starting tomorrow in Jeffersonville, Indiana, it’s Abbey Road on the River. Who Was Betty Crocker? (PBS)Abbey Road on the River You can be a helper to our show as a backer on Patreon

Today in 2003, the filing of a lawsuit that led to a fascinating and significant phenomenon here in the Information Age: it’s known as the Streisand Effect. Plus: for World Bee Day, the story of a 2014 art project created in part by bees! Streisand files $50 million lawsuit over aerial photos (SFGate)Artist Aganetha Dyck Collaborates with Bees to Create Sculptures Wrapped in Honeycomb (Colossal)Back this show on Patreon for just $1 a month, or $50 million if you’d prefer

Today in 1953, Ohio became a state... which was weird because Ohio had already been a state for a century and a half. Technicalities can be that way. Plus: for National Pizza Party Day, the story of a guy in Nashville who used social media to connect people in need with donors willing to send a little pizza their way. Ohio: The 48th State? (Ohio History Connection)Nashville man helps hundreds of people in need get a free pizza every week (NewsChannel 5 Nashville)Help keep sending our show out to every state in the Union and beyond, as a backer on Patreon

This month in 1927, Americans were fawning over an animal at the National Zoo in Washington: a presidential hippo named Billy. Plus: starting today in Elizabeth City, it’s the North Carolina Potato Festival. The Presidential Hippopotamus at the National Zoo (WETA) North Carolina Potato Festival Want more shows about famous zoo animals? Back our show on Patreon today

Today in 1857, the birthday of Williamina Fleming, a big name in the world of astronomy but one who had a pretty low-profile start. Plus: starting tomorrow in Illinois, it’s the Long Grove Chocolate Festival. Williamina Fleming, From Scottish Maid to Harvard Astronomer (New England Historical Society)Long Grove Chocolate Festival Help this show shine as a backer on Patreon

There may be no more important part of road safety than the bright red stop sign, though in the early days, they weren’t red. Plus: Leonardo the tortoise went missing from his home in England; after nine months, he didn't exactly get that far. Stop Signs Used to Be Yellow—More Recently Than You Think (Readers Digest)Tortoise missing for months found a mile from home (BBC)Make a stop at our Patreon page and back this show today

Today in 1940, Life Magazine published a series of photos of a little boy in Liberty County, Georgia - photos that, two decades later, would inspire one of the most famous picture books ever published. Plus: this Saturday in South Bend, Indiana, it’s the Donut & Beer Festival. The Enduring Footprints of Peter, Ezra Jack Keats, and The Snowy Day (The Horn Book)Donut & Beer Festival Help inspire our future stories as a backer on Patreon

It's United Nations Global Road Safety Week, so here's the story of a driver in Ireland who seemed to be breaking every traffic law on the books... until the authorities figured out there was something more to their story. Plus: underway this week in Washington state, it’s the Spokane Lilac Festival. Dictionary helps crack case of notorious Polish serial offender (Irish Times)Spokane Lilac Festival (Visit Spokane)Drive on over to our Patreon page and back this show today

Commencement season is here, which means a lot of people hearing a composition known as “Pomp and Circumstance.” Though that piece of music was not written with graduation in mind. Plus: today in 2023, a herd of cows help catch a guy who'd fled a traffic stop (!) The Beautiful Irony of Pomp and Circumstance (WCRB)After man flees traffic stop, cows lead officers "directly to where the suspect was hiding," North Carolina police say (CBS News)Backing this show on Patreon would be a nice gift for a new graduate, just saying

It’s World Donkey Day, so we're visiting an Arizona ghost town that's visited by a nearby colony of wild donkeys. Plus: in 2018 a donkey sanctuary in Ontario started giving its donkeys pants! How one town became infested with donkeys (ABC 10)Dapper donkeys: sanctuary fights flies with tailored trousers (CTV News)Want more donkey episodes like this? Back our show on Patreon

Smart speakers can be really useful, but only if you have a voice to activate them. A new device called Scribe could help nonverbal users with their smart systems by letting them "write" commands into the air. Plus: RoboCake is, you guessed it, a robotic wedding cake featuring a series of dancing gummy bears. An Alternative to Speech: Writing in the Air With ‘Sonic Ink’ (University of Maryland)robotic wedding cake with dancing gummy bears moves using edible rechargeable batteries (designboom)Tell your smart speaker to play our podcast, and then back the podcast on Patreon while you listen

Thanks to loads of security measures, no one has ever robbed the Bank of England. But if you ask whether anyone’s broken into the bank's famous gold vaults, the answer is a little more complicated. Plus: the English town of Burslem is about to dedicate a statue of a local rocker made good, Motorhead frontman Lemmy. Has any gold ever been stolen from the Bank of England? (Bank of England)Lemmy Forever Stoke-on-Trent statue unveiling ceremony and festivities announced (RadioX)Backing our show on Patreon is golden

Many people like to get together from time to time for adult beverages. New research finds chimpanzees apparently also gather to imbibe and share alcohol. Plus: trading card fans in Japan are enjoying cards that feature... middle aged guys doing their everyday jobs and hobbies? New Study Suggests Chimpanzees May Enjoy “Social Drinking” Just Like Humans (My Modern Met)Middle-aged men are the new Pokémon and we’re here for it (Collector Club)Let’s gather together over at our Patreon page and toast the success of this show

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about maps and geography. In this episode from July 2020, the story of Pheasant Island, which is administered by several sovereign powers but not simultaneously. Spain and France take turns with it. Plus: auto racing fans in Lublin, Poland found a way to root for their favorite drivers while still social distancing during COVID. The island that switches countries every six months (BBC)Fans Rent Cranes to Watch Car Race from Outside Arena During Pandemic (Oddity Central)Start your weekend off right as a Cool Weird Awesome backer on Patreon

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about maps and geography. In this episode from July 2020, the story of how Canada got its name, and a few of the country's most interesting alternates. Plus: several Canadian Tire stores in Ontario had to briefly shut down because a glitch made every item the workers scanned show up in the computer as a Mr. Potato Head toy. What Canada was ALMOST named (CBC Kids)Canadian Tire in Lindsay temporarily closed after every item scanned comes up as “Mr Potato Head” (Kawartha411)Join us as a backer on Patreon for just $1 a month! Or, if you like, just C$1 a month! Photo by Zombie Leah via Flickr/Creative Commons

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about maps and geography. In this episode from August 2019, the app what3words breaks down all the spaces on earth into 3 meter by 3 meter squares and assigns each of those squares a unique set of three words, giving us a new way to pinpoint our locations. Plus: Athens, Wisconsin is home to the center point of the northern half of the western hemisphere. This Smartphone App Can Save Your Life with Just 3 Words (Interesting Engineering)45 X 90 Geographical Marker (Atlas Obscura)Back Cool Weird Awesome on Patreon and you’ll never feel lost

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about maps and geography. In this episode from June 2021, a look at when the geographic powers that be recognized the Southern Ocean as its own entity, and also where the word "ocean" comes from. Plus: a South Korean designer develops a wearable “third eye” that watches for and warns you about any obstacles in your way so you can keep looking at your phone while walking, How many oceans are there? (NOAA)Dividing the Ocean Sea by Martin W. Lewis (Geographical Review via JSTOR)National Geographic recognizes new, 5th ocean (WFLA)A Wearable Robotic Third Eye That Alerts People to Look Up From Their Phones to Avoid Obstacles (Laughing Squid)We’d sail on any of the oceans with our Patreon backers

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about maps and geography. In this episode from July 2019, a look at Sad Topographies, a site that collects the most bummed-out place names on the map. Plus: If places with depressing names aren’t your thing, we've got an upbeat event: the annual World Santa Claus Congress in Denmark. 21 Of The Saddest Places On Earth From Instagram’s sadtopographies (Brilliant Maps)Shades of Death Road (Weird NJ)Washington State’s bummer place names, mapped (Curbed Seattle)World Santa Claus CongressFeeling bummed out by sad place names? Backing Cool Weird Awesome on Patreon could help you feel better

Today in 1917, the birthday of Ella Fitzgerald, a towering figure in jazz, a legendary voice, a star among stars… especially when she became pals with movie icon Marilyn Monroe. Plus: starting today in Georgia, it’s the Thomasville Rose Show and Festival. Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe: Inside Their Surprising Friendship (Biography)THOMASVILLE ROSE SHOW & FESTIVAL Be a star and back this podcast on Patreon

Around this time in 1938, Washington state politics got really, really weird, when the Governor and Lieutenant Governor raced to return to the state to block each other. Plus: starting tomorrow in Houston, the World Coffee Roasting Championship. Meyers, Victor A. (1897-1991) (HistoryLink)2025 World Coffee Championships Race on over to our Patreon page and help support this show