Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

Lead, unfortunately, is something that lingers, as was proven by scientists who used lead pollution from centuries ago to track the ups and downs of European monarchs. Plus: the story of a Japanese chef so good with a knife that he's created what's probably the world's thinnest sandwich.  Lead pollution in ancient ice cores may track the rise and fall of medieval kings (Science) Making the World’s Thinnest Sandwich (Laughing Squid) Cool Weird Awesome probably has the world's greatest Patreon backers! Join us! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Today is Arbor Day, and so we’re going to talk about the Friendship Oak, a remarkable tree in Mississippi that just keeps on keeping on. Plus: we'll visit Joe Bagley, who has 1,400 house plants in his apartment and for whom it might be said that every day is Arbor Day.  Friendship Oak (University of Southern Mississippi) Houseplant Enthusiast Turns Apartment into Urban Jungle with Over 1,400 Potted Plants (Oddity Central) Cool Weird Awesome is growing like a tree, thanks to our Patreon backers. Join us for just $1 a month!  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Music scholars at Cambridge University studied musical manuscripts without modern notation and after years of detective work, reconstructed what they would have sounded like. Plus: on this day in 1982 Key West, Florida declared independence from - and war on - the United States. For not very long.  First performance in 1,000 years: ‘lost’ songs from the Middle Ages are brought back to life (Cambridge University) That Time the Florida Keys Tried to Secede from the US by Dropping Conch Fritter Bombs (Vice) On this day in 2020 Patreon backers made another great episode of Cool Weird Awesome happen. Join them!  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Like people in other industries who have the means to do so, the scientists who operate the Curiosity Rover are working away from their office at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in southern California. Though technically when you run a craft that's on another planet, you're always working remotely. Plus: artist Greg Olijnyk makes intricate sculptures of robots, telescopes, ships and more out of plain old cardboard.  NASA's Curiosity Keeps Rolling As Team Operates Rover From Home (NASA) Greg Olijnyk Makes Incredibly Detailed Sculptures out of Cardboard (Cool Material) Patreon backers make Cool Weird Awesome fly through the solar system, or at least the podcast universe --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

The University of Virginia's Disabilities Studies Symposium has produced a version of a 1950s opera called “Dialogues of the Carmelites" featuring both traditional opera singers and Deaf actors performing together and living up to the name of their workshop, "Breaking the Sound Barrier." Plus: a cat played a Theremin on the internet, because why not.  Singing and Signing: ‘Deaf Opera’ Comes to Grounds (University of Virginia) Cat Plays With A Theremin And Is Completely And Utterly Befuddled (Digg) Cool Weird Awesome sounds great because of its backers on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

It's a very odd anniversary in the history of the US presidency. Today in 1979, President Jimmy Carter got into a fight (of sorts) with a swamp rabbit. Plus: today would normally be a big day in Zurich, when participants in the annual Sechselauten bring on spring by blowing up a snowman! In 1979, Jimmy Carter was attacked by a giant swimming rabbit (AV Club) The History of Sechseläuten (Zuerich.com) Patreon backers are always welcome in Cool Weird Awesome's boat --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Some health experts suggest that when the world gets back to normal we should do away with the handshake. It is an effective way to spread germs, but it's also had some pretty useful functions in its long history. Plus: since it's the anniversary of the first episode of "Game of Thrones," we visit a guy in California who installed a 15-foot-tall dragon in his front yard.  Why do we touch strangers so much? A history of the handshake offers clues (National Geographic)  When Did Shaking Hands Become a Standard Way of Greeting Someone? (Mental Floss) ‘Dragon House’ in Imperial Beach Turning Heads (NBC San Diego) We'd like to shake the hands of our backers on Patreon - if that were an OK thing to do these days --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Falls on hard pavement can be very, very dangerous for some of us. That's why a research group called SAFERUP is trying to make safer, bouncier pavement. Plus: the Rakuten Monkeys baseball team in Taiwan is planning to have robot mannequins in the stands to cheer them on until fans can return to the ballpark.  Ground-Up Tire Pavement Could Be Safer for Pedestrians and Athletes (Popular Mechanics) Taiwanese Baseball Team Will Use Dressed-Up Robots Instead of Fans When Season Begins This Weekend (12up) Support from Cool Weird Awesome's Patreon backers is even better than support from robot mannequins! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Artist Itsuo Kobayashi has been keeping an illustrated food diary since 1980, drawing and describing each meal, the ingredients, the price and how it made him feel. Plus: for National Banana Day, we go to - where else - the International Banana Museum in California. For Over 30 Years Itsuo Kobayashi Has Been Keeping an Illustrated Food Diary (Spoon & Tamago) Opening a Banana Museum next to a toxic desert lake makes absolutely no sense—but that’s part of its a-peel (Roadtrippers) Cool Weird Awesome's Patreon backers make every episode of this show possible!  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Today's the day in 1828 that Noah Webster went to the copyright office to register his work “An American Dictionary of the English Language.” This work, no pun intended, defined American English as people actually spoke it, but it also included some words that haven't exactly stayed with us. Plus: there are perhaps no words for the mulletty goodness that resulted when a woman in New Zealand tried to cut her hair with a kitchen knife.  Happy Birthday, Webster's 1828! (Merriam-Webster) An A to Z of Noah Webster’s Finest Forgotten Words (Huffington Post) 'Don't have any scissors': Hamilton woman cuts own hair with kitchen knife (Stuff.co.NZ) Cool Weird Awesome's backers on Patreon are the very definition of amazing --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

A company called Carbios says it’s been using what it calls a “mutant enzyme” to break plastic down into the components to make new plastic in mere hours. But will this mutant eventually try to rule humanity for its own good? Plus: an education student in Kentucky creates see-through plastic masks to help deaf and hard of hearing people during the current difficulties.  This "Mutant Enzyme" Can Break Down Plastic Bottles In Hours (Futurism) College student makes masks for the deaf & hard of hearing (Lex18.com) Cool Weird Awesome gets its super powers from backers on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

We're replaying some of our favorite robot-themed episodes of the show this week. In this episode from October 2019, we hear about an autonomous device that’s  ready to clean up after our dogs on demand, thanks to a large scooper on  its underside. If they’re willing to do this job, maybe robots aren’t  trying to conquer us after all. Plus: “dogfishing” is a problem for  online dating. People are using other people’s dogs in their profile pics in the hopes it will land them more dates. The internet is weird. Beetl Robotics Dogfishing: When online daters pose with adorable pets that aren’t theirs (Washington Post) Back Cool Weird Awesome on Patreon and we’ll always clean up after ourselves --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

We're replaying some of our favorite robot-themed episodes of the show this week. In this episode from July 2019, we learn about a quadcopter drone that uses spring-loaded arms and a process called “rapid aerial morphing” to fold itself up as it flies. So we’re a  step closer to real-life Transformers. Plus: the story of the all-robot band Compressorhead, whose members twist and turn their mechanical  parts so they can ROCK! Spring-Loaded Drone Collapses Mid-Flight to Zip Through Windows (IEEE Spectrum) Compressorhead (Weirdest Band In The World) Support Cool Weird Awesome for just $1 a month as a backer on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

We're replaying some of our favorite robot-themed episodes of the show this week. In this episode from July 2019, we check in on a little white robot swimming through rice fields in Japan, imitating a duck! It’s actually helping to grow the rice by aerating the  water and stopping weeds from growing. Plus: if you prefer non-robotic  ducks, then you’ve got some options with the World’s Largest Rubber Duck. Nissan Builds Robot Duck To Help Rice Farmers Keep Weeds Out Of Their Paddies (Designboom) World’s Largest Rubber Duck Quack – er, back – this show on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

We're replaying some of our favorite robot-themed episodes of the show this week. In this episode from June 2019, researchers teach robots to row themselves gently down the stream  and to connect to each other autonomously. They could help clean  the water or even turn themselves into temporary footbridges. Plus: a band in Mexico knew just what to do when the mall they were playing in started to flood. Celine would have been proud. Autonomous boats can target and latch onto each other (MIT) As heavy rain floods shopping center, musicians play Titanic theme (Mexico News Daily) Keep Cool Weird Awesome exciting and new as a backer on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

We're replaying some of our favorite robot-themed episodes of the show this week. In this episode from April 2019, a New Zealand company tests a robot that’s supposed to move through an apple orchard, spot ripe fruit, yank it from the tree and bring it back to the farmer.  They’re either helping us do a hard job or taking  the first step toward an agricultural Skynet. Your Apples May Soon Be Picked By Laser-Shooting Robots (Wired) Brian Shaw Devours Nearly Everything on The Taco Bell Menu (Muscle and Fitness) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Firefighters in Chongqing, China, may soon put out fires with help from a team of six large drones that can get in the air and quickly extinguish blazes. Plus: a guy in Tacoma, Washington is spreading positivity by yelling things at people for money.  China's firefighting drones: Unmanned aircraft can extinguish a blazing 10-storey building within minutes (Daily Mail) Driver on the Street: Tacoma man screams positivity through coronavirus scare (Q13 FOX) THANK YOU TO OUR PATREON BACKERS ok gonna stop screaming now --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

They’re holding auditions for the next voice of Big Tex, the 55 foot tall cowboy that’s the embodiment of the Texas State Fair. He's joined forces with the X-Men and survived catching on fire, not he just needs someone to help him talk about his long career. Plus: today is National Burrito Day and we've spotted one that even Big Tex would probably have trouble finishing.  Big Tex needs a new voice, and it could be you that gives it to him (KXAN) The History Of Big Tex At The State Fair Of Texas — And Why We Love Him So Much (KERA) Howdy, folks: 10 things you probably didn't know about Big Tex (Dallas Morning News)  This Massive Burrito Weighs 8 Pounds (Food Network) Howdy, Patreon backers! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Researchers have been studying LEGO longevity! Don't put them in the ocean, because they could last hundreds or even thousands of years - instead, maybe build something really cool to share with future generations. Plus: there's a new world record in the category of most walnuts cracked by an elbow in under a minute. Yes, that's a category.  Study: LEGO Bricks Can Survive in Ocean For 1,300 Years (Geek.com) Martial artist breaks 256 walnuts with his elbow in one minute (UPI) Cool Weird Awesome backers on Patreon make shows that last an extra long time  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

The Eiffel Tower was only supposed to stand in Paris for 20 years... but experiments in "wireless telegraphy" helped convince the powers that be to keep the tower in place. Plus: this gallery of the weirdest-looking cars to ever roll off the assembly line is maybe not the aesthetic equal of the Eiffel Tower, but it sure is fun.  15 Monumental Facts About the Eiffel Tower (Mental Floss) Damn Your Eyes: The Ugliest Cars Ever Made (Automobile) We say merci to our backers on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message