Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

April 1st is officially Census Day in 2020, but today is the first day of counting, and the first town to be counted is Toksook Bay, Alaska, near the Bering Sea. Plus: meet Aleia Murawski and Samuel Copeland, who build little environments for snails and then film and photograph the results. Getting to Hard-to-Reach Villages Before Spring Thaw and Start of Hunting Season (Census.gov) Toksook Bay prepares to be first town counted in 2020 U.S. Census (Alaska Public Media) See the world through the lens of a snail in these miniature creations (It's Nice That) Stand up and be counted as a backer of Cool Weird Awesome on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

The most prominent civil rights leader in US history was a Trekkie, and a big reason why was the character of Lieutenant Uhura, played by NIchelle Nichols. Here's the story of how Dr. King convinced Nichols to stay on the show when she had plans to leave.  Star Trek's Uhura Reflects On MLK Encounter (NPR's Tell Me More) Thanks to our backers on Patreon for making this show possible! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Benjamin Franklin was a lot of things, but he always saw himself as a printer - and some of what he printed was currency for American colonies. Turns out he had some pretty creative ways to try to keep counterfeiters from copying his bills. Plus: New Orleans is hosting the Samantha Fish Cigar Box Guitar Festival this weekend.  Library of Congress exhibit explores early American notes (Coin World) Samantha Fish stops by to talk cigar box festival (WGNO) You can support Cool Weird Awesome on Patreon for just $1 a month! No counterfeit bills, please.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

And now the episode I’ve wanted to make since I started the show: we’re celebrating the Zamboni! And we're meeting its inventor, Frank Zamboni, who was born on this day in 1901. Plus: a company calculates out just how long it would take a Zamboni to resurface 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!  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

On this day in 1927, the BBC tried something new for their broadcast of a rugby match between England and Wales: they partnered with Radio Times magazine to publish a diagram of a rugby pitch to help the audience follow the action. Plus: on National Hat Day, where better to be than the one and only National Hat Museum? Squaring Up for Radio Commentary (On This Day) Where We Live: The National Hat Museum (KOIN) Hat's off to Cool Weird Awesome's backers on Patreon!  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

The New York Public Library released a list of its top 10 all-time most borrowed books. One book you won’t find on the list is “Goodnight Moon.” Despite being one of the most iconic children’s books of its time, the New York Public Library didn’t have a copy for decades, because an influential librarian didn’t like it. Plus: the amazing origins of Silent Record Week!  Top 10 Checkouts of All Time (New York Public Library) The Quintessential Librarian Stereotype: Wrestling With the Legacy of Anne Carroll Moore (School Library Journal) The Restorative Pause of Silent Record Week (New Yorker) I could write a book about the amazing Patreon backers that make Cool Weird Awesome possible! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

On this day in 1942, the patent was issued for a car that was to be (at least partly) made from soybeans. And it was the idea of none other than Henry Ford. Plus: Steven Paul Judd is an Oklahoma-based artist of Kiowa/Choctaw descent, and last month he made a portrait of Sitting Bull using just over 20,000 black and white dice. Henry Ford And His Soybean Car (A Moment of Science) Soybean Car (The Henry Ford Museum) This Amazing Sitting Bull Portrait Made from 20,000 Dice (Twisted Sifter) It's no roll of the dice to back Cool Weird Awesome on Patreon, you'll make great shows happen!  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Humans have been trying to figure out how to replicate plant photosynthesis for a long time - and we’ve had some successes, but a team at the University of Michigan has taken one of the biggest steps forward, with a process that uses metals as catalysts to turn light, carbon dioxide and water into methane. Plus: a company in Japan will make a personalized mask for you in the shape of your pet’s face.  Taking a cue from plants, new chemical approach converts carbon dioxide to valuable fuel (Science) This Japanese Company Will Make You A Wearable Replica Mask Of Your Pet’s Head (Bolde) Back Cool Weird Awesome for just $1 a month on Patreon!  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Dental history is, shall we say, complicated. Fortunately we have all sorts of ways to minimize pain today, but none may be as exciting as those used by Edgar "Painless" Parker, a dentist who would distract his patients by putting on a vaudeville show as he worked. Plus: V2P technology could help us keep cars and pedestrians from crashing into each other.  The disturbing history of dentistry (Grunge.com) This tech could mean your phone stops you from getting killed by a car (Ars Technica) Four out of five dentist agree, backing Cool Weird Awesome on Patreon is good for you  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

All kinds of pop culture can lead to trends in baby names, but there’s research that shows that when a hit song has climbed up the pop charts, the same name starts climbing the list of baby names. Plus: good news out of the Consumer Electronics Show for drivers who forget their sunglasses. It's an interactive smart car visor.  The Science of Baby-Name Trends (JSTOR) Bosch's Virtual Visor is a smarter way to block out the sun (Engadget) It's smart to back Cool Weird Awesome on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Michelangelo’s David has been one of the best-known works of art for centuries because of its extraordinary detail. Last week we learned it may be even more detailed than we knew. Plus: Clean the World has been collecting, sterilizing and recycling all those old hotel room soaps into new bars, which are sent to people in need all over the world.  A Medical Insight in Michelangelo's David, 'Hiding in Plain Sight' (US News & World Report) How Used Hilton Hotel Soaps Get Recycled (Tech Insider) Cool Weird Awesome is powered by our backers on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Obviously one large pizza gets you more than one medium or one small, but what if you’re offered one of those deals where you could get two mediums for a special price? A bold group of pizza researchers studied how you can get the most pizza for your money. Plus: meet the Cocoa Press, the 3D printer for chocolate the world has always needed, even if we didn't realize we needed it.  One 18″ Pizza Is More Pizza Than Two 12″ Pizzas, Math Shows Us Why – Primer Tackling the Serious Issues (Primer Magazine) Evan and the chocolate factory (University of Pennsylvania) Backing Cool Weird Awesome on Patreon is as sweet as it gets --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

In South Africa, a construction company has started producing and using a more eco-friendly asphalt that contains plastic pellets that come from recycled milk bottles. Plus: meet a mayor in Texas who’s bringing a VERY fresh perspective to the job.  South Africa's Roads Are Being Repaved by Recycled Plastic Milk Bottles (Interesting Engineering) America's youngest mayor takes a bath (TYWKIWDBI)  Take a chance on Cool Weird Awesome as a backer on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Bruins defenseman Eddie Shore missed his team's train from Boston to Montreal for a must-win game against the Canadiens. So he did what anyone would do: drove 350 miles in a blizzard without a windshield to get there. Plus: DriveTanks in Uvalde, Texas, puts you in charge of a Chieftain MKG tank, though car crushing and flamethrowers are extra.  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!  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

For years, on New Year’s Day, Americans could go the White House and shake hands with the president. It's a tradition that went back to John Adams and the early days of the Executive Mansion. Plus: starting the new year by ending an old relationship? Meet the Breakup Lightbulb!  The White House New Year’s Day Reception (Feather Foster) Single Woman Creates Light Bulb Device That Turns on Whenever Someone Breaks Up on Social Media (Oddity Central) Start off the new year as a new backer of Cool Weird Awesome on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

In the future, gardeners won’t need backyards or containers or garden plots to grow plants anymore. They’ll just need a vest! Plus: There’s a partnership between Cartoon Network and a school called Exceptional Minds, which is a digital arts school for students with autism. This wearable vest grows you personal crops—fertilized just for you by your own waste (Fast Company) Cartoon Network Partners With a Program to Mentor Animators With Autism (Hyperallergic)

Researchers in Switzerland say they’ve found a way to change the color of chocolate, and without adding any colors or dyes to it. Instead, they use a special imprint to give it a glowing, rainbow-y patina. Plus: the annual PeepsFest is getting underway, and they're going to do a ball drop for New Year's with a giant Peep!  Making chocolate colourful (ETH Zurich) PeepsFest Happy New Year to everyone, especially our backers on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Eight years ago Samoa skipped a day on the calendar, owing to the International Date Line and some business involving its key trading partners. There just wasn't a December 30th, 2011 there! Plus: why break your back shoveling snow when you can design a radio-controlled snowplow to do the work for you?  Samoa to skip Friday, lose December 30th 2011 forever (Christian Science Monitor)  Guy Creates The Ultimate Alternative To Shoveling Your Own Snow (Digg) Every day is a special anniversary when you're a Cool Weird Awesome backer on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

There’s a Facebook group/Instagram account called UPS Dogs, and it collects and shares photos of the pups that delivery drivers meet (and usually befriend) on their routes, especially the ones they see regularly. Which is completely and utterly adorable. Plus: meet the world’s smallest inhabited island, with an appropos name of Just Room Enough Island. How a UPS driver used dogs on his route to make an Instagram account go viral (The Hour) Just Room Enough Island – The World’s Smallest Inhabited Island (Oddity Central) Cool Weird Awesome's backers on Patreon are very, very good backers  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Remember the beer fridge from our first episode, that two men found after a long weekend of cleaning up flood damage? The Lincoln Journal-Star has checked back in with the owner and the finders to get the latest chapter in the beer fridge story. Plus: Prince Charles owns a car that runs on wine - and, he says, "it smells delicious as you’re driving along."  Viral and vital: The Nebraska beer fridge that survived a fire, flood and found worldwide fame (Lincoln Journal-Star) How Charles forced Aston Martin to make his car run on wine, and the Royal Train on cooking oil (Telegraph) Cool Weird Awesome raises a glass to our backers on Patreon! Thanks!  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message