Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

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

The potato’s influence stretches out well beyond French fries and tater tots. In fact, there was a study in 2017 that said the potato helped keep the peace in Europe for centuries. Plus: a Prince Edward Island town is home to the Canadian Potato Museum. Potatoes helped keep peace in Europe for hundreds of years (Earth.com)The Canadian Potato Museum Potatoes can't back our show, but you can, join us on Patreon today

Today in 1961, a news report in the Santa Cruz Sentinel about a strange bird event along the coast of California that ended up shaping an iconic movie about a strange bird event. Plus: this week in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania, the King Coal Show. Here’s the real story behind Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ (Popular Science)King Coal Association Back our show today on Patreon and keep the shows about weird bird happenings coming

It’s National Spork Day! The spork gets a lot of grief, but not as much as one of its parents used to get. At one time, eating with a fork was a scandal. Plus: Arcola, Illinois is home to a 62 foot long Hippie Memorial. FORKS (California Academy of Sciences)One and Only Hippie Memorial (Roadside America)Serve up more episodes of our show as a backer on Patreon

Today in 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law. Americans who pay into the system and receive benefits have Social Security Numbers, so who had the first one? The answer is kind of strange. Plus: starting tomorrow in Indiana, it’s the Elwood Glass Festival. New Rochelle Man Was First Person to Get a Social Security Number (Talk of the Sound)Elwood Glass Festival Secure the future of this show as a backer on Patreon

Today in 2024, Guinness announced a world record for most gaming consoles connected to a single TV, 444 in all. Here's how the record holder does it. Plus: this Friday at Georgia Tech University, it’s The Great Cardboard Boat Race. Guy Plugs A Record-Breaking 444 Video Game Consoles Into A Single TV (Kotaku)THE GREAT CARDBOARD BOAT RACE Connect with us as a backer on Patreon

Today in 1938, the birthday of Paul Craft, an acclaimed songwriter and musician whose catalog includes probably the world’s best known religious country football song: “Drop Kick Me Jesus (Through The Goalposts Of Life).” Plus: starting this Friday in Glasgow, Scotland, it’s the World Pipe Band Championships. Drop Kick Me Jesus (Through The Goalposts Of Life) (Songfacts)World Pipe Band ChampionshipsKeep this show moving toward the goalposts as a backer on Patreon

If you’re near Moses Lake, Washington in the next couple days, you can try an iconic fair food: the Spaceburger. Plus: today in 1911, Hawaii's Duke Kahanamoku breaks a world swimming record by so much that the athletic organizers can't quite believe it. History & Mysteries of the “Space Burger” in Moses Lake, WA (The Quake 102.1) Duke Kahanamoku (Library of Congress)Space out with us on our Patreon page

We've done a lot of shows about robots, and we've done a lot of shows about pizza. Now, we're doing a show about a robot that's learning to make pizza with help from a team at Virginia Tech. Plus: Baltimore is home to the world’s tallest five-sided building in which the sides are all equal length. But first, pizza: Team creates assistive robotics that can make you a meal (Virginia Tech)  The World’s Tallest Regular Pentagonal Building Is In Baltimore And You’ll Want To Visit (Only In Your State)Keep these human-powered podcasts coming as a backer on Patreon

Sarah Winchester's decades-long renovation project turned an eight-room farmhouse into hundreds of rooms, and sparked endless rumors that at least some of those rooms are haunted. Plus: starting tomorrow in Ohio, it’s the Reynoldsburg Tomato Festival. Everything you think you know about the Winchester Mystery House probably isn't true (SFGate)TOMATO FESTIVAL REYNOLDSBURG, OHIO Help us build this podcast as a backer on Patreon

Today in 1928, the birthday of Andy Warhol. He made a mark with his paintings of Campbell's Soup cans, though the company wasn’t immediately thrilled with his work. Plus: starting tomorrow in Indiana, it’s the Van Buren Popcorn Festival. Why Campbell Soup hated, then embraced, Andy Warhol’s soup can paintings (CNN)Van Buren Popcorn Festival If you like the art we produce every day, back it on Patreon

It's World Ant Day, so we’re looking at an ant species that got so comfortable living in New York City that it earned the nickname “ManhattAnt.” Plus: if you missed National Mustard Day over the weekend, check out a pizzeria in New Jersey known for making the "mustard pie." Scientists identified the ‘ManhattAnt’ — and they have theories on why it’s taking over NYC (CNN)Papa's Tomato Pies, the oldest pizzeria in NJ, is home of the mustard pie (NorthJersey.com)Let’s build a big colony of backers on our Patreon site

Today in 2018, a dad in Sydney, Australia saw his kid in danger and put himself on the line to make sure that kid was safe. Here's his story. Plus: today in 1922, a very quiet moment in the history of telecommunications. Heroic father breaks skull leaping off 4m balcony to cushion son’s fall (News.com.au)Telephones Were Silenced for One Minute After Alexander Graham Bell Died (Smithsonian)You don’t have to put yourself in danger to help our show, just back us on Patreon

Today in 1981, the debut of MTV. It brought music videos to the mainstream, but it didn't invent them - in fact, there were proto-music videos almost a century before the cable channel first appeared. Plus: starting tomorrow in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the 4th Annual Youth Hoop Dance Championship. The Complete History of the Music Video: From the 1890s to Today (Open Culture)4TH ANNUAL YOUTH HOOP DANCE CHAMPIONSHIPIf you want your Cool Weird Awesome, support it as a backer on Patreon

Today in 1928, the debut of Leo, MGM's roaring lion. One of the lions that played Leo in the movies used up more than a few of its nine lives while traveling for the movie studio. Plus: starting today in Indiana, it’s the Jasper Strassenfest. Meet ‘Leo The Lucky’—The MGM Lion Who Cheated Death 6 Times (Forbes)Jasper Indiana Strassenfest Send a little good luck to this show as a backer on Patreon