Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

Today in 1951, Sally Ride was born. She was a worldwide sensation in the 1980s as the first American woman in space, but before that, she was a talented youth tennis player who once caught the attention of the legendary Billie Jean King. Plus: today is National Road Trip Day. If you’re in or around Sonoita, Arizona, check out their series of specially painted propane tanks. 20 Things You Might Not Know About Sally Ride (UC San Diego)  Sonoita, Arizona: Painted Propane Tanks (Roadside America) Our Patreon backers help us make our mark every day --- 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 1986, Hands Across America! People were supposed to build national unity and help those in need by linking hands in a chain that stretched from sea to shining sea. And at least some of them did. Plus: this week in 2016, a teen in the Bay Area pulled off a pretty good prank at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.   Us: What Was Hands Across America, the Creepy Event That Inspired Jordan Peele? (Vanity Fair) This Teen Pulled Off The Ultimate Joke At An Art Gallery (Buzzfeed News) Join hands with 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

Today in 1879, the birthday of S.S. Adams. If you don’t know the name, you know the products: joy buzzers, sneezing powder, the dribble glass and hundreds of other novelties known all over the world all started with the S.S. Adams Company. Plus: a new website takes maps of the Roman Empire's extensive system of ancient roads and turns them into an interactive route planner.  Remembering the S.S. Adams Company (Stuckeys) S.S. Adams, the Original Gag Factory (NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday) If the ancient Romans had Google Maps (Big Think) No joke, our Patreon backers have helped us make every episode of this podcast --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Sometime on this night in 1920 the president of France fell out of a moving train. And the story got weirder from there. Plus: today in 1993, the first movie ever played over the internet - though the streaming was definitely more lo-fi than what we watch today. The Unusual French President (Danny Dutch) Cult Film Is a First On Internet --- 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 1455, it's said that the Wars of the Roses began in England. The civil wars over who should be king led to mostly battles but also the legendary story of Blanche Heriot, who found a creative way to keep her love from being executed. Plus: in 2021, artists in the Czech Republic created a crop circle in the shape of Pac-Man as a protest. Women of Runnymede (Chertsey Museum) Huge Pac-Man crop circle was guerrilla art protest against Czech prime minister (Boing Boing) Keep the bells ringing out 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

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about some of our favorite rock musicians. In this episode from April 2022, we look back at Aerosmith's landmark album “Toys In The Attic.” One of the biggest hits from that album got its name from an unusual source - the Mel Brooks movie "Young Frankenstein." Plus: New Mexico hosts the Las Cruces Space Festival.  How Aerosmith Created 'Walk This Way' (Wall Street Journal via Archive.org)   Las Cruces Space Festival  Our Patreon backers rock --- 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 week we’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about some of our favorite rock musicians. In this episode from January 2021, we remember the time in the 90s that Pat Boone - the pop and gospel singer - made a record where he sang Hendrix, AC/DC, Deep Purple and Metallica. How did he, of all people, end up "In A Metal Mood"? Plus: heavy metal is so popular in Finland that there's even a metal band geared toward little kids!  Pat Boone (AV Club) Heavy metal dinosaurs rock the kiddie crowd in Finland (The Age) If you think our Patreon backers aren't the ones who make this show possible, you got another thing comin' --- 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 week we’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about some of our favorite rock musicians. In this episode from November 2020, we look back at the time the Who's drummer, Keith Moon, collapsed and had to be taken to the hospital. Amazingly, the band chose a 19 year old from the crowd, Scot Halpin, to fill in for the rest of the show. Plus: the 2020 Pasadena Doo Dah Parade isn't just irreverent, it's irreverent and virtual!  The Hoosier That Rescued the World’s Biggest Band (Orange Bean Indiana) Pasadena Doo Dah Parade  Join us for a night, or every night, 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

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about some of our favorite rock musicians. In this episode from August 2019, the story of Dee Gallant. When a cougar started walking toward her on a logging trail in British Columbia, she used the power of rock to protect herself. Plus: in a move that might make heavy metal even heavier, guitarist Takamizawa Toshihiko designs a guitar shaped like Godzilla. Metallica responds to B.C. woman who fended off wild cougar with the band’s music (GlobalNews.ca) A Very Resourceful Woman Scared Off a Cougar by Blasting Metallica (Noisey) This Limited-Edition Godzilla is a Monster of a Guitar (Guitar World) Ride the lightning when you back Cool Weird Awesome 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 week We’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about some of our favorite rock musicians. In this episode from October 2020, we remember guitar great Eddie Van Halen. His band won millions of fans on record and offstage, and won a reputation for offstage excess. But one of their most infamous stories - that they banned brown M&Ms from backstage - wasn't quite what it seemed. Plus: a Gloria Estefan hit gets a heavy metal treatment on YouTube.  Did Van Halen’s Concert Contract Require the Removal of Brown M&Ms? (Snopes) A Headbashingly Good Metal Cover of Gloria Estefan’s Conga (Geeks Are Sexy) Rock out with us 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

This is one of the great technological and social breakthroughs of our time: scientists have figured out how parrots can do video calls with each other, and they love it! Plus: today in West Frankfort, Illinois, it’s day two of the Old King Coal Festival.   Parrots Taught to Video Call Each Other Show Increased Happiness According to New Study (My Modern Met)   2023 Old King Coal Festival (Enjoy Illinois) Let's chat about you becoming a backer of 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 1858 Minnesota became the 32nd state in the Union. There's a part of the state that's on the other side of a lake from the rest, which means anyone who wants to drive from the Northwest Angle to the rest of Minnesota has to drive through Canada. Plus: there's a Minnesota-shaped forest on the other side of that same lake. Minnesota's Northwest Angle, an American geographic oddity (CBS News) Somebody Made A Forest Shaped Exactly Like Minnesota And It Is Absolutely Incredible (Only In Minnesota) Help us send this show out to all 50 states and beyond, 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

National Train Day is coming up this weekend, so we'll take a look at a railroad that doesn't get a lot of attention, the one NASA has used to move parts and supplies to and from Kennedy Space Center. Plus: today in 1806, the birthday of James Shields, the only person who's served as US Senator from three different states. Critical to the Countdown: The NASA Railroad (Southeastern Railway Museum) Senator for Three States (US Senate) Ride along with Cool Weird Awesome 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

We’ve talked a lot on the show about the many different skills robots are learning. Now we can tell you about Experimental Sport Tennis Wheelchair Robot, which is learning to play tennis. Plus: the startup GaeaStar is 3D printing disposable coffee cups made of clay. When you're finished, you can just toss it on the ground and it'll turn back into dirt. Tennis Robot Could Pave Way for Advancement in Fast-Movement Robotics (Georgia Tech) The Coffee Cups Made From Dirt: Smash Them on the Ground and Walk Away (CNET) Our Patreon backers hit a winner every time --- 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 2006, IT job candidate Guy Goma rose to the occasion when a BBC TV producer mistakenly brought him onto a live show to talk about the internet, even though they were actually supposed to interview a different Guy on the air. Plus: the website Brilliant Maps used AI to make 19 world maps as if they’d been drawn by famous artists.  It's Been 10 Years Since the Wrong Guy Analyzed the Internet for the BBC (TIME) 19 World Maps In The Style of Famous Artists (Brilliant Maps) Help this show rise to the occasion 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 1965 the launch of what is the oldest functioning object in Earth orbit, Lincoln Calibration Sphere 1. To say it's "functioning" might be overstating things, since all it does it sit up there, but it's still had a big impact on science. Plus: tomorrow in Burlington, North Carolina, the start of the annual Carousel Festival. The Oldest Functioning Satellite (Amusing Planet) 32nd Annual Burlington Carousel Festival Our Patreon backers keep us flying high every day, join them and support the 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

Today in 2021, the BBC reported on a very unusual happening: a farmer in Belgium accidentally redrew the country’s border with France. Plus: it’s National Orange Juice Day, and fans may head to Houston, Texas to hang out at the folk art space known as The Orange Show. Belgian farmer accidentally moves French border (BBC) The Orange Show is a folk art installation dedicated to a beloved citrus fruit (Boing Boing) We can move mountains thanks to the support of our backers on Patreon (but we won't actually move any of them) --- 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 1966, NBC’s “The Tonight Show” turned Twister, a board game that might have fallen through the cracks, into a big hit. Plus: the new photo book “Most Touched” features the unique and sometimes striking designs of door handles. How Johnny Carson Saved Twister (History.com) 'most touched' photo book gathers more than 1,000 door handles from around the world (designboom) This show is a hit thanks to our Patreon backers --- 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 our 1000th episode! To celebrate, here's the story of a guy this month in 1929 who won a bet by proving he could push a peanut all the way up Pikes Peak with his nose. Plus: a prisoner tries a novel way to get out from behind bars. Colorado Springs man hopes to be the fourth person to push a peanut up Pikes Peak with his nose (Colorado Public Radio) MISCELLANY: Miscellany, may 2, 1960 (TIME) Thanks to all our listeners for supporting us for a thousand episodes! Help us make another thousand 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

In the 12th and 13th Centuries, monks were tracking the looks of the moon, including lunar eclipses. Modern-day researchers took another look to see if some of those eclipses were actually volcanic eruptions. Plus: for Butter Day, a visit to the Butter Museum in Cork, Ireland. Medieval monks accidentally recorded some of history’s biggest volcanic eruptions (University of Cambridge) Cork Butter Museum Back us on Patreon to make an impact that will last for centuries (probably) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support