Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

There's a story you see online about how Ford stashed some surplus cars in an underground cave to preserve them until they could sell. We can't verify that entire story, but there is an underground business park in Kansas City that Ford has used for decades. Plus: the Ford Maverick may have had the grooviest set of paint color names in automotive history. Doing business 100 feet underground (CNN) Ford Maverick Color Names Used To Be Fantastic (Jalopnik) Ride 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

Today was the launch date in 1972 of Apollo 16, a mission that tried to pay tribute to that year's Summer Games with a "lunar Olympics"... only the astronauts almost had a disaster on their lunar-suited hands. Plus: for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's birthday, the story of why he took a role in a famous comedy movie. An Apollo astronaut explains how he nearly killed himself 'horsing around' on the moon in 1972 (Business Insider) Surely you can’t be serious: An oral history of Airplane! (AV Club) Back our show on Patreon and we’ll make podcasts that are out of this world --- 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 1452, the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci, the painter of the Mona Lisa, namesake of a code (and a ninja turtle) and, according to Fast Company, the inventor of the resume. Plus: the Mona Lisa gets fan mail through its own mailbox. Learn to write a résumé like the person who invented it—DaVinci (Fast Company) Mona Lisa: Facts & Related Content (Britannica) Back us on Patreon and together we’ll make more works of art --- 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 month in 2023, a big moment in the life of an eagle named Murphy, who had become internet famous for raising a rock. Plus: starting tomorrow in Rockwall, Texas it’s the annual Texas Pie Fest. An Eagle Who Adopted a Rock Becomes a Real Dad (New York Times) Here’s How to Get in on the End of Day Pie Fight at the Texas Pie Fest (Eater) Help this show soar like an eagle 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

There’s a new way to find out whether fresh water is actually fresh and clean: a set of glowing orbs in the Netherlands called POND. Plus: starting this Saturday, it's the Wamego, Kansas Tulip Festival. These glowing orbs can tell you if water is clean or polluted (Fast Company) Tulip Festival 2024  Make the future of this podcast even brighter 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 was the birthday in 1794 of George Merryweather, the inventor of his era’s most fascinating leech-based weather predicting contraption: the tempest prognosticator. Plus: today in 1953, a phone company director pretty much predicts the smartphones of today. A Council Of Leeches Used To Predict Storms Inside The "Tempest Prognosticator" (IFL Science) Is This Cellphone Prediction from 1953 Real? (Snopes) We prognosticate that when you back us on Patreon, we will strike the bell of knowledge over and over, and without resorting to leeches --- 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 1887 (or, by some accounts, 1888), the birthday of a composer who’s really only now getting the acclaim she deserves: Florence Price. Plus: did you know that it was a violation of iTunes terms of service to use it to build weapons? As Her Music Is Reconsidered, a Composer Turns 135. Again. (New York Times) 8 Ridiculous EULA Clauses You May Have Already Agreed To (MakeUseOf) With help from our Patreon backers we can make a symphony of new episodes --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

A study from Japan's Tohoku University says that if current trends continue, everyone in the country will eventually end up with the same surname - though it might take a while to get there. Plus: some residents of Luna Pier, Michigan were apparently so concerned about eclipse tourists that the mayor says they asked him to stop the eclipse.  Everyone in Japan will be called Sato by 2531 unless marriage law changed, says professor (The Guardian) Solar Eclipse 2024: The only Michigan town that is in the path of totality (BridgeMI.com)  Add your name to our list of 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

This month in 1941, a dog in the UK became a hero in a very strange way, stopping a bomb by answering the call of nature. Plus: starting today in Darien, Georgia, it’s the Blessing of the Fleet.  Urinating WWII Great Dane's medal sold (BBC) Dog cocked leg to extinguish Nazi bomb (Telegraph) The Blessing of the Fleet  You can be a hero for 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

It's International Carrot Day. If you want to see a really unique carrot, try Melbourne, Australia, where a guy named Nathan walks around town with a very large papier mache carrot. Plus: this weekend in Sebring, Florida, it's the Sebring Soda Festival. ‘There he goes with the carrot’: how walking the streets with a giant papier-mache vegetable made Nathan a Melbourne legend (The Guardian) Sebring Soda Festival  Back us on Patreon and we’ll keep bringing you stories of big veggies --- 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 1919, one of the strangest moments in the history of professional baseball, when major leaguer Ping Bodie took on an ostrich in an eating contest and won. Plus: a ketchup giant is installing dispensers on the sidewalks outside some of Chicago’s best-loved (and often ketchup-free) hot dog places.  A Yankee, an ostrich and 22 plates of pasta (MLB.com) Ping Bodie (Society for American Baseball Research) Heinz Is Putting Up Ketchup Dispensers To Tempt Chicagoans With Forbidden Condiment (Block Club Chicago) Want more food for thought? Back our show today 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 1978, the premiere of the iconic TV show “Dallas.” It was originally just supposed to be a miniseries, but it just kept winning over audience after audience - even some audiences that were behind the Iron Curtain. Plus: all month long in and around Mount Vernon, Washington, it's the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. How 'Dallas' Won the Cold War (Washington Post) J. R. Ewing Shot Down Communism in Estonia (New York Times) Skagit Valley Tulip Festival  You don’t have to be as rich as the people on “Dallas” to back our show on Patreon (but if you are, definitely back us) --- 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 was probably more elaborate than your standard April Fools Day joke: today in 1906, the Chicago Tribune put together a two page "report," complete with pictures, about swarms of dinosaurs wrecking the city. Plus: it’s Easter Monday, and in the village of Hallaton, Leicestershire, England, it's the day for a competition known as Bottle Kicking. April 1, 1906: Chicago invaded by hordes of prehistoric monsters dealing death and destruction (Chicago Tribune) Bottle Kicking in Hallaton (Amusing Planet) Back this show on Patreon today - it just might help prevent dinosaurs from attacking Chicago (again) --- 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 finest episodes about some of the finest works ever created. In this episode from November 2019, we take a trip through the website Weird Universe's Gallery of Art Hung Upside Down. Plus: a 9 year old who can't stop doodling, even in class, is now a professional artist. He's paid to doodle.  ⁠The Gallery of Art Hung Upside-Down⁠ (Weird Universe) ⁠9-Year-Old Kid Who Kept Getting In Trouble For Doodling In Class Gets A Job Decorating A Restaurant With His Drawings⁠ (Bored Panda)  ⁠Backing Cool Weird Awesome on Patreon is great. But is it art? --- 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 finest episodes about some of the finest works ever created. In this episode from October 2021, the story of sculptor Edmonia Lewis. She was born in the 1840s to a Black father and a Chippewa mother, and became the first Native American and Black woman to become an acclaimed sculptor. Plus: the exhibit known as Little Canada features miniature versions of some of this big country’s most famous cities, landmarks and attractions. ⁠Edmonia Lewis⁠ (Smithsonian American Art Museum)  ⁠Little Canada⁠ ⁠As a Patreon backer you'll turn each day's show into a work of art! --- 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 finest episodes about some of the finest works ever created. In this episode from September 2020, why even researchers run into challenges in verifying whether a Rembrandt is really his work or just a simulation. Plus: an interactive online map of continental drift can show you where a town or city used to be hundreds of millions of years ago.  ⁠The Rembrandt Research Project: Past, Present, Future ⁠ ⁠A Supposedly Fake Rembrandt Might Just Be Real⁠ (Vanity Fair) ⁠Map Lets You See How Your Hometown has Moved Across 750 Million Years of Continental Drift⁠ (Good News Network) --- 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 finest episodes about some of the finest works ever created. In this episode from December 2022, the story of 19th Century English miniaturist Sarah Biffin, a renowned artist who was born without full arms or legs and whose life and work are the subject of an exhibition now running in London. Plus: British Columbia-based artist Elspeth McLean turns round stones from the ocean into colorful and extremely ornate mini mandalas. ⁠Who Was Sarah Biffin?⁠ (Philip Mould and Company) ⁠Sarah Biffin: the celebrated nineteenth-century artist born without arms or legs⁠ (Art UK) ⁠Found Ocean Stones Are Transformed Into Vibrant Mandalas You Can Hold in Your Hand⁠ (My Modern Met) ⁠Our Patreon backers help us make great art 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

This week we’re replaying some of our finest episodes about some of the finest works ever created. In this episode from October 2021, a look at the research into how pigeons take in and process visual information, like art. Apparently it's pretty complex. Plus: in Detroit, a local news reporter does a story about a local skateboard park, and flawlessly rides a skateboard in the middle of his report!  ⁠The Pigeon as Art Critic⁠ (Scientific American) ⁠Van Gogh, Chagall and pigeons: picture discrimination in pigeons and humans⁠ (NIH) ⁠Pigeons' Discrimination of Paintings By Monet and Picasso⁠ (Researchgate) ⁠News anchor ends local skatepark dispatch by shredding into the sunset⁠ (AV Club) ⁠Pigeons also recognize our Patreon backers as the best --- 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 1931, the birthday of William Shatner, Captain Kirk from the original “Star Trek” series. Of course, if a different show he was supposed to star in had gone ahead, Shatner might not have ended up as Captain Kirk at all. Plus: tomorrow in Chicago, it’s St. Ryan’s Day, where anyone and everyone named Ryan is invited to come by and celebrate being a Ryan.  The failure of one toga-clad TV pilot completely altered the landscape of Sixties pop culture (MeTV) Ryan Meetup  Without our Patreon backers, this show would’ve ended up just like that failed TV pilot --- 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 show's fifth birthday! It's also the birthday in 1962 of the first Taco Bell restaurant, which had a "chili burger" on its original menu. Plus: for National Fragrance Week, a visit to San Francisco's Aftel Archive of Curious Scents.  Was the 'Bell Beefer' Burger Among Taco Bell's First Offerings? (Snopes) This San Francisco Bay Area museum stinks (Boing Boing) Our Patreon get an exclusive bonus episode today - it’s like a 2 for 1 deal at a fast food place! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support