Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

For Squirrel Appreciation Day, we visit a town in northeastern Kansas where black squirrels are number one. It's the law. Plus: Cedar Creek, Texas, is home to Ms. Pearl, a 14 foot tall squirrel statue. From circus attraction to protected mascot to art project: How black squirrels took over a small Kansas town (Roadtrippers) Ms. Pearl (Atlas Obscura) Don’t be squirrelly about visiting our Patreon page

There are lots of ceremonies and events in honor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today, and there are lots of monuments you can visit too. Though some of Dr. King’s biggest fans might steer you away from some of those monuments. In the city where the Kings met, ‘The Embrace’ memorializes their love and struggle (Boston Globe) A Stunning New Boston Memorial Will Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King (Architectural Digest)

AirFarm is an inflatable container farm that could help people grow crops where there’s not a lot of water. The idea - pun intended- blew up at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Plus: today in 1931, the birthday of James Earl Jones. He did a little bit of everything in his long and distinguished career, though one of his most famous roles only took a short time.  World’s first inflatable farm uses 99% less water to grow vegetables in deserts (Interesting Engineering) James Earl Jones Only Needed One Day to Change Star Wars Forever (Inverse) Help our show grow as a backer on Patreon

This week in 1964, the US Atomic Energy Commission presented a report to Congress on an eye-opening idea: clearing land for a highway in southeast California with nuclear bombs. Plus: the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Saskatchewan release their annual list of the weirdest reasons people have called 911 there. America Almost Made a New Route 66 With 22 Nuclear Bombs (The Drive) Mean cats, fox on the loose, math problems among calls to Sask. RCMP that 'missed the mark' (CBC) Help our show blow up (online) as a backer on Patreon

This month in 1920, the start of a slightly strange criminal case in which the jury didn’t just weigh the evidence… they drank it. Plus: a contractor in Illinois gets a very late Christmas present during a renovation project at his parents' house. Prohibition: The jury tasted the evidence and found defendant not guilty (Delmarva Now) 46-year-old Christmas surprise: Lombard man finds decades-old gift hidden inside wall of childhood home (WGN) We raise a toast to our backers on Patreon

Today in 2020, Wausau, Wisconsin's long-running and notorious ban on snowball fights was finally off the books! Though there was actually more to the story than the uproar suggested. Plus: The Public Domain Review looks back through the history of snowball fights in art, going all the way to the year 1400! Snowball fights are legal in Wausau after more than a century. You can thank the viral stories. (Wausau Daily Herald)  Snowball Fights in Art (1400–1946) (Public Domain Review) Make this winter a little cozier as a backer on Patreon

Today in 1997, the commissioners of Kleberg County, Texas voted to do away with the word “hello,” and replace it with a more positive alternative. Plus: today in 1931, an unforgettable night for some of the country's leading architects.  Say Goodbye to ‘Hello’ and Hello to ‘Heaven-o’ (Los Angeles Times) Famous Architects Dress as Their Famous New York City Buildings (1931) (Open Culture) Why not drop by our Patreon page, back the show and say “heaven-o” to us

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about fascinating peaks. In this episode from June 2021, a look at the Niesen Stairway Run, a run up a world record staircase built into a mountain nicknamed the Swiss Pyramid. Plus: decades before Zoom and Skype meetings, Sony sold a Face to Face video phone. Niesen flight of stairs (Niesen) Video phone (Techmoan on YouTube) Our Patreon backers always help us reach new heights

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about fascinating peaks. In this episode from June 2023, a dog in New Hampshire takes up a popular Granite State challenge, climbing all 48 of the state’s 4,000 foot high mountains. Plus: a handy invention will send your phone a notification if your pants zipper is down. Pug deemed ‘too hyper’ channels energy into mountain climbing — and breaks barriers (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) Man Invents App That Tells Him When His Fly Is Down (Neatorama) Keep on climbing with our show as a backer on Patreon

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about fascinating peaks. In this episode from August 2021, a strange story from 1947, when two climbers woke up at the summit of Oregon's Mount Hood and found a quart of milk and the morning newspaper, dropped off by a friend. Plus: a study out of the University of Greenwich finds that bees may be more productive when they ingest naturally-occurring caffeine. A quirky little mystery from 1947 on the summit of Mount Hood is finally solved (The Oregonian) Bumble bees show an induced preference for flowers when primed with caffeinated nectar and a target floral odor (Current Biology) Help keep our show buzzing along as a backer on Patreon

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about fascinating peaks. In this episode from November 2019, Mount Chimborazo, in central Ecuador. It’s not nearly as tall as Mount Everest, but it's actually higher than the tallest mountain on Earth. Plus: why the community of New Baltimore, New York showed up in map searches with a spooky purple tinge to it. Mount Chimborazo is Actually the Highest Point on Earth (CN Traveler) The 20 Scariest Google Street View Images (Mashable) Ain’t no mountain high enough for our backers on Patreon

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about fascinating peaks. In this episode from September 2022, the story of a 10 month old cat that somehow showed up at the top of a mountain that’s over 14,000 feet high. Plus: the time in 1968 a group then known as the New Yardbirds played their first-ever show in Denmark. The cat that climbed the Matterhorn (Weird Universe) Commemorating the debut of Led Zeppelin in 1968 Help this show reach new heights as a backer on Patreon!

The new year tradition of Mitaarfik in Greenland features a bunch of people in masks hanging out in your house without saying a word. Plus: Today in 2022, Preet Chandi became the first woman of color to successfully make a solo expedition to the South Pole. Mitaartut – The silent masked performances (Visit Greenland) Preet Chandi is the first woman of color to complete a solo expedition in Antarctica (NPR) Make it a tradition to back our show on Patreon each year

About this time in 1910, a member of Congress thought the next big food trend would be hippo meat. Plus: Williams Lake, British Columbia designates every January 2 as Wrestling Day, but it's not related to a sport. Lake Bacon: The Story of The Man Who Wanted Us to Eat Mississippi Hippos (The Daily Beast) A city in B.C. has an actual civic holiday called Wrestling Day (Vancouver Is Awesome) Help us create more hippo-themed episodes as a backer on Patreon

We’re ringing in the new year (as well as marking National Ring a Bell Day) with the story of a bell that’s been ringing year in and year out for almost two centuries. Plus: a new year’s tradition on US Navy ships is to write up the first deck watch of a new year in verse. This Battery Has Lasted 175 Years and No One Knows How (VICE) Midwatch In Verse (Weird Universe) Backers, check the Patreon site for a second, supporter-exclusive episode today! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Watching TV on the last night of the year? That's fine; in fact, there’s a tradition on German TV of showing a classic comedy sketch every December 31. Plus: today in 2023, a Connecticut family has a baby a minute before midnight... and another shortly after. How An Obscure British Comedy Sketch Became The World’s Most Repeated TV Program (Mental Floss) Twins born in different years at Yale New Haven Hospital (FOX 61)  Back us on Patreon today and you’ll get an exclusive episode of the show tomorrow! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1952, a double decker bus driver in London had to make a split second decision to protect his passengers… and realized the safest option was to gun it and jump a city landmark. Plus: today in 1999, the passing of Sarah Knauss, who at age 119 was the longest-lived American ever. The day a bus jumped Tower Bridge (TowerBridge.org) World's oldest person misses millennium (BBC) Jump on over to our Facebook page and support our show --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

There’s a tradition around this time of year in Wales called Mari Lwyd. It starts with a knock at the door in the winter night, and it only gets spookier from there. Plus: feeling harried after the holidays? Tree.fm features the sounds of forests from around the world so you can commune with nature wherever you are. The midwinter majesty of the Mari Lwyd (Wales.com) Tree.fm Knock knock, Cool Weird Awesome is dropping by to invite you to back our show on Patreon --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Happy Hanukkah! The eight day Festival of Lights takes place toward the end of each year, but due to some unusual circumstances, there won't be a Hanukkah at all in 3031 (!) Plus: Untapped New York has some recommendations for NYC menorahs you might want to check out. This Year's Dates for Celebrating Hanukkah are Odd—Here's Why (Newsweek) 9 GIANT MENORAHS THAT WILL LIGHT UP FOR HANUKKAH IN NYC (Untapped New York) --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

Merry Christmas! On this day of giving, you deserve a treat: a holiday favorite in Caribbean countries known as black cake. Plus: Christmastime in Budapest, Hungary means a chance to ride the Light Tram. In the Caribbean, It's Not Christmas Without Black Cake (HowStuffWorks) Long Exposure Photos of Budapest Trams Lit Up with 30,000 LED Lights (Colossal) --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support