Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

Dad jokes may not be good jokes, but they may be good for us: a study from The British Psychological Society shows how telling a very simple, groan-inducing joke is a pretty complex process. Plus: why scientists in Germany are naming their new anti-fungal compounds after Keanu Reeves. 'Dad jokes? That’s the way eye roll…’ (British Psychological Society) Keanumycins: Keanu Reeves inspires name of newly-discovered fungus-killing bacteria (Esquire) Joining us on Patreon would be a most excellent adventure --- 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 team at the University of Manchester has developed a kind of “cosmic concrete” for building structures on Mars - and the key ingredient comes from potatoes. Plus: today in 1991, the Wall Street Journal reported on an unusual training session for the Seattle Police Department. Scientists develop a ‘cosmic concrete’ that is twice as strong as regular concrete (University of Manchester) Seattle Police Head Back to Class For a Course in Chair-Sitting 101 (Wall Street Journal) Help us build new episodes of the 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

The University of Cambridge did a study about robotic wellbeing coaches. And it turns out that if we want robots to help us help ourselves… they need to be cute. Plus: NASA has developed a “space cup” which will hold liquids on the International Space Station even without a lid! Robots can help improve mental wellbeing at work – as long as they look right (University of Cambridge) NASA's sci-fi space cup holds a drink without gravity (Mashable) Our Patreon backers keep this show high-tech --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1944, the U.S. Air Force carried out a bombing raid in Montana. Even stranger, they did so at the request of the governor. We'll explain. Plus: you’ve heard the saying everything that’s old is new again? That’s the idea behind the new image series ‘What is lost is (not) lost forever.’ Harmon’s Histories: Kaboom! Wartime explosions rock Miles City, Baker (Missoula Current) midjourney envisions how centuries-long extinct creatures would look today (designboom) Today is Cool Weird Awesome's fourth birthday! Backers on Patreon get an exclusive second episode for today! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1873, the town of Ulysses, Kansas was first established - but not where you’ll find the modern day town of Ulysses, Kansas. We'll explain why they moved, just a few decades after putting themselves on the map. Plus: for the birthday of Mister Rogers, a look at a data visualization of all of his iconic cardigans.  Old Ulysses, Kansas (Legends of Kansas) A Chart Chronicles the Colors of Mister Rogers’ Cardigans from 1969 to 2001 (Colossal) Thanks to our neighbors on Patreon for supporting this show  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Drones are becoming increasingly useful, but they can get damaged and grounded pretty quickly. A team at MIT has found bee-inspired workarounds that would keep impaired robotic crafts flying. Plus: today in 1958, the release of “Johnny’s Greatest Hits” by Johnny Mathis, considered the first ever greatest hits album.  Resilient bug-sized robots keep flying even after wing damage (MIT) First Ever Greatest Hits Album Released Courtesy of Johnny Mathis (Songfacts) Our Patreon backers make this show number one --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Students at Northwestern University have developed SteadyScrib, a customized pen that’s designed to help people with Parkinson’s disease keep writing. Plus: if you prefer old-school typing, the “Shift Happens” simulator lets you type on a virtual typewriter. Don't forget those carriage returns! A pen designed for Parkinson’s patients (Northwestern) An Interactive Typewriter Simulator With a Realistic Feel (Laughing Squid) Write the next chapter in this show's history as a backer on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Can you build a wall out of eggshells? You can if you're the Mexican design studio MANUFACTURA, which developed a sustainable way to make bricks out of discarded shells and bio-binders. Plus: the nonprofit group in Oregon called Washed Ashore uses a different kind of waste to make art.  3D-Printing Bricks From Discarded Eggshells (Cool Hunting) Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea  Let's build more episodes of this show together! Join us as a backer on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Some chip brands hit it big on store shelves - but one brand that won legions of adoring fans in prisons. For National Potato Chip Day, the story of The Whole Shabang. Plus: March 14 is Pi Day, because the number Pi starts with 3.14. Supercomputers have helped find the next 62.8 trillion digits that follow.  Chips So Good You'll Have to Go to Jail to Get Them (NBC News) A Supercomputer Just Calculated Pi to a Record-Breaking 62.8 Trillion Digits. So What? (Popular Mechanics) Support from our Patreon backers is what makes our whole shabang possible --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1781 astronomer William Herschel pointed his telescope toward Uranus. But long before the internet’s favorite planet got its very pun-filled name, an astronomer wanted to give it a much more chill one. Plus: modern day scientists have plenty of theories on how Uranus ended up on its side.  Uranus: the first planet discovered with a telescope (Science Museum London) There's a New Hypothesis For How Uranus Ended Up Tipped on Its Side (Science Alert) Discover how you can make new episodes of this show happen on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Daylight Saving Time begins early this Sunday. People have been complaining about the time change, or the lack thereof, since it first came up. So how did it first come up? Plus: around this time in 1998, the UK’s House of Commons did away with a longstanding rule involving hats.  How a New Zealand insect hunter created daylight saving time (The Week) Commons toppers are old hat (The Independent)  It's time to support our show on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1931, the US Supreme Court issued a ruling that seems to say that a guy who stole an airplane was not guilty of breaking the law against stealing motor vehicles. Though it’s actually a little more complicated than that. We'll explain. Plus: a Lego fan has proposed the company produce a new set that looks like the famous Edvard Munch painting The Scream. HOW TO SELL A STOLEN PLANE (Now I Know) LEGO Ideas The Scream Achieves 10,000 Supporters (The Brick Fan) For just $1 a month you can support this show on Patreon. That's a steal! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Motorcycles just don’t have many of the same safety advantages as cars and trucks. So a company in Sweden is taking one of those safety features and adding it to a rider’s outfit: introducing airbag pants! Plus: March is National Peanut Month, so just a reminder that there is a NUTmobile that drives around the country doing events on behalf of nut producer Planters. Swedish company unveils world’s first airbag jeans for motorcyclists (Interesting Engineering) The Nutty History of the NUTmobile (Planters) Ride with us as a backer on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 2016, researchers released a study that showed how to influence rats to make risky bets in a “rat casino.” Plus: for National Cereal Day, the story of how Chex lovers in South Korea lobbied for years to get a green onion flavored version of the product.  New research: Flashing lights and music turn rats into problem gamblers (University of British Columbia) South Korea Gets Long Awaited Green Onion Chex (NPR) You can bet on a sure thing by backing our show on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1475 Michelangelo was born. One of his masterworks was the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, though if a poem he wrote about the job is to be believed, making all that great art was pretty painful. Plus: a series of portraits of every US president with a mullet. Labor Pains (Slate) every american president, but  they're all cool and they all sport a mullet (Cam Harless on Twitter) Painting the Sistine Chapel is hard. Supporting this show on Patreon is easy! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

The news site Inverse stopped me in my tracks with their recent article “Can Cats Tell Time? Yes, But It's Complicated.” And, when we look at the relationship between cats and time, it is complicated. Plus: This weekend in Nenana, Alaska, it’s the annual Tripod Days, including a contest known as the Nenana Ice Classic. Can Cats Tell Time? Yes, But It's Complicated (Inverse) Nenana Ice Classic  Take a moment right meow and support us as a backer on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Today was the birthday in 1860 of the first woman to serve as a mayor in the United States, Susanna Madora Salter, of Argonia, Kansas. She wasn’t looking to make history and didn’t even run for the job, but then sometimes you choose the moment, and other times the moment chooses you. Plus: in the new book Locked Down Looking Up, photographer Doris Mitsch shows the composite images she took during the pandemic that show the flight trails of flocks of birds and other flying creatures. Susanna Madora Salter (Kansas Historical Society) Susanna Madora Salter (National Women's History Museum) Photographer Creates Mesmerizing Flight Trails of Winged Creatures as a Meditation on Time (My Modern Met) Love our history shows? Help make more of them as a backer on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

Today in 1793, the U.S. Mint issued its first circulating coins, which were one-cent pieces. Here's a little bit about how we got the penny and some of its most memorable designs. Plus: in Falls Church, Virginia, there’s a sculpture of a fighter jet that’s covered in around 14,000 pennies. History of the Penny (Modern Coin Mart) It’s a penny! It’s a plane! It’s a quirky sculpture behind a Virginia office building! (Washington Post) For just pennies a day you can help this show grow as a backer on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

AI chatbots are big again, so let's hang out with the OG AI chatbot: Microsoft Word letter writing helper extraordinare, Clippy the paper clip. Plus: a cemetery in Illinois marks an impossible anniversary every February.  The Twisted Life of Clippy (The Seattle Met) St. Omer Cemetery Witch Grave (Atlas Obscura) It looks like you'd like to support this podcast. Would you like to join our community on Patreon?  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support

There's a team at Northwestern University that's ready to help the tired vocal cords of the world: a wearable device that can tell when a voice needs a break. Plus: it's the birthday in 1902 of John Steinbeck, who wrote some timeless literary classics and also a werewolf novel.  First wearable device for vocal fatigue senses when your voice needs a break (Northwestern University) Beast of Eden (Stanford Magazine) Raise your voice and help this show grow as a backer on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/support