Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

Today in 1934, Leonard Cohen was born. His music and poetry have influenced other songwriters and poets for decades, but today we’re talking about another part of his career, and maybe the weirdest part: the time he guest starred on the 80s action series “Miami Vice.” Plus: today in 1997, Dunkin gave out free donuts to mark the last hurrah for their longtime TV pitchman, Fred the Baker.  Revisiting Leonard Cohen's fantastic cameo appearance in 'Miami Vice' (Far Out) Doughnuts for everyone, on Fred Pitchman: Fred, the star of Dunkin' Donuts TV ads for 15 years, gets a sweet send-off today as the company gives away doughnuts at its 3,300 U.S. locations. (Baltimore Sun) Make more episodes like this one as a backer on Patreon!  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Today in 1934, Paramount Pictures released the movie “Belle of the Nineties,” starring Mae West. And, for some reason, the studio trained several dozen parrots to learn to say the title of the movie so they could appear at theaters and wow the moviegoing public. There was just one problem with the plan, though. Plus: on this World Peace Day, the guy who tried to make the world a more peaceful place by walking backwards.  A.C. Lyles ("A Woman At War" via Google Books) Mani Manithan: I walked backwards for 25 years (Friday Magazine) We're trying to get some parrots to say "Back our show on Patreon!" --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

The famous cover of The Clash's landmark album "London Calling" was taken on September 21, 1979, according to the liner notes. Except that Dave Marin, a concertgoer who was there when the photo was taken, has a concert stub that says September 20th. And he's spent decades trying to get the world to notice that the album credits are a day off. Plus: today in 1940, a bomb explodes in London, and the locals decide to turn the crater it left behind into something special.  When Did a Famous Guitar-Smashing Occur? One Fan of The Clash Insists Everyone Has It Wrong (Wall Street Journal) Ecologies of resilience: Westminster’s  bomb crater garden and the  Dig for Victory campaign (Seismopolite) Our Patreon backers always stand by us --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

This weekend is National Cheeseburger Day, and there's only one such holiday. But if you ask where the cheeseburger came from, there are a couple answers. Plus: for National Pet Bird Day, a story from 2017 in which researchers found wild birds in Australia swearing. Who Invented the All-American Cheeseburger? (The Spruce Eats) Plaque commemorating invention of the cheeseburger in Pasadena dedicated at LA Financial Credit Union (Pasadena Chamber of Commerce) Birds that escape from captivity teach wild birds how to speak (and swear) in English (Inhabitat) Our Patreon backers make every delicious episode of our show possible --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Today in 1979, a story that sounds like it came straight out of a movie: two families in Communist East Germany escaped to the West by making and flying a hot air balloon. Plus: Today in 2018, Denise Mueller-Korenek broke the world record for “fastest bicycle speed in slipstream": 183.9 mph.  Freedom Balloon (Popular Mechanics) With hot air to freedom (Der Spiegel) A history of cycling speed records as Denise Mueller-Korenek reaches 183 mph (Guinness World Records) Help keep this show flying as a backer on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Today's the birthday of Agatha Christie, the novelist and playwright who gave us some of the most popular mysteries of all time. But when she wasn't sending Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot out to crack cases, she was often found surfing. Plus: it's the birthday of playwright Jerry Sterner, best known for “Other People’s Money," and for being buried under a headstone that was perfect for someone in his line of work. How Agatha Christie Helped Popularize Surfing -- Yes, Surfing (Crimereads) Investigating Hate (Harpers) We'd hang ten with our Patreon backers anytime --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Apollo 8 brought the first human astronauts to lunar orbit in late 1968, but a few months beforehand, the Soviet Zond 5 mission sent two tortoises (and a few other living things) for a trip around the moon. Here's what happened. Plus: today in 1890, Mexican singing and songwriting great Maria Grever was born. Whether or not you know her songs, you know a phrase that comes from one. The Time Two Russian Space Tortoises Beat Apollo to the Moon (HowStuffWorks) Maria Grever (Encyclopedia.com) Our backers on Patreon help us launch new episodes every day --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

These days, with everything moving further and further online, it's not a surprise that many of us can see our doctors through remote appointments. But a century ago, a radio enthusiast called Hugo Gernsback predicted a way that doctors could examine patients remotely, using radio waves. Plus: a giant blob of old pizza dough has become an odd kind of celebrity in New Orleans.  Telemedicine Predicted in 1925 (Smithsonian) North shore pizza dough blob grows to enormous proportions, overtakes dumpster post-Ida (New Orleans Times-Picayune) We predict our Patreon backers will make more great episodes of our show happen --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

If you’ve ever been around a baby you probably heard some cooing, gurgling and babbling, as the babies try to make the sounds adults make. Some new research finds if you spend time with baby bats, you might hear them doing essentially the same thing. Plus: the YouTube channel Steadycraftin finds a pretty cool way to reuse some of those old orange plastic prescription bottles.  Baby Bats Babble Just Like Human Infants (Treehugger) Turning Plastic Pill Bottles Into Orange Robot Figurines (Laughing Squid) We hang on our Patreon backers' every word --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Social distancing is a thing in the octopus world. According to new research out of the University of Sydney, some females will tell males to back off by throwing stuff at them. Plus: it was this week in 2019 that a drunk feral pig in western Australia picked a fight with a cow, which is probably one of the weirdest sentences of the week.  Female Octopuses Throw Things at Irritating Males, And Look, We Totally Get It (Science Alert) Drunk and boarish: swigging pig hogs 18 beers at campsite (The Guardian) We never say back off to our Patreon backers, because they're so awesome --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Boston's Skinny House went up for sale recently. It's a four-story house with rooms only 10 feet wide, and was reportedly built just to block another house's view of the harbor. "Spite houses" have been regularly built for these kinds of reasons, it turns out. Plus: today in in 1504 Michelangelo completed David. We've got a fun fact about this iconic sculpture for you.  Five Spite Houses in New England (Boston Magazine) 10 Fun Facts About Michelangelo's David (The Florence Insider) Our Patreon backers help us build new episodes, but out of love, not spite  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Yuan Longping, born today in 1930, was known as the Father of Hybrid Rice, and his work saved countless people from famine and starvation. Here's more of his story. Plus: a school in New Zealand has an unusual crossing guard: a chicken in a safety vest named Henry!  Yuan Longping, whose hybrid rice helped feed the world, dies at 90 (Washington Post) This New Zealand School Is Using a Chicken as a Traffic Officer (Mental Floss) Our Patreon backers are like the parents of our episodes! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Sputnik IV, to be specific, had some trouble getting back to Earth as planned. Today in 1962, pieces of the Soviet spacecraft ended up crashing into a street in Manitowoc, Wisconsin - so the town started holding a SputnikFest to celebrate their place in space history. Plus: today in 1870, Louisa Swaim made herstory by casting a ballot in Laramie, Wyoming. 'Sputnikfest': How Wisconsin Celebrates Historic Fall of Soviet Satellite (Space.com) About Sputnik (Rahr-West Art Museum)   Celebrating a Trailblazer: 150th Anniversary of the First Women's Vote (Travel Wyoming) Help launch more episodes of our show as a backer on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Today in 2019, a woman in Sweden rose to an unthinkable occasion: she rescued all six of her children, including three under 5 years old, while their house burned down. Plus: did you know hummingbirds can see some ultraviolet colors that humans can't?  Emma, ​​30: I saved my six children from the flames (Expressen.se) Hummingbirds Can See Colors We Can’t Even Imagine (Wired) Thanks to our Patreon backers who make all of our episodes possible! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Nike and biotech company NewLight have started developing a shoe made from a polymer derived from carbon, bringing some greenness to an often carbon-intensive industry. Plus: Victoria Rose Richards embroiders overhead views of moors and other parts of the UK's countryside. Nike Is Designing Biodegradable Sneakers Out of Carbon (Interesting Engineering) Landscapes (Futility Closet) You can make more episodes like this one as a backer on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Research from 2018 at Princeton University found that male fruit flies use their wings to improvise musical sounds to win the attention of females. I just wish they didn't try to do all of it in my house. Plus: a teen in the UK makes friends with a bee!  How Fruit Flies Woo a Mate (Simons Foundation) Teenager keeps bumble bee as pet after it followed her home (Cornwall Live) Keep building the buzz about this show as a backer on Patreon! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Web developer/creator/artist Lynn Fisher's new project is NestFlix, a website that looks like a streaming service but features the fictional shows and movies that are within real world ones. Plus: the Potato Photographer of the Year gives us some unforgettable images. No small fries in this group.  Nestflix – movies and TV shows that exist solely inside real movies and TV shows (Boing Boing) The Potato Photographer of the Year 2021 (Kottke.org) Join our Patreon backers and keep this show going (in the real world, not on NestFlix) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Stott Hall Farm is an unusual place; on either side of the place, there's the UK's M62 highway. We'll explain how it happened. Plus: a couple in Texas bought a plot of land, spent years building a house there, and then got a knock on the door from the actual landowners, explaining that there'd been a mix-up.  Mystery of the M62 farm is solved: Newly rediscovered footage reveals the REAL reason why the trans-Pennine motorway was built around an 18th Century home (Daily Mail) ‘Your home is on my property.’ Family’s house, utilities built on wrong lot (KXAN) There's no place like home, especially when your Patreon backers are there --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Paralympic athletes are in Tokyo to compete and maybe to win a gold medal, if they can. The benchmark for Paralympic gold, by the way: 55 medals by a single athlete, swimmer Trischa Zorn. Plus: today in 1936, a newspaper ran a short piece about inventor Isabella Gilbert and her dimple-making machine.  Swimmer Trischa Zorn’s Paralympic Legacy Goes Beyond Her Staggering 55-Medal Haul (Team USA) Who Wants Dimples? (Bremen Enquirer via Newspapers.com) Our Patreon backers deserve gold medals for being great --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

It's National Cherry Popsicle Day, so obviously, we have to tell the story of the popsicle, and Frank Epperson, the 11 year old you invented it. Plus: today in 1969, Elvis Presley sees a bald guy in the audience while onstage in Las Vegas and sings the best version of "Are You Lonesome Tonight" ever.  The Surprisingly Fun Story of How the Popsicle Was Invented by an 11-Year-Old Boy (My Modern Met) Frank Epperson, 89, Inventor Of Popsicle, Dies in California (New York Times) Elvis Can't Stop Laughing (YouTube) Our Patreon backers are the coolest --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message