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PODCAST

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson

Three minutes each weekday of cool facts, weird news and awesome discoveries with Brady Carlson. Back us at http://patreon.com/bradycarlson

society & culture

All Episodes

00:03:06

Monkeys Follow Some Of The Same Economic Principles...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/06/20

Today in 2005, the release of a study that found something interesting: monkeys appeared to have some of the same economic ideas that humans have, especially when it comes to something known as loss aversion. Plus: tomorrow in Illinois, it's the Great Galena Balloon Race. Humans Rational and Irrational Buying Behavior Is Mirrored in Monkeys (Yale University)Great Galena Balloon Race (Enjoy Illinois)When you back this show on Patreon, everybody gains and nobody loses

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00:03:22

How The Juneteenth Holiday Spread From Galveston, To...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/06/19

Holidays don't just show up; people make them happen. Here's the story of how a commemoration of a key moment in ending the institution of slavery eventually became a national holiday across the United States. Former State Rep. Al Edwards, Who Helped Make Juneteenth A State Holiday, Dies At 83 (Houston Public Media)How 97-Year-Old Activist Opal Lee Became the “Grandmother of Juneteenth” (Biography)

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00:03:14

The Vatican Once Sang The Praises Of The Blues Brothers

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/06/18

This week in 2010, a classic movie gets a shout-out from a very unusual place: the Vatican was repping The Blues Brothers. Plus: starting tomorrow in Ingliston, Edinburgh, Scotland, it's the Royal Highland Show. Vatican beatifies Blues Brothers ... well almost (Reuters)World Highland ShowYou on the motorcycle! You two girls! Tell your friends! Back this show on Patreon!

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00:03:08

To Get Kids To Eat Their Veggies, A Company Sold A...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/06/17

For National Eat Your Vegetables Day, the story of the time a company tried to get kids to eat French fry-shaped versions of dinner table vegetables, but with a name that may not have done them any favors. Plus: this weekend in Washington state, it's Sumner's Rhubarb Days Festival. Funky Fries and other foods that flopped (CNN)Rhubarb Days 2025 If you love this show as much as kids don’t love certain veggies, then back us on Patreon today

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00:03:37

Cracker Jack Originally Came With More Peanuts And No...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/06/16

Today in 1893, the invention of the beloved snack Cracker Jack, though there was a time when its signature sweet blend of peanuts and popcorn was considerably different, and the prizes were nowhere to be found. Plus: today in 2006, the end to a more than a century-long war, one that was only ever on paper. 14 Classic Facts About Cracker Jack (Mental Floss)Montenegro, Japan to declare truce (UPI)Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, Patreon’s the site where our show you can back

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00:03:01

The Man Versus Horse Marathon Is Pretty Much What The...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/06/13

Tomorrow in Wales, a race where there are human runners and horses with riders on the same course, trying to get to the finish line ahead of each other. And it all started with an argument in a pub. Plus: starting tomorrow in Brooten, Minnesota, it’s Redhead Creamery Curd Fest. 44th MAN VERSUS HORSE Redhead Creamery Curd Fest Race on over to our Patreon page so you can back this show

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00:03:10

Easy Listening Emerged From When Radio Programmers...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/06/12

Today in 1971 that the magazine Record World published an article about a new and very chill radio format that was the precursor of Easy Listening. Plus: this Saturday in New York City, it’s Pigeon Fest. Music Only for a Woman: The Birth of Easy Listening (JSTOR)Pigeon Fest Help keep this show chill as a backer on Patreon

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00:03:25

The Centuries-Long Quest To Choose A Punctuation Mark...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/06/11

Today in 1841, a newspaper publisher from Belgium put out an article that included a mark he called “un point d’ironie.” The history of punctuation is full of efforts to choose a mark that would make it clear to readers when the writer is being ironic or sarcastic. Plus: a couple in Sweden finds a way to make their home more eco-friendly while keeping them warm during the country's very cold winters. Can irony really be conveyed with punctuation? (Christian Science Monitor)Swedish Family

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00:03:08

The US Once Had A National Raisin Reserve

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/06/10

Today in 2013, the US Supreme Court issued a ruling that put an end to something called the National Raisin Reserve. Here's why the US used to have a massive government stockpile of raisins. Plus: Memoria is a concept for a device for people with Alzheimer’s disease, prompting patients with information they might be trying to remember or use at that moment. One grower’s grapes of wrath (Washington Post via Archive.org)memoria home medical device and necklace help people with alzheimer's

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00:03:38

Don Ritchie, “The Angel of the Gap”

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/06/09

Today in 1926, the birthday of Don Ritchie, a man who helped hundreds of people in the most difficult moments of their lives and helped them find ways to carry on. (If today's topic is uncomfortable for you, no worries, we'll talk with you again tomorrow.) Plus: now underway in Michigan, it's the Mackinac Island Lilac Festival. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide or a mental health crisis, there is help available right now from the National Suicide Crisis Lifeline at

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00:03:04

As The Allies Stormed The Beaches On D-Day, Bill...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/06/06

Today in 1944, D-Day, the largest invasion force ever. There were hundreds of thousands of troops, tens of thousands of vehicles, over 100,000 tons of equipment, and at least one guy playing bagpipes. Plus: today in Franklin, Indiana, it’s the Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival. Bill Millin (The Economist via Archive.org) Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival Make some noise on behalf of our podcast as a backer on Patreon

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00:03:17

When Teenager Michael Chang Beat The World’s Top...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/06/05

On any given day, anybody can defeat anybody else. Today in 1989, a not very well known American tennis player proved it with an upset for the ages against one of the top names in the sport. Plus: starting Saturday in Lincoln, Nebraska, it’s the Flatland Juggling Festival. How Michael Chang defeated Ivan Lendl at the French Open in 1989 (The Guardian)Flatland Juggling FestivalWant more stories about great upsets? Back our little show on Patreon today

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00:03:20

Tyromancy Is The Practice Of Fortune Telling Through...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/06/04

It's National Cheese Day, and while cheese is one of the world’s most influential foods, that's not the whole story. Some people claim that they can tell the future through cheese. Plus: for athletes who get tired just thinking about triathlons now have a race of their own: the Nice Tri. The Un-Brie-Lievable History of Tyromancy (Saveur)The Nice Tri It would be really Gouda to back our show on Patreon

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00:03:01

Living Wall Coatings Could Make City Buildings Greener

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/06/03

Researchers in Austria and Slovenia have been developing a set of living surfaces to apply to the sides of buildings, that can filter pollutants and capture carbon from the air, and maybe even repair cracks to the buildings' exteriors. Plus: this Friday in Indiana, it’s the Strawberry Festival in downtown Kokomo. Living tattoos for buildings could turn city walls into pollution-fighting surfaces (Interesting Engineering)Strawberry Festival in downtown Kokomo!Help build up our show as a backer on

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00:03:01

The ReefRanger Is A Robot That Could Help Restore...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/06/02

A lot of people are trying to do something to help coral reefs these days. Now, those people can some help themselves from a robot. Plus: Texas-based artist Montrel Beverly is winning lots of attention for eye-catching recreations of famous artworks made of pipe cleaners. Robots that can climb trees or restore coral reefs (ETH Zurich)Montrel Beverly recreates the biblical and art history with pipe cleaners (It’s Nice That)We get help on this show from our backers on Patreon, join them today

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00:02:41

Home Sweet Home Week: There’s A House In The Middle...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/05/30

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about houses and the people who live in them. In this episode from September 2022, La maison dans la Loire, or “The House In The Loire,” which was a house built for an art installation. Plus: Baltimore is home to the Big Dill, otherwise known as the “World’s Largest Pickle Party.”The Famous House in the Middle of the Loire River (Oddity Central)The Big Dill Our Patreon backers keep this show from getting all wet

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00:03:00

Home Sweet Home Week: In The 60s, There Was A Plan To...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/05/29

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about houses and the people who live in them. In this episode from April 2022, beer magnate Alfred Heineken and architect John Habraken designed a house that could be built out of used Heineken bottles. Plus: it’s beer day every day at a spot in Taunton, Massachusetts. 100,000 Bottles of Beer in the Wall (Cabinet Magazine)Did Alfred Heineken Invent Bottle To Function as a Brick To Build Houses? (Snopes)Beer Can Museum & Beer Can Hall of

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00:02:57

Home Sweet Home Week: The Spite House, An Elegant,...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/05/28

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about houses and the people who live in them. In this episode from September 2021, a look at spite houses, structures that have been built to block other coveted views or for maybe even more ice cold reasons. Plus: an interesting fact about Michelangelo's David. 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,

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00:02:57

Home Sweet Home Week: A Guy In Massachusetts Made...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/05/27

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about houses and the people who live in them. In this episode from June 2022, the story of a guy in Rockport, Massachusetts who made almost an entire house out of old newspapers. Plus: a visit to the Mentone Egg Festival in northern Indiana. The Paper House—made of 100,000 newspapers—has a working fireplace, electricity, and running water (Roadtrippers)Mentone Egg Festival (Visit Indiana)Our Patreon backers always come first

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00:03:08

Home Sweet Home Week: They Built A Real-Life Simpsons...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/05/26

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about houses and the people who live in them. In this episode from December 2019, the story of the full-size, three-dimensional replica of the old Simpson place in Henderson, Nevada. Plus: the closest real-life community to the Simpsons' hometown, Springfield, may not be a Springfield at all. Duff beers, colorful walls and THAT saggy couch: Inside the real-life Simpsons house that was built as a competition prize in the 1990s … but the

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