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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

00:03:23

Muslims Pray Toward Mecca - Which Can Be A Challenge...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/09/18

There have been a number of Muslim astronauts, including one who went to the International Space Station today in 2006. Scholars and scientists have tried to figure out how to adapt religious traditions astronauts practice on Earth when they're spending time far above our home planet. Plus: today in 1981, a world record moment for the West Edmonton Mall in Alberta. Muslims in Outer Space (Harvard Divinity School)Canada mall sets parking‑lot record (History.com)Fly on over to our Patreon page to

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00:03:21

The Who’s American TV Debut Really Blew Up,...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/09/17

Today in 1967, The Who made their American TV debut, and it’s not an understatement to say that performance blew up. That’s just telling it like it is. Plus: New Haven, Connecticut may have held a world record-sized pizza party. The Who literally spark an explosion on national television (History.com)'New Haven ah-beetz can’t be beat!': City says it set world record for largest pizza party (FOX 61)Patreon backers, reign o’er our show

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00:03:16

Why 90s Screen Savers Were Full Of Flying Toasters...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/09/16

For IT Professionals Day, the history of the screen saver, which was originally just supposed to keep monitors from getting overworked but eventually took on a whimsical style of their own. Plus: Warsaw, Poland is encouraging commuters to try something other than looking at their phones. Saving One Screen At A Time (Tedium)Warsaw opens metro station ‘express’ library to get commuters off their phones (The Guardian)Save our show as a backer on Patreon

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00:03:28

We’ll Miss Maru, The Box-Obsessed Celebrity Internet Cat

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/09/15

Today we pay tribute to Maru the cat, one of web culture’s most beloved cats. YouTube cat fans and cardboard boxes will never be the same without him. Plus: today in 2015, a guy in Louisiana realizes he's in no condition to drive, so he finds a very different way home. The World Will Always Remember Maru (Neatorama)Drunk cowboy: 'Horse knows the way home' (WBRZ)Want more episodes about legendary internet cats? Back our show on Patreon today

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00:03:01

How Pink Floyd Got A Man On Fire Onto An Album Cover

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/09/12

Today in 1975, Pink Floyd released the album Wish You Were Here. It's a landmark both musically and visually, thanks to its cover featuring two men in suits are shaking hands… and one of them is on fire. Plus: starting tomorrow at the Nelson-Adkins Museum of Art, it’s the Kansas City Deaf Cultural Festival. The Story Behind Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were Here’ Album Cover (American Songwriter)Kansas City Deaf Cultural Festival (Nelson-Adkins Museum of Art)Shine on you Patreon backers

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00:03:50

Roselle The Guide Dog Helped Her Human Get To Safety...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/09/11

Today in 2001, as the world watched the horrific scene in lower Manhattan, and as those on scene faced all kinds of obstacles, a guide dog named Roselle stayed focused on her job, and helped her human get to safety. Michael Hingson (911Memorial.org)

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00:03:13

Why Take A Bath Or A Shower When You Can Hop Into A...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/09/10

We have baths and we have showers, but now a company in Japan is offering a pod that it says will wash and dry a person in about 15 minutes. Plus: today in 1881, a big first for Major League Baseball. Japan’s Innovative “Human Washing Machine” Can Clean up and Dry a Person in 15 Minutes (My Modern Met)Grondahl: Historian finds first grand slam in MLB history - in Rensselaer (The Times-Union)Keep this show clean and clear as a backer on Patreon

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00:03:01

Teddy Bears Were Once The Big Threat To American Youth

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/09/09

It’s Teddy Bear Day. Kids of all kinds have loved and been loved by this OG stuffie, even if there was a time when Very Concerned People thought the teddy bear could imperil the nation’s future. Plus: a town in South Dakota used to be home to an enormous collection of teddies. The Teddy Bear Was Once Seen as a Dangerous Influence on Young Children (Smithsonian)The World’s Largest Indoor Teddy Bear Collection Is Right Here In South Dakota At Teddy Bear Town (Only In Your State)Bear down and back this

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00:03:25

Robert Coates, The Stage Actor Who Was So Terrible He...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/09/08

Today is Actors Day, and few actors have left an impression like Robert "Romeo" Coates, who was sort of the Florence Foster Jenkins of English stage stars. Plus: today in 2022, the passing of Queen Elizabeth II of England, which triggered a very old custom of notifying the royal bees. The Amateur of Fashion: Robert "Romeo" Coates (Folger Shakespeare Library)The Queen’s Bees Have Been Informed of Her Passing (Vanity Fair)Act now to support this show on Patreon

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00:02:55

Sports Get Wild Week: Maryland’s Official State Sport...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/09/05

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes when the world of sports went off course. In this episode from March 2021, Maryland was the first state to adopt an official state sport, and that official state sport is jousting. Plus: a woman in New York does “space clearing,” which removes the negative energy from a home that won't sell. A look into Maryland’s curious state sport: Jousting (Shore Monthly)Mary Lou Bartram (Maryland Jousting Tournament Association)The Healer That

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00:02:46

Sports Get Wild Week: “Steady” Ed Headrick, the...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/09/04

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes when the world of sports went off course. In this episode from June 2021, the story of a guy who took two sports and fused them into one: Ed Headrick, known today as the Father of Disc Golf. Plus: an exhibit highlights the original rainbow Pride flag, the one Gilbert Baker designed for San Francisco’s Gay Freedom Day Parade in 1978.The Father of Disc Golf (Disc Golf Association)History of disc golf (part 1): the early days (Murray

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00:03:32

Sports Get Wild Week: The Time A Golfer Won The US...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/09/03

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes when the world of sports went off course. In this episode from June 2021, the winner of the prestigious 1934 U.S. Open golf tournament was sick as a dog the whole time. And the winner wasn’t the only golfer who had an odd time at the event.Bobby Cruickshank – the war hero who became one of Scottish golf’s nearly men in United States (The Scotsman)Olin Dutra overcomes bout of food poisoning to win by one stroke over Sarazen at Merion (U.S

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00:03:01

Sports Get Wild Week: The Netherlands Turned...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/09/02

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes when the world of sports went off course. In this episode from January 2021, a look at how one of the popular fads of the 1920s was flagpole sitting. Plus: for National Bird Day, a look at the shoebill, a bird for the record books. St. Simeon Stylites (Britannica)In the Netherlands Sitting on a Pole for Hours on End Is a Competitive Sport (Oddity Central)The Shoebill: Or, the Most Terrifying Bird in the World (Audubon)We would sit on a pole

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00:03:05

Sports Get Wild Week: In The 1920s There Was A...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/09/01

This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes when the world of sports went off course. In this episode from March 2021, about 200 runners in Los Angeles set out to run all the way to New York City. Plus: The Long Trail is a 272 mile hike through Vermont's Green Mountains, from the Massachusetts line to the border with Quebec. Endurance Racing: First Leg, the Bunion Derby (New York Public Library)The 1928 Bunion Derby: America’s Brush with Integrated Sports (BlackPast)The Long

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00:03:19

Most School Buses Are Bright Yellow For Exactly The...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/08/29

Kids in my town are headed back to school next week. The buses they use will be very similar to ones dating back to 1939, when a bunch of experts chose a bright shade of yellow as the standard school bus color. Plus: starting today in Tilburg, in the Netherlands, it’s the Redhead Days Festival. Why Are School Buses Yellow? (HowStuffWorks)Redhead Days Festival The wheels on this show’s bus keep turning because of our supporters on Patreon

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00:03:07

Before Humans Ever Went To Space, A Mom In France...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/08/28

Today, a report in the San Francisco Examiner about Paul Granveaud of France, who was training to become an astronaut. Two important notes here: the report came out in 1927, long before humans ever went to space, and Paul Granveaud was just six years old. Plus: starting tomorrow in Rollag, Minnesota, it’s the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion. First Boy in Space: The 1927 Moon Shot Craze (Paleofuture)WESTERN MINNESOTA STEAM THRESHERS REUNION Launch our show into the stratosphere as a backer

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00:03:01

Inventor Becky Schroeder Had A Patent Before She Was...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/08/27

Today in 1974, the US issued a patent to one Becky Schroeder, an extremely inventive kid. After all, not many of us have our very own patent at age twelve. Plus: starting this Friday in Indiana, it’s the Marshall County Blueberry Festival. Girl Finds Way to Write in Dark (New York Times)Marshall County Blueberry FestivalHelp our show glow as a backer on Patreon

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00:03:20

Rip The Dog Helped Rescue Londoners From Bomb Damaged...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/08/26

It's National Dog Day, so let’s talk about a dog who definitely found a way to carry on during World War II: Rip the dog, who rescued Londoners from rubble after Nazi bombing raids. Plus: in Spartanburg, South Carolina there's a statue of Chaser, known as the "Smartest Dog In The World."Medal for Dog Rip, Who Saved 100 People, Fetches 24,250 Pounds (Bloomberg via Archive.org) Smartest Dog Ever Can Pick Out 1,022 Toys By Name (Popular Science)You can help our show as a backer on

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00:03:28

The Great Moon Hoax Showed Misinformation Spread In...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/08/25

Today in 1835, the start of a six-part series in the New York Sun newspaper about fantastical creatures living on the moon. It wasn't true, but it was wildly popular. Plus: starting today, an auction of some rare US gold coins from the collection of an 80s rocker and avid collector. The Great Moon Hoax of 1835: The Birth of Fake News? (Interesting Engineering)Rick Springfield Collection of U.S. gold coins to be sold (Coin World)It would be fantastic (but not fantastical) for our listeners to

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00:03:23

A Formerly Enslaved Man Roasted His Former Master In...

Cool Weird Awesome with Brady Carlson ·

2025/08/22

Today in 1865, newspapers published "Letter From A Freedman To His Old Master," Jordan Anderson's note perfect response to a guy who probably shouldn’t have written to him in the first place. Plus: starting today in Illinois, it’s the Dekalb Corn Fest. How did ex-slave's letter to master come to be? (Salt Lake Tribune via Conifer) Dekalb Corn Fest Get in touch with us as a backer on Patreon

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