Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

This week we're replaying some of our favorite shows about the stuff that makes the world go round. In this episode from May 2019, Australians laugh, curse, sigh and facepalm over a misspelled word on the newest printing of their $50 note. Plus: a guy in Grand Haven, Michigan drives through town with a cardboard box containing $30,000 in cash. And of course the box fell off his truck and the money started flying all over the place. Huge typo spotted on new $50 note (News.com.au)Bank alerted to Joyce coin risk (The Herald of Dublin)Error Is Human, Pt. 1: Certifiable U.S. Paper Money Errors (Coin Week)People rush to grab whirling cash after $30,000 falls off back of truck (MLive)Back Cool Weird Awesome on Patreon for just $1 a month!

This week we're replaying some of our favorite shows about the stuff that makes the world go round. In this episode from July 2022, the story of how and why the US Congress decided that the name of our country’s currency would be the dollar. Plus: when Althea Gibson made history at Wimbledon, even the woman she beat was singing her praises. The Almighty Dollar (AdamSmith.org)Althea Gibson: Tennis Turmoil and Triumph (Library of Congress)For just one dollar a month you can help fund this show on Patreon!

This week we're replaying some of our favorite shows about the stuff that makes the world go round. In this episode from July 2022, a visit to Tenino, Washington, where wooden money has been making a mark for decades. Plus: if you feel like you’ve been to every museum and you’re not sure what to do next, try the German Food Additives Museum. Why Tenino is still printing wooden money (KING 5)There is a museum dedicated to food additives in Hamburg, Germany (Boing Boing)For just $1 a month (regular bills or wooden money) you can help support this show on Patreon

It's International Bat Appreciation Day. Bats are smart, versatile and often adorable in their way. But they do have minds of their own… which foiled a project that seemed like a useful idea for the Florida Keys. Plus: today in 2018, a story about a Pennsylvanian who had an airtight reason to get out of jury duty. BAT TOWER SEEMED LIKE GOOD IDEA, BUT NO ONE TOLD THE BATS (Chicago Tribune)4-year-old Summoned for Jury Duty, Excused for Preschool (WNEP)Join our “colony” of backers on Patreon

Today in 2018, Fast Company published an article called “What You Can Learn From 7 Of The Most Cringeworthy Job Interviews.” One lesson: yelling at your parrot for interrupting the conversation may not work out well. Especially if the parrot yells back. Plus: this month in Turkey, it’s the Istanbul Tulip Festival. What You Can Learn From 7 Of The Most Cringeworthy Job Interviews (Fast Company)Istanbul Tulip Festival (Visit Istanbul) Want more stories about swearing parrots? Back this podcast on Patreon

Greens are good for us, and a new study finds greens are good for soil that’s been contaminated with toxic metals… which may also be a big deal in the world of mining. Plus: this month in 1925, the state of Oregon first flew its official flag. It's the only American state flag where the image on the back is different from what’s on the front. Kale, cabbage found effective at mining toxic thallium metal from polluted soil (Interesting Engineering)Oregon State Flag (Oregon Encyclopedia)Want this show to grow? Back us on Patreon

On this day in 1912, the Titanic, the iceberg… the whole thing. But there was a nearly-identical ship from the same company called RMS Olympic. How weird must it have been that right after the sinking, there was a very very similar ship out there on the sea?!? Plus: one guy who had been aboard both of those ships in their worst moments was also aboard like three other shipwrecks?!? Seeing Double: The Titanic’s Ghostly Twin Sister (Messy Nessy Chic)Arthur John Priest: The Unsinkable Stoker (Amusing Planet)Make our show unsinkable as a backer on Patreon

Today in 2010, a big sale in Washington state: a woman sold a couple an entire town. And it turns out that owning an entire town, even a small, unincorporated community, can be a challenge. Plus: oday in 1743, the birthday of Thomas Jefferson. You can tour his home, Monticello, today in Virginia - or if you’re in or near Somers, Connecticut, you can see a replica of the third president’s house. Tour Deshais: Closure a downer on dry stretch (The Spokesman-Review)THERE’S A REPLICA OF THOMAS JEFFERSON’S MONTICELLO IN CONNECTICUT (Untapped New York)Let’s grow our community of supporters on Patreon, back this show today

This month in 1928, a West Virginia family found what would eventually be recognized as the largest alluvial diamond ever discovered in North America.  But for a while, the finders of that gem just put it in a box and left it in place. Plus: starting today in Stamford, Connecticut, it’s the 45th Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. The Jones Diamond, the largest alluvial diamond in North America, was found in West Virginia(WBOY)The 45th Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament Support this show on Patreon and help make it shine and sparkle like a diamond

Today in 1949, one of the biggest names in TV helped usher in a big part of TV history. Before the famous Jerry Lewis telethons, Milton Berle hosted a televised fundraiser for 16 straight hours in New York. Plus: coming up this weekend, it’s the Chicago Tea Festival. Hollywood Flashback: Milton Berle Hosted the First Star Telethon in 1949 (Hollywood Reporter)Chicago Tea Festival 2026 We don’t do telethons, but you can back our podcast on Patreon

Cambodia just put up a statue to honor someone who made a great contribution to public safety.  His name was Magawa, and he was an African giant pouched rat who just happened to be trained to detect land mines. Plus: a "simulated skylight" is a recessed ceiling fixture that uses LEDs to make it look like you're seeing in the sky, even in rooms where you can't. Cambodia unveils statue to honour famous landmine-sniffing rat (BBC)Simulated Skylight (The Awesomer)We honor our Patreon backers, who help make this show possible

These times aren’t exactly easy for farmers, especially ones who grow in water-limited areas. But there’s a new project out of the University of California - Riverside that might help - and I’m pleased to tell you that it involves robots. Plus: the Facebook page Anonymous Works just featured a Star Trek fan's labor of love. ‘More crop per drop’: New UC Riverside irrigation robot is adorable — and revolutionary (University of California)A remarkable collection came up for auction the other day (Anonymous Works via Facebook)Drop by our page on Patreon, where every drop of support adds up

Parts of England celebrated the Monday after the holiday with a special custom of picking strangers up off the ground for money. Sure, why not. Plus: today in 1909, the Peary expedition reached what they believed to be the North Pole, which wound up bewildering then-President William Howard Taft a bit. Lifting and Heaving: An Easter Custom (University of Leicester via Archive.org)GIVES NORTH POLE TO TAFT (The Spokesman-Review via Google News Archive)Lift up this show every day as a backer on Patreon

It's Easter weekend. Many people my age will fondly remember getting Cadbury Creme Eggs this time of year… or is it that they fondly remember those TV commercials promoting the eggs? Plus: in Buffalo, New York, many Polish Catholics in Buffalo, New York have another tasty and delicious Easter tradition, the butter lamb. A Brief History of the Cadbury Egg (The Kitchn) Behold the Butter Lamb of God: A Polish Catholic Easter Tradition Beloved in Buffalo, New York (Smithsonian Magazine)For the price of one candy egg a month you can back this show on Patreon

Today in 1951, a 19 year old sent three words out into the world on the shell of an egg: “Please write me.” Her message simple and effective… though it took a long time for the reply to come in. Plus: starting this Saturday in Brighton, Missouri, the Tulip & Baby Animal Festival. ‘Please write me,’ she scribbled on a random egg in 1951. Someone just did. (Washington Post)Tulip & Baby Animal Festival If we wrote “please back us” on the side of an egg, would you visit our Patreon page?

Today in 2019, the world learned about a time when a TV host got some medical help from a viewer at home. Plus: the parent company of KitKat warns chocolate lovers in Europe that they may run into a few shortages, after a 12-ton chocolate bar heist!?!Inside Edition's Deborah Norville to Undergo Surgery for Cancerous Thyroid Nodule After Viewer Spotted Lump (Inside Edition)Nestlé says 12 tonnes of KitKat chocolate stolen in Europe (Le Monde)Our listeners help us out too; join them in backing our show on Patreon

Reforestation is a big part of the world's efforts to curb global warming, but a new study finds it isn’t just the number of trees that makes the difference for the earth, it’s where you plant them. Plus: in Surrey, British Columbia, a cat named Louis is flaunting international law and convention by crossing the US-Canada border to chase mice. Not every forest cools the Earth (ETH Zurich)Cat keeps crossing the U.S.-Canada border (CTV News via YouTube)Help plant the future of our show as a backer on Patreon

Ever get excited when a class or a meeting gets canceled and you have an extra hour? Researchers have shown that we actually get more excited about the time we gain back than time that was never filled up to begin with. Plus: the AllStrum guitar can help people with disabilities play chords and rock out. Why a Canceled Meeting Feels so Liberating (Rutgers University)An innovation that strikes a chord (Yale Engineering)Use a couple minutes of free time and $1 a month to back our show on Patreon

Major League BASEBALL is back. And there's a device that can help blind or visually impaired baseball fans follow all of the action with more detail than ever, and in real time, too. Plus: the St. Petersburg, Florida Museum of History is home to Schrader's Little Cooperstown, which has the largest collection of autographed baseballs in the world. onecourt’s haptic device lets the visually impaired watch live sports using their fingertips (designboom) World's Largest Collection of Autographed Baseballs (Roadside America)Take me out to the Cool Weird Awesome Patreon page, where you can back this show today

Today in 1976, another history making moment for Queen Elizabeth II. En route to becoming the longest-reigning monarch in world history, she became the first royal to send an email. Plus: today in 1859, inventor William Redgrave received two patents in the UK for what he called a "pillow traveling cap." On This Day in Royal History: Queen Elizabeth Sent the First-Ever Royal Email in 1976! (People)William Redgrave’s Safety Travelling Cap (Weird Universe) Hear ye, hear ye! Back our show on Patreon today!