Police Squad! The TV Comedy That Got Canceled For Being Too Funny (Cool Weird Awesome 1195)

Today in 1982, the premiere of the short-lived but critically acclaimed cop spoof Police Squad, a show TV executives said was essentially too funny to stay on the air. 

By |2024-03-04T07:12:11-05:00March 4, 2024|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

If You’re Trying To Visit All 50 States, North Dakota Wants You To Save The “Best For Last” (Cool Weird Awesome 1062)

Some of us plan our trips so we can visit all 50 states. If you’re one of these travelers, the state of North Dakota has a club just for you.

By |2023-08-03T09:21:29-04:00August 3, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

Before There Were Big Car Sales On Presidents Day, There Were Big Bicycle Sales (Cool Weird Awesome 953)

Today is the observance of President's Day, originally a holiday marking the February 22nd birthday of George Washington, but along the way it also became known as Bicycle Day.

By |2024-02-20T09:06:08-05:00February 20, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

Googly Eyes On Self-Driving Cars Could Help Keep Pedestrians Safe (Cool Weird Awesome 870)

If we’re ever going to get to a world of self-driving cars we’re going to need ways to make sure that world is safe - and one way to keep pedestrians safe near autonomous vehicles may be googly eyes. Seriously.

By |2022-10-20T06:43:13-04:00October 20, 2022|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

Gino Bartali Was A Champion And A Hero On A Bike (Cool Weird Awesome 812)

Today in 1914, the birthday of Gino Bartali. The Italian cycling star won the Tour de France in 1938, and won a second time a decade later. But what was even more impressive was what he did in between those two wins.

By |2022-07-18T09:19:53-04:00July 18, 2022|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

“The Fastest Cyclist In The World,” Major Taylor, Was A Black Sports Pioneer (Cool Weird Awesome 729)

There's a new exhibit at the Indiana State Museum about Marshall "Major" Taylor, a Black cycling star who became famous before Jack Johnson, Joe Louis or Jackie Robinson. Here's some of his story.

Two Families Escaped East Germany In A Homemade Hot Air Balloon (Cool Weird Awesome 614)

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. 

By |2021-09-16T07:05:56-04:00September 16, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

How Ethel Merman Helped Get America To Use ZIP Codes (Cool Weird Awesome 564)

Today in 1963, the US Postal Service officially started using ZIP codes as a way to quickly sort huge amounts of mail and get it to where it needed to go. How did they get Americans to adopt ZIP codes? A mascot named Mr. Zip and a jingle sung by Broadway legend Ethel Merman.

By |2024-02-23T09:16:49-05:00July 1, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

Guillaume Le Gentil, The 18th Century Astronomer With the Worst Luck (Cool Weird Awesome 549)

Today in 1769, Captain James Cook and his crew observed the transit of Venus from Tahiti, a big deal for astronomers then; only his French colleague Guillaume Le Gentil had spent years preparing to do the exact same thing, and had much worse luck on his expedition. Plus: for World Bicycle Day, a visit to a giant bicycle sculpture in South Dakota. 

By |2021-06-03T08:02:44-04:00June 3, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

The Woman Who Rode A Bike Around The World (Cool Weird Awesome 328)

It was on this day in 1894 that Annie Cohen Kopchovsky, aka Annie Londonderry, set off on a bike trip that, over the next fifteen months, would make her the first woman to ride a bike around the world. Plus: meet a contraption that can hit a home run about twice as far as the ones in the big leagues.

By |2020-06-25T07:53:29-04:00June 25, 2020|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |
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