Creeped Out By Clowns? Here’s The Science That Explains Why (Cool Weird Awesome 1119)

A grade school custodian in New Hampshire has been showing up to the late shift in a creepy clown costume. So, first of all, why, and also, what is it about clowns that many people find so creepy?

By |2023-10-30T06:44:14-04:00October 30, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

Parrots Like To Do Video Calls WIth Other Parrots (Cool Weird Awesome 1008)

This is one of the great technological and social breakthroughs of our time: scientists have figured out how parrots can do video calls with each other, and they love it!

By |2023-05-12T06:28:58-04:00May 12, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

If Winter Is Your Thing, Try Staying At An Ice Hotel (Cool Weird Awesome 932)

There’s still plenty of winter to go. But if plenty of winter still isn’t enough, there’s a way to level up: staying at an ice hotel.

By |2023-01-20T09:38:49-05:00January 20, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

The Leaning Tower Of Pisa Is Straightening Out (Cool Weird Awesome 919)

We have some good news early in this new year: the Leaning Tower of Pisa isn’t leaning quite as far as it used to!

By |2024-01-03T09:31:24-05:00January 3, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

Jackdaws Decide When To Take Off As A Group (Cool Weird Awesome 914)

Researchers have a pretty good idea what all the chatter between crows is about. They seem to figure out when to launch a mass takeoff by discussing it.

By |2023-12-28T09:25:43-05:00December 28, 2022|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

Pigeons Would Make Pretty Good Art Critics (Cool Weird Awesome 637)

Today in 2001 that a scientific journal published a study with an interesting name, which read in part: “Van Gogh, Chagall and pigeons." There's been a lot of research into how pigeons take in and process visual information, like art, and apparently it's pretty complex. Plus: in Detroit, a local news reporter does a story about a local skateboard park, and flawlessly rides a skateboard in the middle of his report! 

By |2021-10-19T06:27:25-04:00October 19, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , , |

The Next Big Thing In Home Insulation? Mushrooms (Cool Weird Awesome 632)

A startup in the UK has found a way to use mushrooms to create a new, greener kind of home insulation. But don't worry, it isn't just growing mushrooms inside the walls of your house. Plus: an Australian company that delivers coffee by drone is reworking its business model because nesting ravens are attacking their aircraft. 

By |2021-10-12T08:51:31-04:00October 12, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , , |

The Cheeseburger Has More Than One Origin Story (Cool Weird Awesome 615)

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.

By |2021-09-17T07:50:33-04:00September 17, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

The Netherlands Turned Pole-Sitting Into A Competitive Sport (Cool Weird Awesome 452)

The U.S. had flagpole sitting a century ago, but the Netherlands has Paalzitten, a sport in which people try to outlast each other sitting on poles. It can get competitive, though finding a crowd to watch people sitting on poles can be tricky. Plus: on National Bird Day, we pay tribute to the shoebill, a large bird that looks a bit like a pelican crossed with a dragon.

By |2024-01-05T06:53:18-05:00January 5, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |
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