A Boycott Against Charles Boycott Gave Us The Word “Boycott” (Cool Weird Awesome 1201)

Today in 1832, the birthday of Charles Boycott, whose name has been used for over a century anytime people decide to deliberately take their business away from a group or a company.

By |2024-03-12T08:54:38-04:00March 12, 2024|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

New York City’s 311 System Has Gotten Some Wild Calls Over The Years (Cool Weird Awesome 1200)

This month in 2003, New York City launched its 311 service, a service that has helped residents with a wide range of non-emergency issues… and a few absolute head-scratchers. 

By |2024-03-11T07:43:39-04:00March 11, 2024|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

Toronto’s “Stork Derby” Happened Because Of A Very Wealthy Lawyer’s Very Strange Will (Cool Weird Awesome 1121)

This week in 1926, a will left behind by a very unusual lawyer in Toronto led to a ten year baby-having contest nicknamed the “Stork Derby.”

By |2023-11-01T08:57:52-04:00November 1, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

A Soviet Cosmonaut Once Pretended To Land On The Moon To Troll NASA (Cool Weird Awesome 1090)

Today in 1968, the Soviet Union was launching the Zond 5 mission, orbiting the moon. But on cosmanaut, knowing the US would be listening, decided to pretend he’d landed on the moon's surface.

By |2023-09-19T09:04:40-04:00September 19, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

A US Treasury Official Decided To Feature Himself On Currency (Cool Weird Awesome 1065)

For National Dollar Day, the story of the time a guy overseeing the printing of US money decided the best person to feature on that money was… himself. 

By |2023-08-08T09:41:04-04:00August 8, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , |

Turkmenistan’s Leader Once Drove Doughnuts Around A Flaming Crater Known As The “Gates Of Hell” (Cool Weird Awesome 1064)

This week in 2019, the president of Turkmenistan got the world’s attention with a very unusual drive around a flaming gas crater that's become an attraction for some tourists as well as a big headache for environmental scientists.

By |2023-08-07T10:04:16-04:00August 7, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

Claire Weekes Came Up With Six Words To Help With Anxiety (Cool Weird Awesome 985)

Today in 1903, the birthday of Dr. Claire Weekes, who helped the world understand that sometimes the way to stop a spell of anxiety in its tracks… is, in a way, to stop trying to stop it. 

By |2023-12-26T12:15:01-05:00April 11, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

Science Says Cats Can Perceive Time, Sort Of (Cool Weird Awesome 962)

The news site Inverse stopped me in my tracks with their recent article “Can Cats Tell Time? Yes, But It's Complicated.” And, when we look at the relationship between cats and time, it is complicated.

By |2024-03-03T11:45:07-05:00March 3, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |
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