“Casablanca” Almost Had A Sequel – Twice (Cool Weird Awesome 665)

After the landmark movie "Casablanca" became an unexpected hit, Hollywood tried a couple times to make a sequel.

By |2023-11-26T10:50:57-05:00November 26, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

Being Nice Really Can Make The World Around You Nicer, Science Has Shown It (Cool Weird Awesome 655)

A University of Oregon study on what's called the “perceiver-elicited similarity effect" finds that when you’re nice, that can lead to more niceness around you! Plus: today in 1910, what’s believed to be the first movie stunt took place. And it was quite a stunt. 

By |2021-11-12T07:46:29-05:00November 12, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

Incubus, The Esperanto-Language Movie Starring William Shatner (Cool Weird Awesome 642)

Today in 1966, the official release of "Incubus," the only Esperanto-language movie starring a pre-Star Trek William Shatner. The movie had such bad fortune some people actually thought it was cursed. Plus: a guy buys an airplane, and though he's never flown before, he taxis it down the runway, takes off and has to figure out how to land. 

By |2024-03-22T08:46:43-04:00October 26, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

The Parrots That Almost Did Publicity For A Mae West Movie (Cool Weird Awesome 617)

Today in 1934, Paramount Pictures released the movie “Belle of the Nineties,” starring Mae West. And, for some reason, the studio trained several dozen parrots to learn to say the title of the movie so they could appear at theaters and wow the moviegoing public. There was just one problem with the plan, though. Plus: on this World Peace Day, the guy who tried to make the world a more peaceful place by walking backwards. 

By |2021-09-22T07:15:19-04:00September 21, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

NestFlix Is The Internet’s Home For Shows Within Shows (Cool Weird Awesome 602)

Web developer/creator/artist Lynn Fisher's new project is NestFlix, a website that looks like a streaming service but features the fictional shows and movies that are within real world ones. Plus: the Potato Photographer of the Year gives us some unforgettable images. No small fries in this group. 

By |2021-08-31T07:53:05-04:00August 31, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

Many Animals Laugh Kind Of Like Humans Do (Cool Weird Awesome 534)

UCLA did the research: at least 65 different animal species apart from humans exhibit vocal play sounds that are similar to laughter. So what kind of jokes should we be telling them? Plus: how an acclaimed 1972 movie might have been lost forever, if the man hunting for the original copy had shown up a week later.  

By |2024-01-30T09:08:59-05:00May 12, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

Milicent Patrick Gave The Black Lagoon Its Creature (Cool Weird Awesome 480)

The woman who designed the Creature, Milicent Patrick, was almost forgotten, but film lovers and fans have been working to make sure her story is told.

By |2024-02-12T09:43:04-05:00February 12, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

How “Them!” Became The Greatest Giant Ant Movie Of Its Generation (Cool Weird Awesome 320)

It was on this day in 1954 that one of the most important monster movies most people have never heard of was released: "Them!" (note the exclamation mark in the title) featured giant irradiated ants, James Arness, the Wilhelm Scream, Fess Parker, Leonard Nimoy and more! Plus: science has determined how to give the perfect hug, so start practicing.

By |2021-06-28T11:55:02-04:00June 15, 2020|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , , |

I will not yield! Some Things For October 17, 2019

We've got a little bit of everything today.

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