Kansas City’s Subtropolis Is A Huge Business Complex That’s 100 Feet Underground (Cool Weird Awesome 1223)

There's a story you see online about how Ford stashed some surplus cars in an underground cave to preserve them until they could sell. We can't verify that entire story, but there is an underground business park in Kansas City that Ford has used for decades.

By |2024-04-17T08:02:50-04:00April 17, 2024|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

If Humans Start Living On Other Worlds, They Might End Up Creating New Accents (Cool Weird Awesome 1192)

Scientists and technicians are trying to figure out the logistics of off-Earth human bases. If that happens, there's some research that suggests the communities could end up developing their own accents.

By |2024-02-28T08:51:54-05:00February 28, 2024|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

With Solar-Reflective Paint, School Playgrounds Are Getting Cooler (Cool Weird Awesome 850)

Hot days make for stuffy classrooms, and that can make it hard to learn, but going outside to scorching hot asphalt playgrounds isn’t much better. A school near Atlanta is demonstrating one partial solution, and it’s as simple as getting a fresh coat of paint.

By |2022-09-22T18:50:59-04:00September 22, 2022|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

“Mummy Brown” Was A Paint Made From Actual Mummies (Cool Weird Awesome 718)

Today in 1923, King Tut's tomb was opened and entered. That may not have been the afterlife the young pharaoh had hoped for, but it could have been worse: for centuries artists used a paint called Mummy Brown, which was made with actual mummy parts.

By |2024-02-16T08:08:03-05:00February 16, 2022|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

Really, Really White Paint Can Act Like A Coat Of Air Conditioning On A Building (Cool Weird Awesome 405)

Scientists at Purdue University have a way to help keep us cool to the point that we might not even need air conditioning, and all it takes is a fresh coat of a special paint. Plus: the town of Asbestos, Quebec has finally chosen a new name!

By |2020-10-26T09:01:08-04:00October 26, 2020|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

“Fordite” Is The Gem Made From Paint At Auto Factories (Cool Weird Awesome 393)

Back in the days when auto workers spray painted new vehicles, excess paint would harden and accumulate into a substance that looked like colorful gemstones. Jewelers have been making works of art out of "fordite" ever since. Plus: ever wanted to make a bread bowl that looks like your own face? Now you can! 

By |2021-02-25T09:15:15-05:00October 1, 2020|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

The Race To Keep Day-Glo Paints Glo-ing (Cool Weird Awesome 130)

Paintings made with Day Glo paint - some by well-known and influential artists - are losing their glow over time. Conservationists don't yet know how to solve this puzzle, but we do at least know how Day Glo got started.

By |2021-06-09T08:46:45-04:00September 18, 2019|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |
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