How To Make 2,000 Year Old Seeds Sprout (Cool Weird Awesome 833)

Today in 2021, a very long wait was over. Researchers harvested three bunches of dates from trees that had sprouted from seeds over two thousand years old.

By |2022-08-23T22:17:41-04:00August 23, 2022|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

Donald Gorske Has Eaten 30,000 Big Macs And He’s Still Going (Cool Weird Awesome 773)

50 years ago today, a man named Donald Gorske ate a McDonald’s Big Mac. It was the first of over 30,000, and yes, he holds the world record for most Big Macs eaten by a single person.

By |2022-05-17T08:43:00-04:00May 17, 2022|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

Mollusk Shells Inspire An “Unbreakable” Glass (Cool Weird Awesome 630)

Glass is versatile stuff, but fragile. A new project out of McGill University is modeled after the material in mollusk shells and could make glass a lot more durable. Plus: in Brazil, Fabio Gomes Trindade makes outdoor art that incorporates the shapes and colors of the nearby trees and bushes. 

By |2021-10-08T09:31:02-04:00October 8, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

Ora Nichols Took Radio Sound Effects To The Next Level (Cool Weird Awesome 595)

Today is National Radio Day, so it's a good day to talk about one of the legends of old-time radio: sound effects virtuoso Ora Nichols. Plus: researchers at The Ohio State University say they’ve found a weed commonly grown on farms that could help make a greener, more sustainable jet fuel, only its name isn't the most inspiring. 

By |2021-08-20T09:38:18-04:00August 20, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

How To Make Protein Powder Out Of Waste Plastic (Cool Weird Awesome 593)

It's not a direct route, but two researchers have figured out a way to take waste plastic, feed it to special bacteria, and then end up with nutritious protein powder. We'll explain. Plus: a guy has been growing plants inside a big glass bottle for decades - and because the bottle is sealed, they basically water themselves over and over!

By |2024-03-06T09:03:40-05:00August 18, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

Meet The Inventor Of The Christmas Card (Cool Weird Awesome 442)

In 1843, British civil servant Henry Cole wanted a way to send holiday greetings to friends, colleagues and loved ones without having to write letter after letter. And that's where commercial Christmas cards began. Plus: did you know that chili pepper plants were once considered just as festive as poinsettias?

By |2023-09-19T09:45:56-04:00December 23, 2020|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

Kissing Under A Parasite: How Mistletoe Became A Holiday Tradition (Cool Weird Awesome 441)

For centuries, mistletoe has been a symbol of holiday love, renewal and fertility. Even though it's actually a parasite that steals nutrients from trees. Plus: a poinsettia in the suburbs of Montreal has gone from half-dead to entirely huge!

By |2023-12-22T10:42:46-05:00December 22, 2020|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

The Keyboard Made From Plants (Cool Weird Awesome 439)

A Spanish tech startup called Bioo has built an installation in which plants serve as the keys of a kind of "green piano." Plus: for International Mountain Day, a look at some of the peaks with more down-to-earth names.

By |2021-08-17T09:14:04-04:00December 11, 2020|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

The Friendship Oak Is Over 500 Years Old And Still Going Strong (Cool Weird Awesome 284)

Today is Arbor Day, and so we’re going to talk about the Friendship Oak, a remarkable tree in Mississippi that just keeps on keeping on. Plus: we'll visit Joe Bagley, who has 1,400 house plants in his apartment and for whom it might be said that every day is Arbor Day.

By |2023-01-31T09:09:04-05:00April 24, 2020|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

Checking In To The House Plant Hotel (Cool Weird Awesome 104)

The online plant store Patch is offering to take care of the house plants for you while you’re on holiday, in what it’s calling the world’s first plant hotel.

By |2023-11-28T09:25:18-05:00August 13, 2019|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |
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