This Solar Powered System Can Help Address Both Plastic Waste And Greenhouse Gases (Cool Weird Awesome 935)

Too much waste plastic? Too many greenhouse gases in the atmosphere? Researchers in the UK may have a partial solution for both problems: a process that uses solar energy to convert plastic and greenhouse gases into useful products.

By |2024-01-25T12:09:35-05:00January 25, 2023|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: , , |

The Plastic Bags Of Today Could Be The Fashionable Fabric Of Tomorrow (Cool Weird Awesome 572)

A multi-country research team has found ways to turn polyethylene, a key ingredient in single-use plastic bags, into lightweight fabric. So those bags that we don't want to throw out but can't always easily recycle? We might end up wearing them. Plus: many of us spend a lot of our waking hours typing, but James Cook turns his typing into art.

By |2021-07-13T08:27:44-04:00July 13, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

Turning Plastic Into Jet Fuel, In About An Hour (Cool Weird Awesome 538)

Researchers at Washington State University have found a way to convert plastic waste into jet fuel that takes only an hour. And it's also less energy-intensive, which could make recycling plastic more cost-effective and more common. Plus: today in 2017, a high school in Virginia made sure to include a beloved service dog in its yearbook photos! 

By |2021-05-18T08:12:11-04:00May 18, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

The “Mutant Enzyme” That Helps Recycle Plastic (Cool Weird Awesome 275)

A company called Carbios says it’s been using what it calls a “mutant enzyme” to break plastic down into the components to make new plastic in mere hours. But will this mutant eventually try to rule humanity for its own good? Plus: an education student in Kentucky creates see-through plastic masks to help deaf and hard of hearing people during the current difficulties.

By |2020-04-13T09:03:20-04:00April 13, 2020|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

Lego Bricks Could Last Longer Than A Millennium (Cool Weird Awesome 272)

Researchers have been studying LEGO longevity! Don't put them in the ocean, because they could last hundreds or even thousands of years - instead, maybe build something really cool to share with future generations. Plus: there's a new world record in the category of most walnuts cracked by an elbow in under a minute. Yes, that's a category.

By |2021-06-28T12:01:15-04:00April 1, 2020|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

Recycled Milk Bottles Apparently Make Great Road Surfaces (Cool Weird Awesome 208)

In South Africa, a construction company has started producing and using a more eco-friendly asphalt that contains plastic pellets that come from recycled milk bottles. Plus: meet a mayor in Texas who’s bringing a VERY fresh perspective to the job.

By |2024-01-03T09:26:04-05:00January 3, 2020|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

Turn Those Old Straws Into New Albums (Cool Weird Awesome 134)

The Straw Vinyl project has lined up some high-profile bands to release limited-edition vinyl records that are made out of plastic harvested from old straws. Then your hipster friends can say they were into keeping straws out of landfills before it was cool.

By |2021-04-27T10:23:59-04:00September 24, 2019|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

To Get Plastic Out Of The Ocean, Put It On A Plane (Cool Weird Awesome 56)

Researchers at Washington State University say they’ve found a way to make jet fuel out of something the world throws out in great quantities every day: household plastic.

By |2021-05-19T09:23:41-04:00June 6, 2019|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |
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