Pitcher Ray Caldwell Was Struck By Lightning During A Game But Won Anyway (Cool Weird Awesome 834)
Today in 1919, one of the strangest moments in the history of baseball: a pitcher won a game in which he was struck by lightning!
An Online Dictionary For Science Fiction’s Many Words And Worlds (Cool Weird Awesome 473)
A new website called the Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction is taking us back through the words that have made sci-fi what it is and showing how much this genre has shaped popular culture. Plus: meet a planet that's barely orbiting a brown dwarf, some 450 light years from earth, a spot in the actual universe that seems more like science fiction.
The Oomphalapompatronium Is An Instrument That Lives Up To Its Unusual Name (Cool Weird Awesome 366)
What's In A Name Week continues with a look at the Oomphalapompatronium, a creation of Boston-area musician, composer and inventor Len Solomon. And it definitely fits the name. Speaking of words that fit with what they describe, did you know about the word "aptronym"?
Our Show About The History Of “OK” Is Just Okay (Cool Weird Awesome 265)
On this day in 1839 we first saw the word we use so often to describe our most middling feelings. That’s right, it’s the birthday of OK. Plus: it's also the anniversary of the time an astronaut smuggled a corned beef sandwich aboard a space mission.