Taco Bell Once Sold A Burger Called The “Bell Beefer” (Cool Weird Awesome 1208)
It's our show's fifth birthday! It's also the birthday in 1962 of the first Taco Bell restaurant, which had a "chili burger" on its original menu.
Shizo Kanakuri Finished A Marathon He’d Started 54 Years Earlier (Cool Weird Awesome 1207)
Today in 1967, a Japanese athlete Shizo Kanakuri, finished a Olympic marathon that he’d started in 1912. Better late than never!
The Nutty Narrows Bridge Was Built For Squirrels In Washington State (Cool Weird Awesome 1206)
Today in 1963, the opening of a bridge in Longview, Washington. that wasn't for cars, or bikes, or even pedestrians. It was a bridge for squirrels.
Wilson Pickett’s “Mustang Sally” Became A Hit, After A Tape Machine Cut It To Pieces (Cool Weird Awesome 1205)
Today in 1941, the birthday of Wilson Pickett, a legend of soul and R&B music, and one who had an engineer save one of his future hit songs from a very hungry tape machine.
Before Alarm Clocks, Some People Awoke With Help From A “Knocker-Up” (Cool Weird Awesome 1204)
It’s Sleep Awareness Week, so we’re talking about the part of sleep people usually like the least: the part where the alarm clock wakes us up. Or, in the time before alarm clocks, the part where the local "knocker-up" pounded on the doors to get people out of bed.
Legendary Physicists Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard Once Teamed Up To Design A Refrigerator (Cool Weird Awesome 1203)
For Alfred Einstein's birthday, the story of how he and fellow prominent physicist Leo Szilard co-designed a unique kind of refrigerator in the 1920s.
Here’s A Tiny Fish That Can Make Sounds As Loud As A Jet Engine (Cool Weird Awesome 1202)
Danionella cerebrum is a completely transparent fish that's only 10-12 millimeters long. And researchers have just figured out how it can produce sounds that reach 140 dB or higher.
A Boycott Against Charles Boycott Gave Us The Word “Boycott” (Cool Weird Awesome 1201)
Today in 1832, the birthday of Charles Boycott, whose name has been used for over a century anytime people decide to deliberately take their business away from a group or a company.
New York City’s 311 System Has Gotten Some Wild Calls Over The Years (Cool Weird Awesome 1200)
This month in 2003, New York City launched its 311 service, a service that has helped residents with a wide range of non-emergency issues… and a few absolute head-scratchers.
Musical Alarms Could Help Save Lives In Hospitals (Cool Weird Awesome 1199)
There's a phenomenon in hospitals called "alarm fatigue" that can actually cause problems for patients. An anesthesiologist and a music cognition researcher have teamed up to find alternatives to the jarring beeps.