Cool Weird Awesome – Brady Carlson

Finally, Cameras Can Truly See The Sea (Cool Weird Awesome 172)

Posted on November 15, 2019
Brady Carlson

Underwater photos are usually greenish or blueish and the brighter colors are washed out. An engineer and oceanographer has come up with an algorithm she calls Sea-thru that can bring those colors back into the image. Plus: the Las Vegas Pizza Festival is about to get underway.

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That Time There Was A Laugh Track On “The Twilight Zone” (Cool Weird Awesome 171)

Posted on November 14, 2019
Brady Carlson

Who knew the Twilight Zone was a dimension not only of sight and sound but of canned laughter?!? The episode “Cavender is Coming” features Jesse White, Carol Burnett, and a laugh track the network thought might help lead to a spinoff series. (It didn’t.) Plus: anybody want to fly in an airplane where the whole interior looks like a giant window?

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Stella The Dog Uses A Soundboard (Cool Weird Awesome 170)

Posted on November 13, 2019
Brady Carlson

Stella the dog lives with a speech-language pathologist and has been using a soundboard to “say” several dozen words, raising hopes that someday the show “Dog With A Blog” may come to life. Plus: Quilty the cat likes to spend his nights freeing the other cats at the animal shelter.

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The Mountain That’s Higher Than The Highest Mountain (Cool Weird Awesome 169)

Posted on November 12, 2019November 12, 2019
Brady Carlson

This is Geography Awareness Week, and on our fascinating planet Mount Everest is the tallest mountain – but it’s not actually the highest point on earth. That’s actually Mount Chimborazo, in Ecuador. Plus: the community of New Baltimore, NY gets a spooky purple makeover thanks to Google Maps.

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How To Turn A World War II Parachute Into A Wedding Dress (Cool Weird Awesome 168)

Posted on November 11, 2019
Brady Carlson

For Veterans Day, we have the story of Claude and Ruth Hensinger, who used the parachute that saved Claude’s life during World War II to help build their lives and their 49 year marriage together.

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The Singing Maple Syrup Bottle With Patti Page’s Voice (Cool Weird Awesome 167)

Posted on November 8, 2019
Brady Carlson

Patti Page, aka the “Singing Rage,” was one of the biggest-selling pop singers of the 1950s. But later, she lived part-time on a farm in New Hampshire where she and her husband sold maple syrup. The bottles didn’t just have her name on them; they included her voice!

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Even For Meringue This Meringue Is Light (Cool Weird Awesome 166)

Posted on November 7, 2019
Brady Carlson

This meringue is just about the lightest dessert ever made. Based on the lightest substance in the world, Aerogel, it’s about 96 percent air and a serving weighs about a gram. We guarantee you won’t think it’s too filling. Plus: the story of a light-emitting fungus gnat in Brazil, which is maybe not as appetizing as the first story.

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Take It To The (Gold) Hoop (Cool Weird Awesome 165)

Posted on November 6, 2019November 6, 2019
Brady Carlson

Jeremy John Kaplan is the artist behind the Gold Nets Project, which has replaced hundreds of broken or missing nets with shiny golden ones, and encouraged local basketball players to think about stepping up and maintaining the courts too. Plus: the northern Georgia city of Dahlonega says it had a gold rush decades before the ’49ers all raced to California.

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Some Art Looks Great Even When Accidentally Hung Upside Down (Cool Weird Awesome 164)

Posted on November 5, 2019
Brady Carlson

A great painting can turn your world upside down, especially if the painting is also upside down. We take a trip through the website Weird Universe’s Gallery of Art Hung Upside Down. Plus: a 9 year old who can’t stop doodling, even in class, is now a professional artist. He’s paid to doodle.

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The Board Game Clue Is 70 Years Old, It’s Been A Rough Seven Decades For Mr. Boddy (Cool Weird Awesome 163)

Posted on November 4, 2019November 4, 2019
Brady Carlson

It’s time to celebrate 70 years of Clue, the invention of musician Anthony Pratt, who used to play piano for murder mystery nights at big mansions and thought, this would make a good board game! Plus: the movie “Clue” is well known for the on-camera antics of its amazing cast. But what did the actors do when the cameras weren’t rolling?

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