The Prison-Only Potato Chips Known As “The Whole Shabang” Live Up To Their Name (Cool Weird Awesome 969)

Some chip brands hit it big on store shelves - but one brand that won legions of adoring fans in prisons. For National Potato Chip Day, the story of The Whole Shabang.

By |2023-03-14T07:01:07-04:00March 14, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

Uranus Was Originally Going To Be Named “George” (Cool Weird Awesome 968)

Today in 1781 astronomer William Herschel pointed his telescope toward Uranus. But long before the internet’s favorite planet got its very pun-filled name, an astronomer wanted to give it a much more chill one.

By |2023-03-13T06:53:40-04:00March 13, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

How Insects, World War I, Golf Balls And Halloween Candy Helped Lead Us To Daylight Saving Time (Cool Weird Awesome 967)

Daylight Saving Time begins early this Sunday. People have been complaining about the time change, or the lack thereof, since it first came up. So how did it first come up?

By |2023-03-10T07:14:57-05:00March 10, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

When The Supreme Court Kind Of Ruled That An Airplane Wasn’t A Motor Vehicle (Cool Weird Awesome 966)

Today in 1931, the US Supreme Court issued a ruling that seems to say that a guy who stole an airplane was not guilty of breaking the law against stealing motor vehicles. Though it’s actually a little more complicated than that.

By |2023-03-09T07:51:59-05:00March 9, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

For Safer Motorcycling, How About Pants With Airbags? (Cool Weird Awesome 965)

Motorcycles just don’t have many of the same safety advantages as cars and trucks. So a company in Sweden is taking one of those safety features and adding it to a rider’s outfit: introducing airbag pants!

By |2023-03-08T07:50:30-05:00March 8, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

Science Once Figured Out How To Give Rats Gambling Problems – And How To Take Them Away (Cool Weird Awesome 964)

Today in 2016, researchers released a study that showed how to influence rats to make risky bets in a “rat casino.”

By |2023-03-07T10:55:47-05:00March 7, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

For Michelangelo, Painting The Sistine Chapel Was Literally A Pain (Cool Weird Awesome 963)

Today in 1475 Michelangelo was born. One of his masterworks was the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, though if a poem he wrote about the job is to be believed, making all that great art was pretty painful. Plus: a series of portraits of every US president with a mullet.

By |2023-03-06T07:44:46-05:00March 6, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

Science Says Cats Can Perceive Time, Sort Of (Cool Weird Awesome 962)

The news site Inverse stopped me in my tracks with their recent article “Can Cats Tell Time? Yes, But It's Complicated.” And, when we look at the relationship between cats and time, it is complicated.

By |2023-03-03T08:48:19-05:00March 3, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

Susanna Madora Salter Became The First American Woman Mayor Kind Of By Surprise (Cool Weird Awesome 961)

Today was the birthday in 1860 of the first woman to serve as a mayor in the United States, Susanna Madora Salter, of Argonia, Kansas. She wasn’t looking to make history and didn’t even run for the job, but then sometimes you choose the moment, and other times the moment chooses you.

By |2023-03-02T09:00:11-05:00March 2, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

Pennies Were First Used Back When A Penny Was Worth Something, By Golly (Cool Weird Awesome 960)

Today in 1793, the U.S. Mint issued its first circulating coins, which were one-cent pieces. Here's a little bit about how we got the penny and some of its most memorable designs.

By |2023-03-01T08:59:07-05:00March 1, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |
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