3 08, 2023

If You’re Trying To Visit All 50 States, North Dakota Wants You To Save The “Best For Last” (Cool Weird Awesome 1062)

By |2023-08-03T09:21:29-04:00August 3, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

Some of us plan our trips so we can visit all 50 states. If you’re one of these travelers, the state of North Dakota has a club just for you.

20 02, 2023

Before There Were Big Car Sales On Presidents Day, There Were Big Bicycle Sales (Cool Weird Awesome 953)

By |2023-02-20T08:04:20-05:00February 20, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

Today is the observance of President's Day, originally a holiday marking the February 22nd birthday of George Washington, but along the way it also became known as Bicycle Day.

20 10, 2022

Googly Eyes On Self-Driving Cars Could Help Keep Pedestrians Safe (Cool Weird Awesome 870)

By |2022-10-20T06:43:13-04:00October 20, 2022|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

If we’re ever going to get to a world of self-driving cars we’re going to need ways to make sure that world is safe - and one way to keep pedestrians safe near autonomous vehicles may be googly eyes. Seriously.

18 07, 2022

Gino Bartali Was A Champion And A Hero On A Bike (Cool Weird Awesome 812)

By |2022-07-18T09:19:53-04:00July 18, 2022|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

Today in 1914, the birthday of Gino Bartali. The Italian cycling star won the Tour de France in 1938, and won a second time a decade later. But what was even more impressive was what he did in between those two wins.

10 03, 2022

“The Fastest Cyclist In The World,” Major Taylor, Was A Black Sports Pioneer (Cool Weird Awesome 729)

By |2022-03-10T06:18:30-05:00March 10, 2022|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , , |

There's a new exhibit at the Indiana State Museum about Marshall "Major" Taylor, a Black cycling star who became famous before Jack Johnson, Joe Louis or Jackie Robinson. Here's some of his story.

16 09, 2021

Two Families Escaped East Germany In A Homemade Hot Air Balloon (Cool Weird Awesome 614)

By |2021-09-16T07:05:56-04:00September 16, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

Today in 1979, a story that sounds like it came straight out of a movie: two families in Communist East Germany escaped to the West by making and flying a hot air balloon. Plus: Today in 2018, Denise Mueller-Korenek broke the world record for “fastest bicycle speed in slipstream": 183.9 mph. 

1 07, 2021

How Ethel Merman Helped Get America To Use ZIP Codes (Cool Weird Awesome 564)

By |2021-07-01T09:19:29-04:00July 1, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

Today in 1963, the US Postal Service officially started using ZIP codes as a way to quickly sort huge amounts of mail and get it to where it needed to go. How did they get Americans to adopt ZIP codes? A mascot named Mr. Zip and a jingle sung by Broadway legend Ethel Merman. Plus: for Canada Day, the story of a runner in Ontario who ran a moose-shaped route through downtown Toronto.

3 06, 2021

Guillaume Le Gentil, The 18th Century Astronomer With the Worst Luck (Cool Weird Awesome 549)

By |2021-06-03T08:02:44-04:00June 3, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

Today in 1769, Captain James Cook and his crew observed the transit of Venus from Tahiti, a big deal for astronomers then; only his French colleague Guillaume Le Gentil had spent years preparing to do the exact same thing, and had much worse luck on his expedition. Plus: for World Bicycle Day, a visit to a giant bicycle sculpture in South Dakota. 

25 06, 2020

The Woman Who Rode A Bike Around The World (Cool Weird Awesome 328)

By |2020-06-25T07:53:29-04:00June 25, 2020|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

It was on this day in 1894 that Annie Cohen Kopchovsky, aka Annie Londonderry, set off on a bike trip that, over the next fifteen months, would make her the first woman to ride a bike around the world. Plus: meet a contraption that can hit a home run about twice as far as the ones in the big leagues.

15 05, 2020

Let’s All Ride Inside A Monowheel (Cool Weird Awesome 299)

By |2023-09-22T09:07:19-04:00May 15, 2020|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

Imagine a unicycle, but there's no seat, the wheel is much bigger and you ride inside it. That's a monowheel, and while it may not be a casual rider's cup of tea, extreme sports people are way into them. Plus: how would you like to recreate a piece of art in your house that's made of fortune cookies?

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