The Guy Who Climbed Mount Hood To Drop Off A Morning Paper For His Friends (Cool Weird Awesome 592)

Today in 1947, two men who had climbed Oregon's Mount Hood and stayed overnight woke up to find a surprise: a quart of milk and the morning newspaper. Who would climb a mountain just to leave those items? Plus: a study out of the University of Greenwich finds that bees get an actual buzz out of naturally-occurring caffeine.

By |2021-08-17T09:35:52-04:00August 17, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

Many Animals Laugh Kind Of Like Humans Do (Cool Weird Awesome 534)

UCLA did the research: at least 65 different animal species apart from humans exhibit vocal play sounds that are similar to laughter. So what kind of jokes should we be telling them? Plus: how an acclaimed 1972 movie might have been lost forever, if the man hunting for the original copy had shown up a week later.  

By |2024-01-30T09:08:59-05:00May 12, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

You Can Learn A Lot About Time If You Hang Out In A Cave Away From The Sun (Cool Weird Awesome 528)

Fifteen people just took part in the Deep Time project, where they lived in a cave in France as far away from time as we can get. And some interesting things happened. Plus: scientists in Brazil have just spotted a pumpkin toadlet, a tiny orange amphibian that glows green under ultraviolet light. 

By |2021-05-04T08:12:20-04:00May 4, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

Slime Molds Can Remember Stuff Even Though They Don’t Have Brains (Cool Weird Awesome 484)

Physarum polycephalum is pretty smart for a slime mold. It can find its way back to the places where food had previously been even though it doesn't have a nervous system. Researchers in Germany have just figured out how this organism does it.

By |2024-01-10T18:28:38-05:00February 25, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

Some Male Butterflies Make Their Mates Smell Bad On Purpose (Cool Weird Awesome 479)

New research shows certain types of male butterflies can create an anti-pheromone they cover their partners in, hoping that the smelly chemical will ward off other males. Definitely not the most thoughtful Valentine's Day gift ever. Plus: data analysis shows the language people use about their relationships can predict a breakup months before it happens!

By |2024-02-11T09:09:16-05:00February 11, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

Pilot Whales Trick Their Predators By Mimicking Their Voices (Cool Weird Awesome 435)

A team out of New Curtin University in Australia has found that pilot whales appear to imitate one of their predators, tricking them away from the hunt. And in equally clever but much more irritating news, a neighborhood in Ottawa, Ontario reports squirrels are stealing the LED lights out of their holiday displays.

By |2023-12-07T21:22:10-05:00December 7, 2020|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

The Greenland Shark Can Live For Hundreds Of Years, So Don’t Make It Mad (Cool Weird Awesome 422)

Scientists have determined that the Greenland shark lives longer than any known invertebrate, up to 400 years. How? We don't know, but it sure does seem chill about it. Plus: UK-based artist Sue Austin developed an underwater wheelchair, making the wide, wide sea a lot more accessible.

By |2020-11-18T07:56:11-05:00November 18, 2020|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

Bats Can Predict Where Their Prey Is Headed (Cool Weird Awesome 414)

Bats use their own internal radar - echolocation - to figure out where insects are so they can swoop in and catch their meal. But a study out of Johns Hopkins University shows that how bats track their prey is more complicated than we thought. Plus: today in 2008, music fans named a certain pop and internet legend the Best Act Ever.

By |2021-09-01T07:26:35-04:00November 6, 2020|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

Humans Actually Do Perk Up Their Ears At Interesting Noises (Cool Weird Awesome 339)

Our entire show is based on the idea that we might say something interesting enough that it might get you to perk up your ears, figuratively speaking. Or, as a team at Saarland University has found, maybe not so figuratively speaking. Plus: a sculpture garden in Dublin, Ohio pays tribute to ears of a different kind.

By |2021-08-24T08:19:15-04:00July 10, 2020|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

Bees Doing It For Themselves (Cool Weird Awesome 307)

There are lots of human efforts to help bees out, but there’s also some new research out that says bees help themselves by taking steps to get plants to flower earlier than usual. Plus: a man in Canada ordered hair cream in 2012, and it just arrived this month. Patience is a virtue!

By |2021-05-21T13:40:04-04:00May 27, 2020|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |
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