Charles Strite, The Inventor Who Made Toasters Pop (Cool Weird Awesome 1191)
Today was the birthday in 1878 of a guy who changed breakfast forever: Charles Strite, the inventor of the pop-up toaster. Here's how the idea popped up.
Banning Sliced Bread Was Not The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread (Cool Weird Awesome 930)
Today in 1943, the US government tried to help the war effort in a way that did NOT go over well. They tried to halt the sales of sliced bread.
How Sliced Bread Became The Greatest Thing Since Itself (Cool Weird Awesome 568)
Today in 1928, the Chillicothe Baking Company in Missouri began publicly selling something new: bread that had been sliced by a multi-bladed machine, and the world gained a new way to measure greatness.
A “Mammoth Loaf” Once Turned The U.S. Senate Chamber Into A Big Bread Box
Today in 1804, the US Senate held a party featuring something called the “Mammoth Loaf.” To explain, we have to first tell you about Thomas Jefferson, an enormous block of cheese and an archeology project. Plus: a very cold town in Siberia has some very cool music, thanks to spring ice drums.
Emma Gatewood Hiked The Appalachian Trail Three Times, And Not Quite “Just For The Heck Of It” (Cool Weird Awesome 421)
On National Take A Hike Day, we salute Emma "Grandma" Gatewood, who, in her 60s, became the first woman to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. Plus: on National Homemade Bread Day, we salute Pham Thi Bac's enormous bread loaves in Vietnam.
“Fordite” Is The Gem Made From Paint At Auto Factories (Cool Weird Awesome 393)
Back in the days when auto workers spray painted new vehicles, excess paint would harden and accumulate into a substance that looked like colorful gemstones. Jewelers have been making works of art out of "fordite" ever since. Plus: ever wanted to make a bread bowl that looks like your own face? Now you can!
Couple Songs Are A Thing, According To Science (Cool Weird Awesome 289)
There’s actually psychological research into what are known officially as “couple-defining songs," and there are legitimate benefits to the relationship to choosing a tune to share.
Elizabeth Freeman Makes Herself A Free Woman (Cool Weird Awesome 111)
An enslaved woman in 18th century Massachusetts overheard all the talk about freedom and equality and decided it should be put to the test. On August 22, 1781, a court found the woman known as Mum Bett, later as Elizabeth Freeman, could not be the property of another human being and therefore was free and equal.