Defense Scheme No. 1: The Secret Canadian Plan To Invade The US

This year has not been a record one for US/Canadian ties, but at least it's not like 1921, when a Canadian military official worked up a secret plan to invade a bunch of northern US cities. (And, for that matter, the US had a northern invasion plan too.)

By |2025-06-14T07:59:31-04:00June 14, 2025|Categories: Cruel Weird Awful, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

The Plan To Build A New US Highway With Nuclear Bombs

This week in 1964, the US Atomic Energy Commission presented a report to Congress on an eye-opening idea: clearing land for a highway in southeast California with nuclear bombs.

By |2025-01-16T06:13:55-05:00January 16, 2025|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

A Lawmaker Tried To Get Americans To Eat Hippo Meat, AKA “Lake Bacon”

About this time in 1910, a member of Congress thought the next big food trend would be hippo meat. 

By |2025-01-02T07:04:46-05:00January 2, 2025|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

Norwood, Ontario Had A Water Tower That Looked Like A Crushed Can

Today in 1957, the water tower in Norwood, Ontario, which looked like a big can of soda or beer, suddenly looked like a big crushed can of soda or beer.

By |2024-12-08T17:00:03-05:00October 24, 2024|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

Embo, Scotland, Declared Itself Independent For A Day

Today in 1988, the community of Embo, in the Scottish Highlands raised money for a community center by declaring independence from the rest of the UK… but just for one day. 

By |2024-12-08T17:00:54-05:00July 16, 2024|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

Some American Hockey Players Develop Canadian-Ish Accents

There’s some linguistic research that suggests that American hockey players sometimes start to sound more like Canadians as their hockey careers continue.

By |2024-12-02T10:45:02-05:00May 31, 2024|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

Kids In Canada Went On Strike Over The Price Of Candy Bars

Today in 1947, the start of a big moment in the history of sweets: kids in Canada protested a hike in chocolate bar prices with what would eventually become known as the Candy Strike.

By |2024-12-02T10:23:54-05:00April 25, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

Every Year The Netherlands Sends Thousands Of Tulips To Canada

The Canadian Tulip Festival is getting underway in Ottawa. Here's the history of the annual event, which (pun intended) has its roots in the history of World War II.

By |2024-12-05T06:54:53-05:00May 13, 2022|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , , |

Edmonia Lewis, A Sculptor Who Brought Her Subjects To Life

On Indigenous Peoples Day, here's the story of sculptor Edmonia Lewis. She was born in the 1840s to a Black father and a Chippewa mother, and became the first Native American and Black woman to become an acclaimed sculptor.

How Ethel Merman Helped Get America To Use ZIP Codes

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.

By |2024-12-07T20:44:04-05:00July 1, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |
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