It’s Fashion Week on Cool Weird Awesome
This week we’re replaying some of our favorite shows about clothes and the people who wear them.
“Wing Walker” Gladys Ingle Could Change An Airplane’s Tire In The Middle Of The Sky
Today in 1899, the birthday of Gladys Ingle. She was called a “wing walker," which meant she could walk on the wings of a plane in mid-flight and perform some of the most daring and death-defying stunts you could imagine.
William Lyttle, The “Mole Man” Who Dug Tunnels Around His London Home
My chemistry teacher called today Mole Day, and while this story doesn't have much chemistry in it, it does have a mole: a Londoner called William Lyttle who dug huge tunnels around his place.
In A Letter From Ancient Babylon, A Teenager Complains To His Mom About Clothes
On this National Fashion Day, we have a letter from 3,800 years ago that shows some things never change, like teenagers nagging their parents for a fancier set of clothes.
The Nutty Narrows Bridge Was Built For Squirrels In Washington State
Today in 1963, the opening of a bridge in Longview, Washington. that wasn't for cars, or bikes, or even pedestrians. It was a bridge for squirrels.
Whitney Smith Flew The Flag For Studying Flags
Today in 1940, the birthday of the world’s number one flag expert: Whitney Smith, who not only studied flags his entire life, he invented the word for studying flags.
Designers Put Airbags In Clothes To Protect People From Falls
Cars have had airbags for years; there are even inflatable airbag pants for motorcyclists. Now there are inflatable airbag clothing that can protect people who fall.
For Safer Motorcycling, How About Pants With Airbags?
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!
Bill Veeck, The Wildest Owner Baseball Ever Saw
Today was the birthday in 1914 of the wildest owner Major League Baseball ever saw: Bill Veeck. We'll look through some of his unusual life in baseball.
Cranberry-Based Packaging Is Plastic-Free And Completely Dissolvable
A lot of products, even some otherwise green ones, still use a lot of disposable single-use plastic. But there’s a research project that aims to replace that plastic wrapping with a completely biodegradable version made from cranberries.