A Boycott Against Charles Boycott Gave Us The Word “Boycott” (Cool Weird Awesome 1201)

Today in 1832, the birthday of Charles Boycott, whose name has been used for over a century anytime people decide to deliberately take their business away from a group or a company.

By |2024-03-12T08:54:38-04:00March 12, 2024|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

When Missouri Banned Schools For Black Students, John Berry Meachum Started A School On A Riverboat (Cool Weird Awesome 1189)

Today in 1847, the state of Missouri put a significant obstacle in front of a civil rights activist's efforts to educate Black students in St. Louis. But he found a way around it. 

The Blackwell Family Tree Traces Black History Through Centuries (Cool Weird Awesome 1188)

For Black History Month, the story of the Blackwell Family Tree, a genealogy project that traces on Black family's history back through thousands of people and hundreds of years.

By |2024-02-15T06:51:14-05:00February 15, 2024|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

The “Hairy Eagle” Is A Decoration Made Partly With Abraham Lincoln’s Hair (Cool Weird Awesome 1185)

It's Abe Lincoln's birthday, and if you want to see a small bit of the man himself, you could try heading to Syracuse, New York, where there’s a bit of Abe Lincoln’s hair in a very unusual decoration known as the Hairy Eagle. 

The US Rationed Shoes During World War II, So People Made Footwear Out Of Old Firehoses (Cool Weird Awesome 1182)

Today in 1943, the US announced it would start rationing shoes to save rubber and leather for the troops in World War II. People on the home front found ways to make shoes out of alternative materials.

By |2024-02-07T09:31:06-05:00February 7, 2024|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , , |

During Prohibition, Grape Growers Sold “Wine Bricks” To Thirsty Customers (Cool Weird Awesome 1172)

This week in 1920, a federal law enforcing the Constitution's Prohibition Amendment took effect. But there were loopholes, and one of the most clever way to use those loopholes was through something known as the "grape brick" or "wine brick."

By |2024-01-17T08:44:22-05:00January 17, 2024|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , , |

When Martin Luther King Jr. Won The Nobel Peace Prize, Atlanta Held A Historic Dinner In His Honor (Cool Weird Awesome 1170)

Dr. King's home city gave him a warm welcome after he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, though putting that warm welcome together got complicated. 

People In The “Dirty” Middle Ages Actually Liked To Get Clean (Cool Weird Awesome 1140)

There was a really interesting piece on J-STOR recently that washes away the widespread idea that the Middle Ages in Europe was just unbelievably filthy. Why is it that we think the Middle Ages WAS so dirty?

By |2024-01-12T09:47:59-05:00December 5, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

Oklahoma’s Panhandle Was Once Known As “No Man’s Land” (Cool Weird Awesome 1127)

Today in 1907 Oklahoma became the 46th state in the Union. Oklahoma's panhandle has a complicated history that includes a time when it was known as “No Man’s Land.”

By |2023-11-16T09:03:12-05:00November 16, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |
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