The Dog That Climbed All Of New Hampshire’s 4,000 Foot Mountains (Cool Weird Awesome 1031)
Today in 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution. A dog there once climbed all 48 of the state’s 4,000 foot high mountains.
Why People Push Peanuts Up Pikes Peak With Their Noses (Cool Weird Awesome 1000)
It's our 1000th episode! To celebrate, here's the story of a guy this month in 1929 who won a bet by proving he could push a peanut all the way up Pikes Peak with his nose.
A 10 Month Old Kitten Once Climbed The Matterhorn… Somehow (Cool Weird Awesome 844)
Today in 1950, the Coshocton, Ohio Tribune carried a news story with one heck of a headline: “Kitten Scales Matterhorn: Veteran Mountain Climbers Are Astonished”! Here's how the cat, later nicknamed Matt, got there.
A Rare Blood Condition Led To The “Blue People Of Kentucky” (Cool Weird Awesome 794)
A family in rural Kentucky with a rare blood disorder had blue complexions for decades - until a doctor found a way to treat it.
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.
The Race Up The World’s Longest Staircase (Cool Weird Awesome 555)
The event has been cancelled for 2021, but this was supposed to be the time when some adventurous types headed to Switzerland to take part in a race like no other: a run up a world record staircase known as the Niesen Stairway Run. Plus: a lot of us have been doing video calls and meetings more than ever, but the technology isn't totally new. In fact, Sony made a video phone back in the late 1980s!
The Keyboard Made From Plants (Cool Weird Awesome 439)
A Spanish tech startup called Bioo has built an installation in which plants serve as the keys of a kind of "green piano." Plus: for International Mountain Day, a look at some of the peaks with more down-to-earth names.
The Mountain That’s Higher Than The Highest Mountain (Cool Weird Awesome 169)
This is Geography Awareness Week, and on our fascinating planet Mount Everest is the tallest mountain - but it's not actually the highest point on earth. That's actually Mount Chimborazo, in Ecuador. Plus: the community of New Baltimore, NY gets a spooky purple makeover thanks to Google Maps.