Each Year, London Pays Rent To The Crown For Land That’s… Somewhere (Cool Weird Awesome 863)

The UK has lots of traditions. Here's another one: once a year, sometime between about now and mid November, the city of London pays rent to the Crown for several pieces of land in what’s called the Ceremony of Quit Rents.

By |2022-10-11T09:13:53-04:00October 11, 2022|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

Solar-Powered Cribs Are A Bright Idea To Stop Jaundice (Cool Weird Awesome 736)

Jaundice is treatable with phototherapy, but not all places have access to light therapy machines. A startup in Nigeria is building solar-powered phototherapy machines to fill that gap.

By |2022-03-21T09:21:11-04:00March 21, 2022|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , , , |

A Bar Owner Invented The Cash Register Because He Didn’t Trust His Bartenders (Cool Weird Awesome 649)

Today in 1879, a bar owner in Ohio received a patent for an invention that changed the way we buy and sell things: the cash register. He did it to thwart his bartenders, who he suspected of putting money meant for him in their own pockets. Plus: a professor in South Korea reveals one place from which you probably shouldn't give an online lecture. 

By |2021-11-04T06:56:40-04:00November 4, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

Fort Blunder, The Military Installation Built In The Wrong Country (Cool Weird Awesome 646)

Today in 1816, the US military awarded to built a contract for a fort next to Lake Champlain, near the border with Canada. For years crews worked to make the fort strong, until one day when they realized there was a big problem. Plus: people on Tumblr say today is the 1000th birthday of a medieval monk's brother named Werner. 

By |2021-11-01T11:27:46-04:00November 1, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , , |

There’s A Farm In The Middle Of A British Highway (Cool Weird Awesome 601)

Stott Hall Farm is an unusual place; on either side of the place, there's the UK's M62 highway. We'll explain how it happened. Plus: a couple in Texas bought a plot of land, spent years building a house there, and then got a knock on the door from the actual landowners, explaining that there'd been a mix-up. 

By |2021-08-30T08:54:42-04:00August 30, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

Why A Stormtrooper Walked Helmet-First Into A Door In The Original “Star Wars” (Cool Weird Awesome 543)

Today in 1977, "Star Wars" premiered in movie theaters, and became a movie, pop culture and merchandising phenomenon. But how is it that, in one scene, an Imperial Stormtrooper walks helmet-first into an overhead door? Plus: in Kent, Ohio, there's a restaurant with a large-scale replica of an X-wing fighter out front. If you visit, stay on target! 

By |2021-05-25T09:15:11-04:00May 25, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

The Robot That Sorts Your Trash From Your Recyclables (Cool Weird Awesome 240)

Toss an item into TrashBot and the system’s internal sensors figure out what the item is, and whether to recycle it or toss it out. No more recyclables in the trash, no more trash in the recyclables. Plus: officials in Prichard, Alabama missed a typo when sending out their new trash bins for residents.

By |2021-08-18T07:59:34-04:00February 18, 2020|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

Some Art Looks Great Even When Accidentally Hung Upside Down (Cool Weird Awesome 164)

A great painting can turn your world upside down, especially if the painting is also upside down. We take a trip through the website Weird Universe's Gallery of Art Hung Upside Down. Plus: a 9 year old who can't stop doodling, even in class, is now a professional artist. He's paid to doodle.

By |2019-11-05T06:18:28-05:00November 5, 2019|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |
Go to Top