This Worm-Shaped Pipe-Clearing Robot Could Be The Fatberg Fighter We Need (Cool Weird Awesome 738)
There really is a robot now called the Pipe-Worm. It's built to unclog pipes, and it does it by mimicking earthworms.
The Hospital Of The Future’s Secret Weapon Is Surgical “Duct Tape” (Cool Weird Awesome 720)
A team at MIT has come up with a new substance that do-it-yourselfers will love: a surgical "duct tape" that can help seal up wounds and tears in the body's gastrointestinal system.
Edmonia Lewis, A Sculptor Who Brought Her Subjects To Life (Cool Weird Awesome 631)
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. Plus: Happy Thanksgiving to our listeners in Canada. It’s a big country, except for the exhibit known as Little Canada, which features miniature versions of some of the country’s most famous cities, landmarks and attractions.
There Was Almost A State Called Franklin In Eastern Tennessee (Cool Weird Awesome 596)
It's a complicated story, but part of what is now eastern Tennessee was once part of western North Carolina - and today in 1784, they tried to break away and form their own state, called Franklin. Plus: a visit to a unique art museum off the coast of Cyprus.
Some Fish Pause For Effect When They Communicate (Cool Weird Awesome 548)
Sometimes it’s not just what you’re communicating, it’s how you communicate it. Pausing for effect can help get your point across. Humans know this, but according to researchers, so do some kinds of fish. Plus: a sculpture made only of "air and spirit" sells for 15,000 Euros. That's definitely not nothing.
Now There Are Glow-In-The-Dark-Sharks (Cool Weird Awesome 493)
Scientists have spotted three species of sharks near New Zealand that give off a faint blue light while in darkness. Yes, our world is home to glowing sharks. Plus: artist Calvin Nicholls is making extremely detailed sculptures of animals out of paper.
Debates Can Always Be Worse, Ask The Guy Who Poured Water On The Audience (Cool Weird Awesome 395)
If you've read the negative reviews about last week's debate, know that there are other stories of candidate face-offs gone wrong in the history books - like the one in Arkansas that left the audience all wet. Plus: for National Fire Prevention Week, we pay a visit to Busted Plug, a four story tall sculpture of a fire hydrant.
“Fordite” Is The Gem Made From Paint At Auto Factories (Cool Weird Awesome 393)
Back in the days when auto workers spray painted new vehicles, excess paint would harden and accumulate into a substance that looked like colorful gemstones. Jewelers have been making works of art out of "fordite" ever since. Plus: ever wanted to make a bread bowl that looks like your own face? Now you can!
An Art Project Is Taking Photos Over A Thousand Years (Cool Weird Awesome 373)
The strangeness of this year has been messing with our internal clocks and our sense of how days, weeks and months go. But sometimes it's good to rethink how we understand time, like though Tahoe Timescape, a project to take photographs over one thousand years. Plus: New York City is where King Kong ran wild in the movies, but a new statue could help rebuild the relationship between NYC and big apes.
The Letters of the English Alphabet Weren’t Added in Alphabetical Order (Cool Weird Awesome 306)
Amazingly, the English alphabet added its last letter in 1524, and no, that letter wasn't Z. We'll explain how an Italian grammarian convinced the world to add one more letter to the list. Plus: Andoni Bastarrika is a Basque artist who works with sand, but we’re not talking about basic beach sand castles here.