29 08, 2023

An Urban Legend Says The Devil Took Over Everybody’s TV Screens In 1968 (Cool Weird Awesome 1075)

By |2023-08-29T07:53:12-04:00August 29, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

There’s an urban legend floating around the web that claims today in 1968, the television industry was briefly stopped in its tracks by the devil. We'll unpack this wild story.

2 02, 2023

Sound Waves Could Help Keep High-Tech Batteries Going And Going And Going (Cool Weird Awesome 941)

By |2023-02-02T08:57:10-05:00February 2, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

Rechargeable batteries like the ones in our smartphones typically last a few years, but a new project out of Australia could lead to batteries that last nearly a decade. And that's thanks in part to sound waves.

18 08, 2022

Stingrays Make Noise, And Now We Know What It Sounds Like (Cool Weird Awesome 830)

By |2022-08-18T10:41:02-04:00August 18, 2022|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

Scientists once thought stingrays were silent, but a recent recording project found out they make noise after all. Now they want to know why the rays make noises - and for who?

3 03, 2022

Growing Bone Tissue With Sound Waves (Cool Weird Awesome 724)

By |2022-03-03T08:52:50-05:00March 3, 2022|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

Researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology took stem cells and treated them with high-frequency sound waves, which was enough to convert them into bone cells.

28 02, 2022

In Sweden In 1712, February Had 30 Days (Cool Weird Awesome 721)

By |2022-02-28T09:46:16-05:00February 28, 2022|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

Most years February is 28 days long. Every fourth year it has 29. But one time, in one country, for one year, there was a February 30th.

20 08, 2021

Ora Nichols Took Radio Sound Effects To The Next Level (Cool Weird Awesome 595)

By |2021-08-20T09:38:18-04:00August 20, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

Today is National Radio Day, so it's a good day to talk about one of the legends of old-time radio: sound effects virtuoso Ora Nichols. Plus: researchers at The Ohio State University say they’ve found a weed commonly grown on farms that could help make a greener, more sustainable jet fuel, only its name isn't the most inspiring. 

1 03, 2021

The Guy Who Collected The “Sound Of Kmart’s Glory Days” (Cool Weird Awesome 486)

By |2021-03-01T09:06:22-05:00March 1, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

People like to collect all kinds of things, but Mark Davis had a collection that even he thought was a little unusual: cassettes containing the music and announcements that K-Mart stores used to play over their speaker systems, complete with announcements from "KMRT - K-Mart Radio." Plus: on National Pig Day, a story about a pig in the 70s who had an unusual job.

4 01, 2021

Victor Lustig, The Con Artist Who Sold The Eiffel Tower (Cool Weird Awesome 451)

By |2021-01-04T08:02:56-05:00January 4, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

Today is (we think) the birthday of Victor Lustig, perhaps the most notorious scammer of all time. He swindled Al Capone once and "sold" the Eiffel Tower twice! Plus: if you need help relaxing these days, try the ambient soundscapes of Swiss artist Zimoun.

24 09, 2020

A Guy Who Snagged Richard Nixon’s Half-Eaten Sandwich Still Has It 60 Years Later (Cool Weird Awesome 388)

By |2020-09-24T08:18:10-04:00September 24, 2020|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

This week in 1960, Richard Nixon campaigned at a cookout in Sullivan, Illinois, eating some of a Buffalo barbecue sandwich before giving his speech. A young Boy Scout, Steve Jenne, took the rest of Nixon's sandwich home and has kept it in the freezer for the last 60 years! Plus: if you're missing cubicles and conference tables these days, there's a new soundscape, Calm Office, that might help. 

28 08, 2020

The US Almost Had A 49th State Called Absaroka (Cool Weird Awesome 369)

By |2022-06-20T09:07:27-04:00August 28, 2020|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

In 1939 some ranchers in the West proposed taking parts out of Wyoming, South Dakota and Montana and creating a new state, called Absaroka. It never won approval from Congress but it did have its own license plates and beauty pageant. Plus: how come a spot in Tulsa is known as the center of the universe?

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