Women Couldn’t Compete In The Ancient Olympics, So They Held The Heraean Games Instead (Cool Weird Awesome 584)

In ancient Greece, the Olympics were for men only. But from what we can tell, women representing 16 city-states would come together every four years to weave a robe for Hera, the queen of the gods, and hold a footrace for single women. Plus: the 1960 Summer Games were the first to be telecast in the US. In the days before satellites, it took a lot of work to get tapes from the Rome Games to the US broadcast networks. 

Tennis Balls Are Optic Yellow Thanks To David Attenborough (Cool Weird Awesome 550)

In the old days, tennis balls were white, but when documentary film legend David Attenborough pushed the BBC to carry the Wimbledon tournament in color, the tennis world realized those balls weren't showing up very well for home viewers. Plus: the community of Fitzgerald, Georgia is hoping to attract tourists with - what else - a giant steel topiary chicken. 

By |2021-06-04T08:44:37-04:00June 4, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , , |

Happy Birthday To Closed Captioned Television (Cool Weird Awesome 497)

Today in 1980, the big U.S. TV networks began regularly using closed caption technology to serve Deaf viewers as well as hearing ones. That alone was a game-changer, but closed captioning has proven useful in some other big ways as well. Plus: in Russia, fans of a certain TV show set in a galaxy far, far away have built a replica of a certain ship that's home to a certain adorable baby puppet.

By |2021-03-16T09:27:08-04:00March 16, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

Sanford And Son Was Such A Hit, Its Star Briefly Walked Out And It Kept Going (Cool Weird Awesome 459)

It was today in 1972 that NBC first broadcast one of the most memorable sitcoms in TV history, “Sanford and Son." Here's a few facts about the show and its star, Redd Foxx. Plus: photographer Mike Mayou went out with a drone-mounted camera in Minnesota to catch the sunset but got something even more amazing.

When Bing Crosby Sang a Christmas Duet With David Bowie (Cool Weird Awesome 430)

Today in 1977, it was the premiere of Bing Crosby's final TV Christmas special, "Merrie Olde Christmas," which featured a performance with Crosby's unlikeliest duet partner ever: David Bowie. Here's the story of how it came together.

60 Years Ago, The Flintstones Took TV Back Thousands Of Years Ago (Cool Weird Awesome 392)

Today's the 60th anniversary of the first broadcast of that landmark cartoon show from the town of Bedrock, which aired in the 1960s, stayed on in reruns for decades, and continues to sell cereal and vitamins to this day. Plus: a man in England gets so lonely he starts putting ads in the paper so someone will email or call him - and fortunately he gets some good responses.

By |2021-07-05T09:42:32-04:00September 30, 2020|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

Martin Luther King Jr. Was A Trekkie (Cool Weird Awesome 219)

The most prominent civil rights leader in US history was a Trekkie, and a big reason why was the character of Lieutenant Uhura, played by NIchelle Nichols. Here's the story of how Dr. King convinced Nichols to stay on the show when she had plans to leave.

They Built A Real-Life Simpsons House In Nevada (Cool Weird Awesome 194)

Today marks 30 years since the first episode of “The Simpsons” aired, and so we pay tribute to the house Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie call home - not to mention a real-life, 3D version of the place in Nevada. Plus: the closest real-life town to Springfield, USA isn't a Springfield at all.

By |2021-09-08T06:26:59-04:00December 17, 2019|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

That Time There Was A Laugh Track On “The Twilight Zone” (Cool Weird Awesome 171)

Who knew the Twilight Zone was a dimension not only of sight and sound but of canned laughter?!? The episode "Cavender is Coming" features Jesse White, Carol Burnett, and a laugh track the network thought might help lead to a spinoff series. (It didn't.) Plus: anybody want to fly in an airplane where the whole interior looks like a giant window?

By |2023-11-14T09:34:05-05:00November 14, 2019|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

It’s The Birthday Of Fawlty Towers, Don’t Mention The War! (Cool Weird Awesome 131)

Today in 1975 the BBC aired the first episode of “Fawlty Towers,” a landmark comedy series that was - amazingly - received about as poorly by TV executive and the public as Basil Fawlty’s appalling attitude was received by guests at his hotel. How did it finally get its due?

By |2021-06-28T12:28:32-04:00September 19, 2019|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |
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