A Dog In The UK Saved Lives During The Blitz, Thanks To A Full Bladder (Cool Weird Awesome 1215)
This month in 1941, a dog in the UK became a hero in a very strange way, stopping a bomb by answering the call of nature.
The US Rationed Shoes During World War II, So People Made Footwear Out Of Old Firehoses (Cool Weird Awesome 1182)
Today in 1943, the US announced it would start rationing shoes to save rubber and leather for the troops in World War II. People on the home front found ways to make shoes out of alternative materials.
When World War II Meant No Bananas For The UK, People Made “Mock Bananas” Out Of Parsnips (Cool Weird Awesome 991)
It's National Banana Day, so we've got the story of people in the UK who went to great lengths to simulate having bananas when the real deal was off limits during World War II.
Banning Sliced Bread Was Not The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread (Cool Weird Awesome 930)
Today in 1943, the US government tried to help the war effort in a way that did NOT go over well. They tried to halt the sales of sliced bread.
The American Warship That Accidentally Launched A Torpedo At FDR (Cool Weird Awesome 887)
Today in 1943, a US Navy ship almost caused a gigantic tragedy, by inadvertently launching a torpedo at the president of the United States. Plus: this month in 1932, the UK’s Home Office got a complaint about ancient drawing known as the Cerne Abbas Giant and his “impassioned obscenity.”
A Comanche Code Talker Sent The First Message From Utah Beach On D-Day (Cool Weird Awesome 886)
For Veterans Day, the story of the Comanche Code Talkers, 17 veterans of the second World War who created an unbroken code in their native language that saved lives and helped the US military effort.
There Was A Movement To Make Sicily Part Of The US (Cool Weird Awesome 824)
On this day in 1943, an interesting headline in the New York Times: “Sicily Vying With Hawaii To Become 49th U.S. State.” Of course, neither Sicily nor Hawaii became the 49th state; Alaska did. But there really was an effort to bring Sicily into the Union.
Gino Bartali Was A Champion And A Hero On A Bike (Cool Weird Awesome 812)
Today in 1914, the birthday of Gino Bartali. The Italian cycling star won the Tour de France in 1938, and won a second time a decade later. But what was even more impressive was what he did in between those two wins.
Every Year The Netherlands Sends Thousands Of Tulips To Canada (Cool Weird Awesome 771)
The Canadian Tulip Festival is getting underway in Ottawa. Here's the history of the annual event, which (pun intended) has its roots in the history of World War II.
A Liner Note Detective Wants The World To Know Something About The “London Calling” Cover Photo
The famous cover of The Clash's landmark album "London Calling" was taken on September 21, 1979, according to the liner notes. Except that Dave Marin, a concertgoer who was there when the photo was taken, has a concert stub that says September 20th. And he's spent decades trying to get the world to notice that the album credits are a day off. Plus: today in 1940, a bomb explodes in London, and the locals decide to turn the crater it left behind into something special.