Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

 Frank Zappa is back out on tour, doing nine shows in the US and seven more in Europe.  Now if you’re scratching your head here and saying, wait, isn’t Frank Zappa dead - well, yes, but this is the era of hologram concert tours, there's no reason a dearly departed musician can't step out on stage! Plus: let's celebrate Passover and/or Easter weekend the way the ancients intended: with the circle of concrete rabbit statues known as Bunnyhenge.  No industry is weirder than the dead celebrity hologram industry (Vox)   It’s Official: Dead Musicians Are Now Touring as Holograms (Philadelphia magazine)  Bunny Henge (Weird California)  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Everything is connected to everything else - and there's no better example of that than this week's news that a song by Ariana Grande is putting money into the state pension program in Michigan. And speaking of Michigan, did you know the state is home to the American Museum of Magic, which boasts the largest publicly viewable collection of magical artifacts in the world?  Michigan can say 'thank u, Ariana Grande'; Her hit '7 Rings' boosts state pension funds (Detroit Free Press)   American Museum of Magic --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Tired? Smoke breaks. Inspired? Scent breaks.   Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and Brown University are looking at whether pleasant smells can help curb cravings for nicotine. Plus: for the new short film  NYC Textures, director Ynon Lan took over a thousand still images of sidewalks, sides of buildings, subway tiles, grass and more. It’s a unique perspective on what you actually see when you move through New York City.   Pleasant Olfactory Cues Can Reduce Cigarette Craving (Journal of Abnormal Psychology via APA.org)  NYC Textures (Ynon Lan)  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

If you’re mourning Notre Dame cathedral today, well, you’re not the only one.  Here’s a story from its long history that might make you feel a little more hopeful, a story of stone heads that disappeared - and reappeared hundreds of years later. Plus: a few examples of how cathedrals are full of surprises, and not always high-minded ones.  After 184 Years, a Cousin of the French President Finds Notre Dame’s Missing Stone Heads (People)  13 Facts About Notre-Dame Cathedral (Mental Floss)  What you didn’t know about Britain’s churches and cathedrals (Telegraph UK) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Tax Day gives a lot of us the blues - which, as it turns out, actually kind of works. April 15th is the birthday of one of the greatest singers of all time: the Empress of the Blues, Bessie Smith. As for taxes, we have some news you can use - at least if you're an unsavory character. According to US tax law, stolen property must be reported as income.  Forebears: Bessie Smith, The Empress Of The Blues (NPR Music)  It’s True: You Must Report Income from Thievery on Your Tax Form (Tax Foundation)    --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

During the Cold War, the CIA flew U2 planes all over the globe, to see what the Soviets were up to. And in doing so, documented all kinds of geographical features from up above. Two researchers decided to go back through these photos - not for their Cold War history but for archaeology. And it turns out, these photos showed a lot. Plus: this weekend in Woodstock, Illinois, the Great Lakes Steelpan Festival is getting underway.  Declassified U2 spy plane images reveal bygone Middle Eastern archaeological features (Phys.org) Great Lakes Steelpan Festival  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

The surest sign of spring is neither the calendar nor the weather. It’s the reappearance of Peeps, which are the stuff of candy and cultural legend now. Not only are there billions of them produced, eaten and/or used in dioramas every year, there's a PeepsMobile, a converted Volkswagen Beetle with a giant yellow Peep on top, and there's PeepResearch.org - an entire website devoted to researching what happens to the candies when you mess with them.  The sticky, sugary history of Peeps (Vox) Emory pair unlocks the mystery of Peeps (Emory University)  RAM 10th Annual International PEEPS Art Exhibition (Racine Art Museum)   --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

 The family that races hot rods together... stays together. For National Siblings Day, the story of  Brittany, Ashley and Courtney Force,  three sisters who have found an unusual way to spend time together: they're professional funny car drivers. And if you're not celebrating Abby Machuda Day yet, you will, once you hear what she did for her siblings.  Brittany Force still racing NHRA cars after sisters retire (Las Vegas Review-Journal)  Llano girl honored for saving siblings, cat from Llano house fire (KXAN)   --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

 Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville invented a way to document sound more than a decade before Thomas Edison developed his wax cylinders. So why isn't he remembered as the king of recording? Because he hadn't figured out one key feature: playing the sound back. Plus: ever wondered what it's like inside an anechoic chamber, which masks almost every sound possible? Really quite and kind of freaky.  What Was the First Sound Ever Recorded by a Machine? (Time)   The Phonautograms of Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville (FirstSounds.org)  'Quietest place on Earth' finds purpose in healing humans (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)   --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Researchers out of Brigham Young University have been working to quiet one of the most ungodly noises in the world - airplane bathrooms. Turns out changing the design of the pipes can make it a lot quieter, unlike that snoring guy in the next row. Plus: a dude in New Mexico has the worst luck with his own restroom.  A New Design Promises to Quiet the Terrifying Roar of Flushing an Airplane Toilet (Gizmodo)  This Is What Happens When You Flush the Airplane Toilet (Travel and Leisure)   Man Locks Himself Out of Bathroom - Twice (Rio Grande Sun)   --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

 A long cold winter is behind us - unfortunately potholes are underneath us.  In Michigan, 12 year old Monte Scott counted 50 potholes on his street alone - and started filling them in himself. Fortunately, a research team at Drexel University is working on a bioconcrete that might stop potholes before they start. Plus: ever wanted to see an opera performed in a swimming pool? Come to Appleton, Wisconsin this weekend and you'll have your chance.  12-year-old boy fed up with potholes; fixes them himself (Black Hills Fox) To protect concrete from road salt, Drexel engineers have an odd idea: bacteria (Philly.com) Opera makes a splash at Lawrence University (FOX 11) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

It was 50 years ago today that a doctor implanted a temporary artificial heart in a patient - a pretty big leap forward in heart surgeries, given that transplants were only about a year old back then. Plus:  since April is National Donate Life Month, and the theme is “Life is a beautiful ride,”  complete with bicycles, the story of a very unusual kind of ride - a nearly naked backwards bike ride down a Florida highway.  Texas surgeon implanted world's 1st artificial heart (Chicago Tribune)   National Donate Life Month (DonateLife.org)   Nearly nude Florida man rides bike backward on Miami Interstate (WTSP) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

 An apple a day keeps the coming war with robots away?  A New Zealand company is testing a robot that’s supposed to move through an apple orchard, spot ripe fruit, yank it from the tree and bring it back to the farmer.  They're either helping us do a hard job or taking the first step toward an agricultural Skynet. Oh, and speaking of food-related horror: a strongman found out what happens when you order - and try to eat - literally everything on Taco Bell's menu.  Your Apples May Soon Be Picked By Laser-Shooting Robots (Wired) Brian Shaw Devours Nearly Everything on The Taco Bell Menu (Muscle and Fitness) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

You can apply for just about any set of numbers and letters to adorn your motor vehicle, so long as they’re a) not already taken and b) abide by your state’s rules. California residents have been putting the Golden State's rules to the test in some odd ways lately. Plus: an LA museum dedicated to the wild world of velvet paintings is trying to stave off financial troubles. Hopefully they won't take any money strategies from those dogs playing poker.  The DMV Reviewed Thousands of Hilarious Vanity Plate Applications Last Year. These Are Our Favorites (LA Magazine) Help Save Velvet Paintings (OK Whatever) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

I spent part of the weekend chasing down a little bit of musical and culinary history in Greenfield, Wisconsin, just outside Milwaukee. That’s home to Organ Piper Pizza - as you eat, an organist plays an enormous Wurlitzer organ, which also controls stage lights, disco balls, a mechanical gymnast and a family of singing ducks. Plus - a story that's, amazingly, not an April Fool's Day prank, in which police in Madrid respond to a guy on a bus sharpening a big carving knife (!)  The Carlson Kids Visit Organ Piper Pizza (YouTube) Remembering the Dining Fad of 'Pizza and Pipes' (CityLab) False alarm: Knife-wielding man on Metro revealed to be expert ham cutter (El Pais) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

On this day in 1861 the tiny European country of San Marino presented President Abraham Lincoln with honorary citizenship. There’s another leader named Lincoln who’s aspiring to greatness, and may yet achieve it - if, like Honest Abe, she can clean up the big mess in front of her. She's the new mayor of Fair Haven, Vermont: Lincoln the goat. Plus: Brian Chirls took the approval ratings from Richard Nixon’s presidency and matched them up with music and sound effects from the original Nintendo game The Legend of Zelda. Lincoln the goat sworn in as Fair Haven's new mayor, immediately defecates (Burlington Free Press) To The Regent Captains of San Marino (University of Michigan Library) The Legend of Nixon (Kottke.org) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

It's Opening Day - and no matter who wins and who loses, baseball fans will have something to say about the umpires. The first pro ump in the big leagues was a man named Billy McLean - who, when he wasn't calling balls and strikes, was occasionally challenging hecklers to fistfights. Link: The first major-league umpire was a Philadelphian (Philly.com) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

This year’s big growth industry: buying stuff online while you’re hammered. That's according to a new survey that finds one in four respondents admitted to buying stuff on the internet while they've been drinking. Drunk buying is now a $39.4 billion dollar industry... would this be a good time to mention this show is on Patreon?  Americans Spent Over $39 Billion While Drunk Shopping Last Year (Forbes)  Long Island Shopper Cashes In Coupon 36 Years After Deal Was First Offered (CBS New York) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Brady has an eight year old in the house today! To celebrate the big guy's birthday, we're taking a look at the many great eight year olds out there, making things a little more awesome. And check out the Memphis Zoo's new Lego sculptures, including a 625-pound Lego polar bear family that you definitely wouldn't want to step on.  The heart-warming tale of the 8-year-old chess champion is quintessentially American (Washington Post) 8-year-old dancer refuses to give up after losing her leg (CBS News) Why an inspirational eight-year-old joined more than 100 people swapping their comfy bed for a cold floor (Gloucestershire LIve) Horry County 8-year-old praised for emergency actions after twin brother has seizure (WMBF) Giant Lego Brick Sculptures (Memphis Zoo) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message

Researchers in Europe make a stunning discovery: playing hip-hop to cheese makes it taste better. Maybe they should have played a few songs to a collector's coin in Germany that's not getting a great reaction.   Link: Cheese Exposed To Hip Hop Tastes Better  (Swissinfo.ch)  Link: A German Mint Just Released A Coin Commemorating 70 Years Of Currywurst, And It's Unspeakably Ugly (Quartz)  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/coolweirdawesome/message