Cool Stuff Daily

Latest Episodes:

Mon. 12/12 - A "Major Breakthrough" on Fusion Energy? Dec 12, 2022

Show notes

A big fusion energy announcement is coming in the morning, but just how “big” will it really be? Plus, a collection of disappearing and extinct sounds. And how the climate emergency is coming for one trendy fruit.

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Fusion energy breakthrough by US scientists boosts clean power hopes (Financial Times)
Fusion energy, the 'holy grail' of clean power, a step closer to reality (Washington Post)
U.S. to announce scientific breakthrough on fusion energy -sources (Reuters)
Major Nuclear Fusion Energy Breakthrough to Be Announced by Scientists (NY Times)
A ‘scientific breakthrough’ in nuclear fusion? How to watch the announcement tomorrow (The Verge)
Thread on nuclear fusion from Javier Blas (Javier Blas, Twitter)
Explore a library of disappearing and extinct sounds at Obsolete Sounds (Boing Boing)
Obsolete Sounds (Cities and Memory)
Rising Temperatures Are Threatening America's Latest Fruit Craze (Gizmodo)
Mon. 09/12 - Not Your Papa’s Pawpaw (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Fri. 12/09 - The Early Browser Button That Could've Changed The Web For The Better Dec 09, 2022

Show notes

A browser button proposed by Tim Berners-Lee in 1997 that could’ve changed the web as we know it… or could it? Plus, eight artists from the around the world are officially going on a trip around the moon thanks to a controversial Japanese billionaire. And Hot Pockets just launched a line of cargo shorts with actual hot pockets.

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Links:

Tim Berners-Lee’s “Oh, Yeah?” button could have changed the internet. (Slate)
Realising the Full Potential of the Web (W3)
Click "Oh yeah?" (MIT Technology Review)
Tim Berners-Lee shares his vision of a collaborative web (Venture Beat)
Japanese billionaire unveils the 8 artists he'll fly to the moon on SpaceX's Starship dearMoon flight (Space.com)
Here’s What Will Happen Once NASA’s Orion Splashes Down on Sunday (Gizmodo)
HOT POCKETS® Made Shorts with a LITERAL Hot Pocket for Those Who Wear Shorts All Winter (PR Newswire)
Sign up to buy Hot Pockets shorts
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Thu. 12/08 - The Christmas Classic That Almost Never Aired Dec 08, 2022

Show notes

As we go the first Christmas in over half a century without a network TV airing of A Charlie Brown Christmas, an extended reflection on its staying power, unexpected success, and how CBS originally wished they could get out of having to air it at all because they thought it was so bad.

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Links:

Charlie Brown Christmas Special: An Inside Job (The Atlantic)
Peanuts "Economy Twins" (Ford TV Spot 1960) (Internet Archive)
Ford Falcon - Peanuts (1961) (YouTube)
The most famous music from "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was originally written for a different project (PBS, 2020)
“A Charlie Brown Christmas”—Vince Guaraldi (1965) (Library of Congress)
The Christmas classic that almost wasn't (USA Today, 2005)
A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition by Charles M. Schulz, Lee Mendelson, and Bill Melendez
Backstory – A Charlie Brown Christmas (Christmas Past)
Aluminum Christmas Trees (Christmas Past)
How to watch 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' for free in 2022 (Apple Insider)
The Muppets Reminisce About Filming 'The Muppet Christmas Carol' (Entertainment Weekly, YouTube)
Brett Goldstein performs The Muppet Christmas Carol in Six Minutes (Live) (Brett Goldstein, YouTube)
The Muppet Christmas Carol Extended Cut Finally Gets A Disney+ Release (Screenrant)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Wed. 12/07 - Your Milk Is Probably Not Actually Expired Dec 07, 2022

Show notes

How less-confusing food labeling––and perhaps more food-based curriculum in schools––can mitigate the huge problem of food waste. Plus, a new web-based simulator that will show you exactly how screwed you are if an asteroid hits your hometown.

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Links:

Expiration Dates Are Meaningless (The Atlantic)
Thanksgiving Dinner Will Result in 305 Million Pounds of Food Waste in the U.S. (reFED)
Expiration dates lead to lots of food waste, though these dates vary widely by state (NPR)
Use Proper Cooking Temperatures to Ensure Safe Food (MN Dept. of Health)
Waste Free Kitchen Handbook by Dana Gunders
Asteroid Launcher
This Interactive Map Will Show You How Screwed You Are If We're Hit by an Asteroid (VICE)
Fun Website Lets You Simulate an Asteroid Impact in Your Hometown (Futurism)
Destroy the World With This Asteroid Launcher Simulation (Kottke.org)
Wes Anderson's Asteroid City Sets Theatrical Release Date (Collider)
"The Avengers (1980) directed by Wes Anderson" (Russo Brothers, Instagram)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Tue. 12/06 - Gory, Graphic Shakespeare & Those Who Tried to Erase Him in the 1800s Dec 06, 2022

Show notes

Candles will play stunt double for actors in a new staging of Shakespeare’s most violent play. Plus, we take a detour down the path of Shakespearean conspiracies. And, in other news, the moon just got its own infrastructure package.

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Links:

Candles take the brunt in gore-free production of Titus Andronicus (The Guardian)
Shakespeare by Bill Bryson
The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606 by James Shapiro
Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare? by James Shapiro
NASA Awards $57M Contract to Build Roads on the Moon (Nextgov)
NASA, ICON Advance Lunar Construction Technology for Moon Missions (NASA)
ICON To Develop Lunar Surface Construction System With $57.2 Million NASA Award (ICON)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Mon. 12/05 - Will Sherlock Holmes Go Goblin Mode? Dec 05, 2022

Show notes

2023 is going to be a big year for the public domain, and especially for one estate who will finally be losing control of a character they’ve tried their very best to wring every last dollar from for over a century. Plus, Oxford English Dictionary officially declared “goblin mode” as their word of the year. And Saturday Night Live finally did something I’ve been wanting them to do for twenty years.

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Links:

Public Domain Day 2023 is Coming: Here's What to Know (Copyright Lately)
Public Domain Day 2023 Remix Contest: The Internet Archive is Looking For Creative Short Films Made By You! (Internet Archive Blogs)
The Best Things in Life Are Free: Two Ways to Celebrate Public Domain Day in 2023 (Internet Archive Blogs)
Ownership of the Sherlock Holmes Stories (Sherlockian)
Sherlock Holmes Copyright: An overview (Red Points)
Wed. 08/26 - Netflix's Enola Holmes Hit With Lawsuit From Doyle Estate (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
'Goblin mode' is Oxford's Word of the Year (Mashable)
Oxford Word of the Year 2022 (Oxford Languages)
Word of the Year 2022 | Gaslighting (Merriam-Webster)
Kenan & Kelly (SNL, YouTube)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Fri. 12/02 - Pilk & Cookies: Santa's New Fave? Dec 02, 2022

Show notes

AriZona Iced Tea is joining the hard beverage movement. Pepsi is joining… Big Milk? And scientists have got some new, practical tips for training your body to wake up earlier and actually alert.

Sponsors:

Uncommon Goods, Get 15% off your next gift at uncommongoods.com/cool
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Links:

AriZona Celebrates the Launch of Boozy Teas With a Totally Tubular '90s Pop-Up (AdWeek)
Hard iced tea teaser (AriZona Iced Tea, Twitter)
Old AriZona Iced Tea history episode (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
Pepsi® Invites Fans to Join the Naughty List This Holiday Season With "Pilk" And Cookies - A New "Dirty Soda" Holiday Tradition (PR Newswire)
Pilk and cookies tweet (Lindsay Lohan, Twitter)
#pilk videos (TikTok)
Put a Little Milk in Your Pepsi, Says Pepsi (The Takeout)
I Drank Pepsi Milk And I Hate You All (BuzzFeed News)
Hot Dr. Pepper episode (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
Can you become a morning person? Sleep scientists say it is possible with these key tips (Inverse)
Scientists discover secret to waking up alert and refreshed (Berkeley News)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Thu. 12/01 - Your Toilet Could Save Your Life Dec 01, 2022

Show notes

Was Mars once hit with an asteroid on the scale of Earth’s own dino-killer? Plus, what if there was a device that listened to your farts and let you know when you should go see a doctor? And the USDA program that’s recognizing indigenous food ways.

Sponsors:

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Links:

Mars Had an Ancient Asteroid Impact Like the One That Killed the Dinosaurs, Scientists Discover (VICE)
Ancient megatsunami on Mars traced to the crater where it began (New Scientist)
Giant Asteroid Unleashed a Devastating Martian Megatsunami, Evidence Suggests (Science Alert)
Dino-Killer Scale Asteroid Impact Might Have Caused Martian Megatsunami (IFL Science)
Farts say more about your health than you think — now, scientists are listening (Inverse)
National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) – a new public health tool to understand COVID-19 spread in a community (CDC)
USDA Program Recognizes Indigenous Food Ways (The Daily Yonder)
Indigenous Food Sovereignty Initiative (USDA)
The Case of the Missing Scorsese Film (Kottke.org)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Wed. 11/30 - Designing Spotify Wrapped Nov 30, 2022

Show notes

A dive into the design behind Spotify Wrapped, and some of the new features this years––including the Myers-Briggsification of your personal listening data. Plus, the baguette was just granted UNESCO world heritage status!

Sponsors:

Shopify, Sign up for a free trial at shopify.com/cool
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Links:

How Spotify’s Wrapped campaign for 2022 came together (It’s Nice That)
Get to Know Your Music Listening Personality from 2022 Wrapped (Spotify)
There’s Just Too Much Spotify Wrapped (Vulture)
Spotify Wrapped 2022 is here, and it's giving everyone a 'music personality' (The Verge)
French baguettes get UNESCO World Heritage status (Le Monde)
Crunch time: The baguette gets UN world heritage status (AP)
Browse the Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage (UNESCO)
Yes, a Bear Does Cocaine in the Awesome New Trailer for Cocaine Bear (Consequence)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Tue. 11/29 - Summer Drought Is Haunting Christmas Nov 29, 2022

Show notes

Drought and inflation are making it a tough year for Christmas trees. Plus, Japan has had to abandon what would’ve been their first-ever lunar landing, but a private Japanese company launching a lander tomorrow might still fulfill that milestone for the nation. And a round-up of the weirdest movies coming out next year, including the true story of Cocaine Bear.

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Links: