Cool Stuff Daily

Latest Episodes:

Wed. 11/09 - Ballpoint Pens Killed the Cursive Star Nov 09, 2022

Show notes

Could the ballpoint pen be just as responsible for the death of cursive handwriting as the computer? Plus, lab-grown blood has been injected into two patients in a world-first clinical trial. And, would you attend a Zoom meeting in a movie theater? AMC is betting on it.

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Tue. 11/08 - 3D Printing Human Organs In Space Nov 08, 2022

Show notes

From a 3D bioprinter for human tissues to pumpkin spice cappuccinos, here’s the cargo being delivered on board the S.S. Sally Ride tomorrow to the International Space Station. Plus, this time it’s not just in your head, the New York Times really is making some (small) changes to Wordle. A puzzle expert has some practice tips for winning the daily game. And Netflix has a new interactive trivia game.

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Astronauts will 3D print part of a human knee in space (Engadget)
Overview for Northrop Grumman's 18th Commercial Resupply Mission (NASA)
NASA monitoring Subtropical Storm Nicole, Space Launch System rocket and Orion to remain at Launch Pad 39B (NASA)
The New York Times is finally making changes to Wordle (Washington Post)
Introducing Wordle Game Editor Tracy Bennett (NY Times)
How to Win at Wordle (Without Cheating) (Quanta Magazine)
You can now play trivia on Netflix (Mashable)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Mon. 11/07 - The Uncertain Future of Social Media, Our Phones, & Us Nov 07, 2022

Show notes

On TikTok, Twitter, and more broadly how social media has changed us, how we might finally be approaching a tipping point in how we use it, and the ways in which our devices play just as large a role as the algorithms.

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Links:

The Machine Stops (New Yorker)
TikTok’s Greatest Asset Isn’t Its Algorithm—It’s Your Phone (Wired)
Elon Musk is more Funko Pop than man (Garbage Day)
The Real Difference Between YouTube and TikTok (Vlogbrothers, YouTube)
Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History by Kurt Andersen
Techmeme Ride Home
The Real Sleeping Sickness That Inspired Neil Gaiman's 'The Sandman' (Collider)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Fri. 11/04 - Music to Prevent Nightmares Nov 04, 2022

Show notes

Could a musical cue played while you’re asleep help prevent nightmares? Plus, a round-up of science news from this month in history. And the US government might be getting an official Space Bureau.

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Links:

Can a Musical Reminder Banish Bad Dreams? (Smithsonian Magazine)
Nightmares Can Be Silenced With a Single Piano Chord, Scientists Discover (ScienceAlert)
50, 100 & 150 Years Ago: November 2022 (Scientific American)
FCC Proposes Space Bureau to Regulate Influx of Satellites (Gizmodo)
U.S. telecom regulator launching new space bureau (Reuters)
The FCC’s new space bureau could rein in Elon Musk (Vox)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Thu. 11/03 - How the World Series Led To the Television Boom Nov 03, 2022

Show notes

A deep dive into two major events that led to the television boom, and a question of what that has meant for the artifice and theatricality of live events.

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The first televised World Series spurred America's television boom, 75 years ago (The Conversation)
Queen Elizabeth II’s First Move: Allowing TV Cameras at Her Coronation (Tedium)
Scholarly Analysis of the Kennedy-Nixon Debates (Purdue)
Nick Offerman joins weirdly star-studded cast of GameStop "stonks" movie (A/V Club)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Wed. 11/02 - Cornhole Controversy Nov 02, 2022

Show notes

2022 has been the year of cheating. The latest scandal to rock a niche community? BagGate at the American Cornhole League World Championships. Plus, Collins Dictionary has declared “permacrisis” their word of the year. And an exciting update for what you probably all know by now is my most-anticipated movie of the year: Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.

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Links:

Professional Cornhole Has a Cheating Scandal Called BagGate (Wall Street Journal)
The Summer Of Cheating (BuzzFeed News)
“Permacrisis” has been named as Collins Dictionary's word of the year for 2022 (Stylist)
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey Sets U.S. Theatrical Release Date (Collider)
Thu. 05/26 - Winnie the Pooh: Horror Villain (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Tue. 11/01 - Dracula: A Tale of Misinformation? Nov 01, 2022

Show notes

Why does Dracula still resonate with audiences over a century later? The disease narrative is one possible reason, but there’s another less-discussed theory too. Plus, one team of scientists have detected traces of an ancient ocean on Mars. And a turkey-flavored beer for your dog to enjoy this Thanksgiving.

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Links:

125 Years Old and Still Biting (The Atlantic)
Fri. 10/29 - Disease and the Vampire Myth + Hallowmeme History (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
Get the classic novel Dracula delivered to your email inbox, as it happens. (Dracula Daily)
Ancient Traces of a Giant Ocean Have Just Been Discovered on Mars (Science Alert)
Evidence of ancient Mars ocean increases probability of past life (Space.com)
Traces of ancient ocean discovered on Mars (Penn State)
Anheuser-Busch thinks your dog would like a beer, too (Fast Company)
Busch Light Debuts Turkey ‘Beer’ For Dogs So You Can Toast At Holidays Together (DesignTAXI)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Mon. 10/31 - Queen Victoria's Halloween Ragers Oct 31, 2022

Show notes

Dispatches from the Recreational Fear Lab on why being scared might be a healthy thing. And the raucous Halloween parties Queen Victoria used to throw in Scotland.

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Links:

The Director of the Recreational Fear Lab Explains Why We Love to Be Scared (Slate)
The monarch who loved Scots' spooky traditions (Scottish Field)
Queen Victoria's highland journals (Internet Archive)
Halloween by Robert Burns (Academy of American Poets)
Halloween - Robert Burns (MindYerLanguage?, YouTube)
Taylor Swift Makes History as First Artist With Entire Top 10 on Billboard Hot 100, Led by 'Anti-Hero' at No. 1 (Billboard)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Fri. 10/28 - Best Of: Candy Corn, Witches, & Spine-Tingling Music Oct 28, 2022

Show notes

In our first-ever "Best Of" episode, we look back at the history of candy corn. How did this contentious candy come to be, why does it persist when so many people hate it, and does it really contain bug secretions? Plus, a segment from 2020, were witches back in the day really mixing tongues and eyeballs into their brews? Here’s what ingredients like “eye of newt” actually meant. And finally, from last year, a survey of witchy and chilling music—from psychedelic countercultural witch music in the 1960s to more recent tracks that have been scientifically proven to make your spine tingle.

Sponsors:

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Links:

Wed. 10/13 - Who's To Blame For Candy Corn? (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
Why Is Candy Corn the Most Hated Halloween Candy? (Eater)
Episode Three - Satan's Earwax (Preserve Halloween Podcast)
Where Our Love/Hate Relationship With Candy Corn Comes From (The Atlantic)
The Saccharine History of Candy Corn (National Geographic)
Why Brach's Turkey Dinner Candy Corn Might Taste Different This Year (Mashed)
All About Candy Corn (National Confectioners Association)
What To Know About Confectioner's Glaze (Taste for Life)
Why is there shellac in my chocolate mints? (McGill)
How Candy Corn is Made | Unwrapped (Food Network, YouTube)
Fri. 10/02 - Witchy Ingredients Aren't What They Seem (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
Please Pass Me The Eye Of Newt; What's Really In That Witch's Cauldron (Dave’s Garden)
Mon. 10/25 - Music That Gives You Chills, and Why It Does (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
13 Vintage Halloween Songs from the 1910's, 20's, & 30's (History Tea Time with Lindsay Holiday, YouTube)
A Look Back at America's Psychedelic Countercultural Witch Music (Atlas Obscura)
The Munsters - At Home With The Munsters - Vinyl LP (Rough Trade)
Researchers analyzed 700-plus songs known to give people chills. Here’s the playlist (Quartz)
Songs To Give You Chills playlist (Quartz, Spotify)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Thu. 10/27 - This Is Your Brain On Books Oct 27, 2022

Show notes

Can the books we read permanently change our brains? Or at least impact our values over a lifetime? Two studies that used undergrads as guinea pigs attempt to quantify the effects of powerful books on our brains. Plus, the upcoming election night lunar eclipse and a Halloween asteroid.

Sponsors:

Indeed, Indeed.com/goodnews
American Musical Supply, Use code COOL at https://ter.li/AmericanMusicalSupply-COOL for $20 off your next purchase of over $100

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