Cool Stuff Daily

Latest Episodes:

Mon. 07/18 - An Experiential Peek Into 2050's Weather Jul 18, 2022

Show notes

Heatwaves around the world are so extreme this week that one of them matches a projected forecast for 2050. Plus, MIT engineers have found a more efficient method for boiling water. And the winners of the World Emoji Awards as well as all the new emojis drafted to hit Unicode 15 in September.

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Links:

A hypothetical weather forecast for 2050 is coming true next week (CNN)
Met Office projections and commentary (Dr. Simon Lee, Twitter)
A Whole Lot of Southwest Europe Is on Fire Right Now, And It's Only Getting Hotter (ScienceAlert)
These maps show how excessively hot it is in Europe and the U.S. (Washington Post)
UK heatwave: how to keep cool and stay safe in 40C (The Guardian)
Scientific tips for staying cool in a heatwave (BBC Future)
Redheads given free cinema tickets to escape heatwave on Monday and Tuesday (Yahoo News UK)
MIT Engineers Find a Way To Save Energy and Make Water Boil More Efficiently (SciTechDaily)
Scientists Have Found a Way to Save Energy And Boil Water More Efficiently (ScienceAlert)
New Emojis In 2022-2023 (Emojipedia)
World Emoji Awards
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Wed. 07/13 - When Coal Was "Un-American" Jul 13, 2022

Show notes

What can the slow and timid adoption of coal in the US tell us about the transition to solar and wind power? Plus, this newly-discovered dinosaur sheds some light on why T-Rexes had those tiny li’l arms. And, when cities welcome physical monuments to fictional pop culture characters.

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Links:

When Coal First Arrived, Americans Said 'No Thanks' (Smithsonian Magazine)
Fraud, Failure, and Frustration: This Is the Story of America's First Energy Transition (The Atlantic)
Weird Old Book Finder
Old episode about the Weird Old Book Finder (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
Behold Meraxes, Argentina’s Ancient ‘Giant Dragon’ (Atlas Obscura)
Newly discovered dinosaur had tiny arms like T. rex (National Geographic)
Newly Discovered Giant Predatory Dinosaur Had Tiny Arms, But It's Not Related to T. Rex (ScienceAlert)
Albuquerque Erecting Statues of Walter White And Jesse Pinkman (IGN)
Netflix knows you miss Eddie Munson, so they immortalized him in an Indiana cornfield (Mashable)
Old episode about less-popular recipes from the Kelloggs brothers (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
The Fake 2000s Yo-Yo Career of 'What We Do In the Shadows' Mark Proksch (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
The 1920s Transgender Clinic Destroyed By the Nazis (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
Who Invented the High Five? (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
Why All The Galaxy Carpets In 90s Movie Theaters? (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Tue. 07/12 - Spikes, Blobs, & Bubbles: Explaining the JWST Images Jul 12, 2022

Show notes

The JWST images are here! But what are we actually looking at? Plus, could gene editing put an end to cholesterol-related disease? And Cat Power is planning to perform a cover of an entire Bob Dylan concert at the original venue where he performed it.

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Links:

NASA's Webb Delivers Deepest Infrared Image of Universe Yet (NASA)
And then there were five: NASA releases the rest of Webb's first images (Ars Technica)
The First Jwst Images Of The Infrared Sky Are Here And They Do *Not* Disappoint (Syfy Wire)
Carpet JWST image meme (Dominick Nero, Twitter)
Make your phone into a personal planetarium. (NY Times)
Edits to a cholesterol gene could stop the biggest killer on earth (MIT Technology Review)
Cat Power will cover a full Bob Dylan concert at original venue (A/V Club)
Where to Score Free Fries for National Fry Day (Mental Floss)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Mon. 07/11 - Sailing Without a Map, or Compass, or Anything Jul 11, 2022

Show notes

Could an MIT idea to ease the climate crisis by blowing up giant sun-blocking bubbles in space actually work? Plus, the Polynesian voyagers who are reviving ancient seafaring techniques and traversing thousands of miles across the ocean without maps or modern technology. And a cool little interactive Easter egg from the latest season of Stranger Things.

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Links:

MIT Scientists Suggest Wild Plan to Ease Climate Change: Space Bubbles (ScienceAlert)
Space Bubbles (MIT Senseable City Lab)
Climate change: MIT proposes using a space bubble shield the size of Brazil to cool the Earth (Interesting Engineering)
MIT Scientists Propose Space Bubbles to Reverse the Worst of Climate Change (Gizmodo)
This woman navigated a 3,000-mile Pacific voyage without maps or technology (National Geographic)
Polynesia's master voyagers who navigate by nature (BBC)
“Stranger Things” Has a Surprise for Fans That Call the Surfer Boy Pizza Number (Teen Vogue)
Where to Buy Stranger Things' Surfer Boy Pizza (Pop Sugar)
NASA Is About to Unveil The Deepest View of The Universe Ever – A Day Ahead of Schedule (ScienceAlert)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Fri. 07/08 - The Breakfast Episode Jul 08, 2022

Show notes

Welcome to our accidental breakfast episode. First, how did orange juice become our go-to breakfast beverage of choice? Plus, Waffle House’s in-house record label. And, someone’s been eating their Wheatie’s, how major sports tournaments are using AI to improve the game and the fan experience.

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Links:

How orange juice took over the breakfast table (BBC Future)
Misunderstanding Orange Juice as a Health Drink (The Atlantic, 2014)
Coronavirus: orange juice weekly sales growth US 2020. (Statista)
A B-Side With Your Bacon? Waffle House Has Its Own Music Label (NPR)
Waffle House Has Its Own Record Label (Great Big Story, YouTube)
Waffle House has its own record label and the songs are in the restaurant jukeboxes (Boing Boing)
Waffle House Records (Spotify)
Waffle House Music - scroll down for music videos
Wimbledon wants to teach its audience about tennis. Luckily, there's an app for that (CNN)
FIFA Will Use AI to Track Players' Bodies During World Cup (Gizmodo)
Beyonce Joins Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson for This Hot 100 Milestone — As a Solo Artist & With a Group (Billboard)
NASA Updates Coverage for Webb Telescope's First Images Reveal (NASA)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Thu. 07/07 - Sports Leagues IN SPACE Jul 07, 2022

Show notes

In 1972, a team of international researchers used computer modeling to assess and warn us about the potential collapse of human civilization. Fifty years later, how does their assessment add up and have we heeded their warning? Plus, we’ve got space tourists. Now it’s time for astroletes. Why sports might be the next big thing in space. And Spotify Pie.

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Links:

The Infamous 1972 Report That Warned of Civilization's Collapse (Wired)
The Limits to Growth (NY Times, 1972)
Why Sports in Space Could Be the Next Big Thing (Wall Street Journal)
Axiom Space plans to build a movie studio module for the International Space Station by 2024 (Space.com)
How to see your Spotify Pie chart, the latest viral website that analyzes your Spotify data (Mashable)
Spotify Pie
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Wed. 07/06 - Big Mouth Billy Bass Jul 06, 2022

Show notes

We take a deep dive into the freshwater lake origins of Big Mouth Billy Bass, the singing fish, and his riptide success in the early 2000s. And, in other peak scientific innovation news, the Large Hadron Collider has been booted up once more and already discovered three new exotic particles.

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Links:

An Oral History Of Big Mouth Billy Bass (MEL)
The Rise And Fall Of Big Mouth Billy Bass, The Kitschy Singing Wall-Fish That Ruled The Year 2000 (Ranker)
How a robotic singing fish made $100m in one year (The Hustle)
Singing Bird Clock commercial (Dakota Clark, YouTube)
Wellerman, performed by Bill Bass and friends (Kevin Heckart, TikTok)
LHCb discovers three new exotic particles (CERN)
CERN scientists observe three 'exotic' particles for first time (NBC News)
Large Hadron Collider Physicists Discover Three New Exotic Particles (Gizmodo)
We need another particle accelerator. Don’t let these 5 myths fool you (Big Think)
Large Hadron Collider scientists hail most powerful collisions (Space.com)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Tue. 07/05 - The Rise of #Gentleminions Jul 05, 2022

Show notes

Could the historic flooding at Yellowstone National Park be a positive thing in the long term? Plus, new findings into long COVID-caused brain fog. And why some movie theaters are banning formal attire.

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Links:

Historic Yellowstone flooding brings renewal despite destruction (National Geographic)
Episode introducing Yellowstone's Inheritance Pass (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
4 answers about Yellowstone's June megaflood (Futurity)
The Secrets of Covid 'Brain Fog' Are Starting to Lift (Wired)
Minions: The Rise Of Gru Scores Biggest July Fourth Opening Ever With Nearly $219 Million Globally (Slash Film)
Minions: Cinemas ban teens in suits over #gentleminions trend (BBC)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Thu. 06/30 - The Kid Who Invented Popsicles... Allegedly Jun 30, 2022

Show notes

The murky history of Popsicles, and freeze pops or Otter Pops or whatever you call them. Plus, those skin mites that live on your face might be able to reveal your geographic ancestry. And the Canadian radio station that only plays one song by Rage Against the Machine now.

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Links:

The Accidental Invention the Popsicle (Food & Wine)
The Cold, Hard Truth About Popsicles (Collectors Weekly)
How An 11-Year-Old Boy Invented The Popsicle (NPR)
A Brief History of Popsicles (Smithsonian Magazine)
The Popsicle was supposedly invented by an SF 11-year-old. But the legend doesn't add up. (SF Gate)
A Brief History of Freeze Pops (Eater)
Old episode about the history of Kool-Aid (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
Where Are You From? Check Your Parasites (JSTOR Daily)
Scientists say face mites evolved alongside humans since the dawn of human origins (Science Daily)
Mystery as Canadian radio station plays Rage Against the Machine song nonstop (The Guardian)
Vancouver's KiSS FM has been playing Rage Against the Machine on repeat. Why? (Vancouver Sun)
Cole Sprouse And Kathryn Newton To Star In Diablo Cody-Scripted 'Lisa Frankenstein' For Focus Features (Deadline)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Wed. 06/29 - Did "The Dress" Foreshadow Fake News? Jun 29, 2022

Show notes

Remember the photo of that blue and black dress, or I’m sorry, white and gold dress? It turns out at least one neuroscientist conducted an official study of people’s perceptions about it, and his findings could have larger ramifications on our seemingly increasing inability to communicate and understand each other when it comes to fundamental social issues.

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