Cool Stuff Daily

Latest Episodes:

Tue. 06/14 - The Once and Future Mall Jun 14, 2022

Show notes

The history and future of the design of the American shopping mall. Plus, a new test that can more accurately assess your immunity to COVID-19. And Coca-Cola is releasing a new Jack & Coke canned cocktail. Meanwhile, fans have created a “healthy Coke” hack, which I tried out in the Cool Stuff Ride Home’s first official taste test.

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Links:

Get In. We're Going to Save the Mall. (NY Times)
A History of Mall Walking (Bloomberg)
Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall by Alexandra Lange
Two New Permanent Meow Wolf “Portals” Come to Texas (Glasstire)
A New Test Can Help Reveal If You're Immune to COVID-19 (TIME)
Jack Daniels and Coca-Cola Are Putting a Classic Cocktail in a Can (Thrillist)
'A refreshing salad drink': does balsamic vinegar and fizzy water really taste like healthy Coke? (The Guardian)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Mon. 06/13 - Why You Can't Remember Books You Read Jun 13, 2022

Show notes

Why is it so hard to remember details from books we’ve read and TV shows we’ve watched? Plus, why is food cooked outside on an open flame so dang delicious? And, vaccines for American children under the age of five may finally finally be coming.

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Links:

Why do we forget books we've read? We ask an expert (The Guardian)
The Nineties: A Book by Chuck Klosterman
What makes smoky, charred barbecue taste so good? The chemistry of cooking over an open flame (The Conversation)
Pfizer Vaccine Effective in Children Under 5, the FDA Says (NY Times)
Pfizer COVID vaccine safe for kids under 5, FDA review finds (PBS)
Tony Awards 2022: Why Jennifer Hudson has just made history (NPR)
Jennifer Hudson Is The Youngest Female EGOT Winner Ever (Nylon)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Fri. 06/10 - COVID-Sniffing Dogs & Delayed Positive Test Results Jun 10, 2022

Show notes

Why are some people experiencing delayed positive tests from COVID-19? And, new tests on the block, from expensive at-home hubs to COVID-sniffing dogs. Plus, a proposal in the UK to raise the legal purchase age for cigarettes by a year, every year. And the newest US quarter has just dropped, featuring Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Wilma Mankiller.

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Links:

A Negative COVID Test Has Never Been So Meaningless (The Atlantic)
Dogs may be better at detecting Covid-19 than nasal PCR tests, study finds (The Guardian)
Behind the high-tech COVID-19 tests you probably haven't heard about (The Verge)
Legal age someone can buy cigarettes should rise by a year every year, review recommends (Sky News)
Smoking age of sale should rise by year each year (BBC)
Age to buy cigarettes in England should rise every year, review says (Reuters)
A new quarter honors Native American leader and activist Wilma Mankiller (NPR)
Wilma Mankiller quarters released to eager public (Indian Country Today)
American Women Quarters 2022 Rolls and Bags (US Mint)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Thu. 06/09 - Heat Waves May Get Names, Like Hurricanes Jun 09, 2022

Show notes

Heat waves in the future could come with their own names, and we might be able to keep safe from them thanks to advances in smart window technology. Plus, Europe’s largest ever land dinosaur has just been discovered. And why Wendy’s is temporarily retiring their vanilla Frosty’s.

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Links:

Heat waves could soon have names (Axios)
How smart windows save energy (Knowable)
Europe's 'largest ever' land dinosaur found on Isle of Wight (BBC)
Bones found on Isle of Wight may be from Europe's biggest predator dinosaur (The Guardian)
Why the World's Biggest Dinosaurs Keep Getting Cut Down to Size (Scientific American)
Archaeologists May Have Found The Remains of Europe's Largest Ever Land Predator (ScienceAlert)
The T. Rex Still Rules Over the Rest (The Ringer)
Wendy’s Is Replacing Vanilla Frosties With Strawberry Ones This Summer (Mental Floss)
Wendy's Adds Strawberry Frosty to the Menu, Kills Off the Vanilla Frosty (Thrillist)
Wendy's is finally selling this 'highly anticipated' Frosty flavor (CNN Business)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Wed. 06/08 - So Long, Sit-Ups Jun 08, 2022

Show notes

Has the sit-up been canceled? Plus, the century-long history of growing nonnative plants in Antarctica and how it will help astronauts fill their bellies when they fly to the moon and beyond. And, why mice are afraid of bananas.

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Links:

The Death of the Sit-Up (The Atlantic)
How 100 years of Antarctic agriculture is helping scientists grow food in space (Fast Company)
Research briefs: Origami-inspired design and why mice fear bananas (McGill University)
Why Are Mice Afraid of Bananas? (SciTechDaily)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Tue. 06/07 - Humans' Unique Sleep Patternzzzzzz Jun 07, 2022

Show notes

Why is it that humans get less sleep than all other primates? And are “short sleepers” really a thing? Plus, “mountains” of sugar have been discovered all over the world, hiding beneath meadows of seagrass. And, bad news for plant parents, new findings explain why plants apparently get super stressed out from physical touch.

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Links:

Why humans get less sleep than other primates (BBC Future)
Some People Have a Superhuman Strength: Only Needing 4 Hours of Sleep (Popular Mechanics)
Mountains of sugar have been found in the ocean under seagrass meadows (The Weather Network)
Sweet spots in the sea: Mountains of sugar under seagrass meadows (Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology)
Biologists May Have Solved a 30-Year-Old Mystery on Why Touch Stresses Plants Out (Science Alert)
What happens when plants have stress reactions to touch (Lund University)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Mon. 06/06 - Gummi Bears: A 100 Year Look Back Jun 06, 2022

Show notes

It’s the hundredth anniversary of the humble gummy bear, but did you know they’ve only been in America since the 80s? Plus, could one source of water ice on the moon be ancient volcanoes? And, something strange is afoot in the reproductive lives of cockroaches.

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Links:

The Colorful History of Haribo Goldbears, the World's First Gummy Bears (Smithsonian Mag)
The Untold Truth Of Gummy Bears (Mashed)
A Brief History of Gummy Bears (Bon Appetit)
The Surprisingly Dark Origins of Gummy Bears (Mental Floss)
The Source of Water Ice on The Moon Could Be Traced to a Seemingly Unlikely Source (Science Alert)
Astronauts may one day drink water from ancient moon volcanoes (CU Boulder Today)
Ancient volcanoes may be the source of water found on the moon (Interesting Engineering)
Cockroach Reproduction Has Taken a Strange Turn (NY Times)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Fri. 06/03 - This Is Your Voice On Mars Jun 03, 2022

Show notes

Some wild animal species might be evolving four times faster than we thought. Plus, what your voice would sound like on Mars. And the summer job in Wisconsin that makes teenagers jump off a moving boat to deliver mail.

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Links:

Evolution May Be Happening Up to 4 Times Faster Than We Thought, Massive Study Finds (Science Alert)
Fuel of evolution' more abundant than previously thought in wild animals (University of Exeter)
Sounds of Mars (NASA)
NASA Scientists Made a Martian 'Soundscape' Using Audio Recorded by Perseverance Rover (Gizmodo)
On Mars, NASA's Perseverance rover's playlist like no other (EurekAlert)
Episode about designing the microphone on Perseverance (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
Mail Jumper in action (Cruise Lake Geneva, Instagram)
The Gravity-Defying Mail Jumpers of Lake Geneva (Atlas Obscura)
Mail Boat Jumper Tryouts (Best of Lake Geneva)
Who You Gonna Call? Explores the Life of Ray Parker Jr., the Man Behind the Ghostbusters Theme (Gizmodo)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Thu. 06/02 - How To OutHorse Your Email Jun 02, 2022

Show notes

Turns out your liver is quite a bit younger than expected. Plus, people with food allergies may be at a lower risk of catching COVID-19. Iceland’s new campaign to help you rein in your work-life balance while on vacation. And, in very serious news, we seem to be running out of googly eyes and Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza.

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Links:

Your Liver Is Only About Three Years Old, Scientists Say (ScienceAlert)
Most People's Livers Are Just 3 Years Old (Gizmodo)
Your liver is just under three years old (ScienceDaily)
People With Food Allergies Seem to Have Lower Risk of SARS-CoV-2 Infection (ScienceAlert)
Food allergy is associated with lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection (National Institutes of Health)
Some Types of Asthma Protect Against Severe COVID-19, And We May Finally Know Why (ScienceAlert)
Food allergies & lower SARS-CoV-2 risk (Dr. Alok Patel, Twitter)
Icelandic Horses Help Respond to Work Emails So Iceland Visitors Can Disconnect and See the Sights (Laughing Squid)
OutHorse Your Email (Visit Iceland)
App Lets You Destress By Screaming Into Icelandic Wilderness (NPR, 2020)
Taco Bell is running out of Mexican Pizza (CNN)
Did a Beloved Indie Movie Really Cause a Googly Eye Shortage? (Slate)
DeLorean reveals Alpha 5, a performance EV with Back to the Future vibes (TechCrunch)
Some quick photoshops of Doc Brown's new ride: the DeLorean Alpha5 EV (r/BacktotheFuture)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Wed. 06/01 - Self-Cloning Plant the New Biggest on Earth Jun 01, 2022

Show notes

A new contender for the world's largest plant is bigger than Cincinnati and named after Posiedon. Plus, a round-up of everything launching into space this weekend. And, fresh on the heels of the new Baz Lehrman biopic, the company that owns Elvis’ likeness is trying to shut down all the Elvis-themed wedding chapels in Vegas.

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