An NFL Team Drafted Norm Michael In College, But He Didn’t Find Out Until 55 Years Later
Today in 1999, a news report about how Norm Michael was drafted by the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles. The catch? He'd been drafted in 1944.
Colonel Sanders Was The Face Of KFC, And Occasionally Its Vocal Critic
Today in 1890, the birthday of Colonel Harland Sanders, the founder and public face of Kentucky Fried Chicken, and who, for a while, was also a pretty big critic of the fast food brand he started.
Pacemaker Pioneer Wilson Greatbatch Helped Millions Of Hearts
Today in 1919, the birthday of Wilson Greatbatch, who made implantable pacemakers a reality for millions of patients. A pretty big legacy for a guy who considered himself a “humble tinkerer.”
A Group Of Teens Got Stranded On A Pacific Island For 15 Months, And Never Went All “Lord Of The Flies” On Each Other
This month in 1966, an extraordinary rescue of a group of students who had gotten stranded on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean and managed to live there successfully for over a year.
Baby Food Giant Gerber Once Sold Jars Of Mushed Up Food For Adults
Long before people on the internet came up with the baby food diet, there was this.
Charles Downing Lay, America’s Olympic Medalist In Town Planning
Today in 1877, the birthday of Charles Downing Lay. He won the first American medal at the 1936 Olympics, for…. town planning?
Did A Department Store Really Keep A Guy On Staff To Be “Fired” In Front Of Angry Customers? (Cool Weird Awesome 1300)
For this Labor Day holiday we pay tribute to what may have been the strangest ways to make a living in its time: the so-called "department store scapegoat" who was kept on staff to be "fired" from time to time.
Who, I Say, Who Could Have Expected Ten Cent Beer Night Would End In A Ballpark Riot
Some situations are just destined to go wrong. Like the time in 1974 that Cleveland hosted Ten Cent Beer Night at the ballpark and the game ended in a forfeit/drunken riot.
It’s Astronomy Week on Cool Weird Awesome
This week we’re replaying some of our favorite shows about planets and stars and galaxies and the people who have studied them.
When Marketing Cars To Women, Creepy Anonymous Letters Aren’t Your Best Bet
In 1994, an ad campaign for a car company somehow misjudged its ad campaign so badly that the whole effort landed the company in court.