Alvin Straight Couldn’t Drive To See His Ailing Brother, So He Took A Road Trip On A Lawn Mower

Today in 1994, the start of a very unusual road trip: Alvin Straight drove 240 miles by lawn mower.

By |2024-12-14T11:45:19-05:00July 5, 2024|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

The First Road Trip Across The Continental US Won A Guy Fifty Bucks

Today in 1903 the conclusion of the first-ever car trip from one coast of the continental United States to the other. And this story starts, like so many other good stories have, with a bet.

By |2024-12-13T07:25:00-05:00July 26, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

“Smart Work Zones” Can Keep Workers Safe On Roads And Highways

When there's road work to be done, crews put up cones, barrels and fences to keep workers safe. Now a "smart work" zone system being tested in Virginia could make those spaces even safer.

By |2024-12-14T10:48:47-05:00May 27, 2022|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

AI Can Detect Sarcasm Now, Isn’t That Just So Great

DARPA’s Information Innovation Office and researchers at the University of Central Florida taught a deep learning algorithm to spot sarcasm by feeding it back articles of The Onion and snarky threads from Twitter and Reddit. I'm so excited.

By |2024-12-15T15:28:07-05:00May 28, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , |

If You’re On Vacation, Eat Something Large And Weird

The roadside diner is a staple of American travel. And some restaurants make the food a kind of roadside attraction, often by creating meals that are too big to be believed, and often too big to be consumed in one sitting.

By |2024-12-07T20:12:05-05:00August 30, 2019|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , |

How To See The Lower 48 States In One Road Trip

Randal S. Olson developed a computer algorithm to find the shortest, most efficient way to drive through all 48 contiguous United States - 13,699 miles and around 224 hours of driving.

By |2024-12-04T05:40:39-05:00August 27, 2019|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

A Bike Trip Around The World With A Cat

Dean Nicholson left his job and started a bike trip across the world. While riding through Bosnia, he heard a “desperate meow." So, instead of riding solo, he decided the cat would come along.

By |2024-12-13T07:25:32-05:00August 26, 2019|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |
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