Cool Stuff Ride Home
Covering the most interesting and coolest stories that you may have missed around the world in about 15 minutes a day. Cool Stuff Ride Home looks at science, progress, life-hacks, memes, exciting art, and hope. This is the antidote to depressing headlines. Smart stuff in podcast form. Cool news, as a service.
Hosted by Reggie Risseeuw and Marques Pfaff.
526
Mon. 08/22 - They've Got 57 Varieties, But Toma...
A dive into the viscous depths of the unshakeable ketchup bottle and its 57 different origin stories. Plus, NASA released the sound of an actual black hole. And expected and unexpected chicken wing news. Sponsors: Indeed, Get a free $75 credit PLUS...
17 min
527
Fri. 08/19 - Competitive Lifesaving & Mullet Ch...
Competitive lifesaving and the USA Mullet Championships. Just a couple of niche competitions to kick off your weekend with. Plus, a possible new method for removing those pernicious “forever chemicals” from rain water. Sponsors: Kolide, Got...
15 min
528
Thu. 08/18 - Ancient Butt-less Sea Creature NOT...
Could a century-old vaccine help protect against future epidemics? Plus, it turns out our oldest ancestor is not a half a billion year old sea creature with a mouth but no butt. And next month, the first Native American woman will be going to space....
16 min
529
Wed. 08/17 - Elektronik Supersonik
American Airlines has signed up for a supersonic boost. Plus, how to find the sweetest watermelon, and a brief history of the fruit. And Papa Johns is throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks… and coincidentally that seems to be the same...
17 min
530
Tue. 08/16 - De-Extincting Tasmanian Tigers
The team trying to bring the woolly mammoth back from extinction is doing a trial run with Tasmanian tigers, funded in part by the Hemsworth brothers. Plus, NASA’s megarocket that will return humans to the moon and, perhaps one day take humans to...
16 min
531
Mon. 08/15 - Exy McExoplanet
This one weird baking trick could make your cookies healthier and decrease waste in your home. Plus, the not-quite-net-positive potential in Greenland’s melting Arctic ice cover. Your chance to officially name an exoplanet. And a new law requiring...
15 min
532
Fri. 08/12 - Micro-Robots Brushing Your Teeth?
Could chewing gum and micro-robots replace your toothbrush? Plus, a Lord Byron-themed RPG. And get paid to indulge in every pumpkin-spiced item at Trader Joe’s. Sponsors: Bambee, Schedule a conversation at Indeed, Get a free $75 credit PLUS earn...
15 min
533
Thu. 08/11 - Bog Butter Blogs & Predator's Food...
The science and history of bog butter–––still edible butter buried in Irish bogs thousands of years ago. Plus, the first-ever feature film dubbed entirely in the Comanche language, and more cool takeaways from the latest Predator installment. A...
18 min
534
Wed. 08/10 - Mary Shelley & the Cryogenic Tablo...
The story of the 197-year-old frozen gentleman–––a tale that will take us from unprecedented weather events and the 19th century version of misinformation to Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, a 1980s medical miracle, and brief shout-out to the OG...
18 min
535
Tue. 08/09 - Excel eSports Championships
The exciting world of Excel eSports. Plus, a Native American tribe who has had their land returned to them after 350 years. The top scientist who caused a big stir with a tiny bit of sausage. And a group of spiders that have been named after David...
16 min
536
Mon. 08/08 - Do We REALLY Need Mosquitoes?
What would happen if we just Thanos-snapped all the mosquitoes out of existence? Would there be significantly adverse effects? Plus, from heat indexes to physiology, why the same temperature can feel so different in two different places, or even at...
15 min
537
Fri. 08/05 - Your Brain On Horror
Let’s talk about your brain on horror movies. Plus, Mark Cuban wants to turn a Texas town into Jurassic Park. And a virtual map that lets you see what your town looked like millions of years ago. Sponsor: Kolide, Got Slack? Got Macs? Get Kolide:...
17 min
538
Thu. 08/04 - The Hazy History of the IPA
A deep dive into the history of the IPA. What exactly is an IPA anyways? How did it get its name? And why did it become so ubiquitous over the last decade? Plus a very brief look at South Korea’s first-ever moon mission, launching this evening....
15 min
539
Wed. 08/03 - Cheese Baths
Cheese baths––a nineteenth century fad coming back in style. Plus, Shaun the Sheep is officially going to the moon later this month, alongside 10,000 other trinkets. And a volcano has erupted near the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik, but all seems...
17 min
540
Tue. 08/02 - Smell-O-Vision Meets VR
Virtual Reality doesn’t stink. And that’s kind of a problem. Why virtual smell could take the VR experience to the next level. Plus, a paper battery that’s activated by adding water. And you could get paid $100K a year to sit on your couch and...
17 min
541
Mon. 08/01 - Early Europeans Drank Milk Despite...
The first major study of its kind sheds new light on the evolution of all you mutants who can digest dairy. Plus, engineers at MIT have developed a wearable sticker that can see inside your body. And, was George Jetson born over the weekend? Sponsor: ...
17 min
542
Fri. 07/29 - Shark Attacks, Moon Caves, & Murde...
How likely are you really to get bit by a shark and do some of those cliché comparisons still hold up as waters warm and shark sightings seem to be on the rise? Plus, future lunar explorers could enjoy year round sweater weather in moon caves. And...
16 min
543
Thu. 07/28 - No, This Isn't Scientific Evidence...
Why a new discovery about plesiosaurs has gotten everyone talking about the Loch Ness Monster. Plus, the oldest DNA from a horse domesticated in America might have solved a centuries-old mystery. And the scoop on that thirteen-eyed anthropomorphic...
18 min
544
Wed. 07/27 - Netflix "Lucas-ing" Stranger Things
Cryptographers have identified the first known secure global communication system, in the form of nineteenth century newspaper ads. Plus, a fourth patient has been effectively cured of HIV. And Netflix is retroactively editing Stranger Things. The...
18 min
545
Tue. 07/26 - The Best Failed Inventions
Let’s take a visit to the Museum of Failure. Plus, robot spider zombies. Not a new comic book series, but an actual experiment from mechanical engineers in Texas. And the Earth’s earliest animal predator has been named after David Attenborough....
16 min
546
Mon. 07/25 - When Did NASA Logos Become Fashion...
The world’s first verified image of Mormonism founder Joseph Smith has been found… but it’s not convincing everyone just yet. And how did the NASA logo become so ubiquitous in clothing from fashion runways to rural Walmarts? Sponsors: Kolide,...
15 min
547
Fri. 07/22 – Home Depot's Got (Giant) Crabs
Why do we laugh and what causes us to do so? Was laughing at one point an evolutionary advantage? Plus, the reason for a mysterious pink glow over a small Australian town on Wednesday. And the latest contender in Home Depot’s line of extremely large...
18 min
548
Thu. 07/21 - TikTok is Oozing Pink Sauce
A product that could help you hear the person you’re trying to have a conversation with in a loud, crowded room. Plus, a follow-up on why Unicode is adding so many more colored hearts in the next emoji drop. There was more to the story than I...
14 min
549
Wed. 07/20 - Real-Life Quidditch Changes Its Name
The real-life sport inspired by quidditch has announced their new name––and I have a lot of thoughts. Plus, a few companies in Japan have introduced standing “nap boxes” into their offices. And on the anniversary of the moon landing, NASA has...
19 min
550
Tue. 07/19 - DIY 4 Lyfe & Death
Three species frozen in time within one single piece of amber. Plus, the DIYers building their own coffins. And Costco has promised not to raise the price of their rotisserie chickens, but is that a good thing? Sponsors: Kolide, Got Slack? Got Macs?...
15 min