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.
976
Fri. 10/23 - The Bat Who Went To Space
Do Venus Flytraps have a short-term memory? A new interactive database of every lifeform that’s ever gone into space from Earth. The Seattle bar that made a pandemic-safe pinball machine. And Burger King is getting in on the zero-waste game with...
13 min
977
Thu. 10/22 - The Rare Tree Needed for a COVID-1...
What does root beer have to do with a potential COVID-19 vaccine? A deep dive on that connection. A peek into the world of people who grow giant vegetables. And the Iowa woman who had her cat successfully cloned. Sponsors: Fitbod, Get one month free...
16 min
978
Wed. 10/21 - Co-Working On A Ferris Wheel
Today is International Pronoun Day so here are some historical facts about pronouns. Scientists have discovered a previously unknown organ in the human body. And forget about WeWork, a Japanese amusement park has offered up their ferris wheel as a...
14 min
979
Tue. 10/20 - Tardigrade Sunscreen & Cursed Twin...
Tardigrade sunscreen. Coming soon? How to enjoy a socially-distanced holiday season. Some promising methods for upcycling plastic into more valuable materials. And the curious case of the extremely moldy Twinkie. Sponsors: Fitbod, Get one month free...
16 min
980
Mon. 10/19 - The Moon Is Getting a Nokia Cellul...
The fourteen-year-old Texan who may have just made an important discovery for potential COVID-19 treatments. An update on the safety and new norms surrounding air travel. Nokia is building a mobile network on the moon. And the website that’s...
15 min
981
Fri. 10/16 - Will Plastic Bubbles Save Live Mus...
More and more humans these days have an extra artery. The 2020 Tony Award nominations and the very strange case of Mr. Aaron Tveit. A calculator that will tell you how much time you’re wasting in your day not listening to podcasts. And The Flaming...
13 min
982
Thu. 10/15 – 50/50 Odds We Live In a Simulation...
A new study puts our odds of living in a simulation at about 50-50. So, that’s a thing. There has been a second sighting of a person on a jetpack flying through LAX’s flight path. And tips to curb your phone habit, adapted from methods used to...
16 min
983
Wed. 10/14 - Can Virtual Public Parks Save Demo...
A thought-provoking proposal from Eli Pariser on how we can fix the broken parts of the internet by creating digital public parks. NASA drops their latest single: the sounds of the Milky Way. And how to make your own AR jack o’lantern using an...
13 min
984
Tue. 10/13 - A Star Spaghettified By a Black Ho...
What’s up with all those merpeople and sea monsters on old maps? Why Peru opened up Machu Picchu after seven months for one single man to visit. The supermassive black hole that spaghettified a star. And the Anti-Ad Ad Club paying influencers to...
18 min
985
Mon. 10/12 - The Indigenous Practice of Control...
It’s Indigenous People’s Day today. How and when did this start becoming a thing? How west coast governments are finally turning to tribal leaders for assistance preventing wildfires. A serious collaboration between Weird Al Yankovic and Portugal....
16 min
986
Fri. 10/09 - What OS Do They Use In Space?
What kind of operating system do they use in space? The science behind cocktails, to up your at-home mixology game. The 22-year-old responsible for the most viral beats on Tiktok. And the Connecticut mayor who isn’t taking any of John Oliver’s...
18 min
987
Thu. 10/08 – 1000 Years Before Darwin, Islamic ...
The Islamic scholars who beat Darwin to the punch by about a thousand years. A cool site for finding new books to read. The world’s largest ouija board. And naked celebrities teaching us about naked ballots. Links: (Vice) (Rob Allam,...
16 min
988
Wed. 10/07 - Paid to Gate-Crash Funerals
The twenty-four possible super-habitable planets that could be better than Earth. The man you can pay to gatecrash your funeral. The perfect conclusion to the skateboarding cranberry juice trend, and what the heck that trend was. And the winner of Fat...
15 min
989
Tue. 10/06 - Asbestos: The Secret Weapon Agains...
How the pandemic is changing our taste in music. The most ironic thing that could happen to a newly-published book titled Word Perfect. How asbestos might actually be a weapon against the climate crisis. And a Rocky Horror Picture Show-themed monument...
16 min
990
Mon. 10/05 - Vending Machine Operators Are Tren...
Archaeologists have found evidence of neurons in the brain of a Mount Vesuvius victim that basically turned to glass. The latest entrepreneurial trend of the pandemic taking off, in part thanks to influencers? Vending machine ownership. A Wikipedia...
15 min
991
Fri. 10/02 - Witchy Ingredients Aren't What The...
It turns out crows have some skills we once thought were unique to humans. Breaking down what exactly ingredients like “eye of newt” and “tongue of dog” actually are. And Neil Cicierega’s latest mash-up album, Mouth Dreams, is here to bring...
18 min
992
Thu. 10/01 - The Earth Does NOT Have a Black Ho...
Why are people saying there’s a black hole at the center of the Earth? The Irish Supreme Court declares that Subway’s bread is not actually bread. The surprising controllers the US Navy uses for its subway periscopes. And winter is coming. So here...
19 min
993
Wed. 09/30 - Edward Hopper Copied Others in Ear...
A guide to the lunar spectacles in October. Some tips for improving communication when wearing masks. The surprising discovery that some of Edward Hopper’s early works were copied. And the wearable social-distancing tech allowing the London Marathon...
16 min
994
Tue. 09/29 - The Dark Origins of Nike's "Just D...
A Halloween rocket launch. A brief peek into the history of book burnings in honor of Banned Books Week. The surprising and grim origins of Nike’s “Just Do It” slogan. More water has been found on Mars. And the return of Fat Bear Week. Links: ...
15 min
995
Mon. 09/28 - Time Travel, Biomedical Tattoos, &...
An undergrad has proven that paradox-free time travel is indeed possible. If you thought email newsletters were ubiquitous now, let me introduce you to the world of 1930s mimeograph newsletters. The emerging field of biomedical tattoos. And the...
17 min
996
Fri. 09/25 - Making Millions on Face Masks
The face mask economy––how everyone from high fashion designers to mom and pop shops on Etsy met the demand, and where they go from here. The origins of the phrase “jack of all trades.” Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to fund polling...
16 min
997
Thu. 09/24 - The Secret Mancave Beneath Grand C...
A guide to saying no for people-pleaser’s. A recently discovered secret party room located under Grand Central Terminal and other strange breaking news from the New York City subway. Experts weigh in on why humans evolved to have butts. And the...
17 min
998
Wed. 09/23 - Eat a Five Star Dinner, From Your Car
A new discovery indicates chromium is about a thousand years older than we thought. Why it’s sometimes better not to use your full potential on things. A group of chefs trying to make drive-thru fine dining a thing. And an Enola Holmes PR stunt from...
17 min
999
Tue. 09/22 - Horror Fans Fare Better During the...
A new study has found that fans of horror movies are having an easier time coping with the pandemic. The woman who serves as the Queen of England’s body double. A new species of dinosaur discovered with perfectly preserved fossils in China. And a...
13 min
1000
Mon. 09/21 - Get Vacation Stress-Relief Without...
Why do we eat fish sticks? The story behind those viral annual 21st of September videos. How to get the mental health benefits of “vacation anticipation” without going on vacation. And one of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s favorite teachers. ...
15 min