This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about music that sounds a little different. In this episode from April 2020, music scholars at Cambridge University studied musical manuscripts without modern notation and reconstructed what they would have sounded like. Plus: in 1982 Key West,  Florida declared independence from – and war on – the United States. For not very long.

First performance in 1,000 years: ‘lost’ songs from the Middle Ages are brought back to life (Cambridge University)

That Time the Florida Keys Tried to Secede from the US by Dropping Conch Fritter Bombs (Vice)

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This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about music that sounds a little different. In this episode from April 2020, it's the story of the American Beetles - a knockoff band that toured South  America, without quite telling everyone they weren't the genuine article. Plus: Spanish artist Bichopalo is not only making beautiful music, he's making beautiful musical instruments, too.

How the fake Beatles conned South America (BBC)

Beautiful Musical Machines Perform Otherworldly Tunes (Geeks Are Sexy)

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This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about music that sounds a little different. In this episode from September 2020, we look at an organ in Germany that is, for more than 600 years, trying to play a John Cage score the way he wanted it to be played: "As Slow As Possible." Plus: a YouTuber trains his cat to put out fires, sort  of.

John Cage musical work changes chord for first time in seven years (BBC)

I Trained My Cat To Put Out Fires (William Osman on YouTube)

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This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about music that sounds a little different. In this episode from August 2020 we look at the Oomphalapompatronium, a creation of Boston-area musician,  composer and inventor Len Solomon. And it definitely fits the name.  Speaking of words that fit with what they describe, did you know about  the word "aptronym"?

Meet the Guy Who Invented the Oomphalapompatronium (Wired)

Aptronym (Raven the Science Maven on Twitter)

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This week we're replaying some of our favorite episodes about music that sounds a little different. In this episode from April 2019, we visit Organ Piper Pizza in Greenfield, Wisconsin. As you eat, an organist plays an enormous  Wurlitzer organ, which also controls stage lights, disco balls, a mechanical gymnast and a family of singing ducks. Plus - a story that's, amazingly, not an April Fool's Day prank, in which police in Madrid  respond to a guy on a bus sharpening a big carving knife (!)

The Carlson Kids Visit Organ Piper Pizza (YouTube)

Remembering the Dining Fad of 'Pizza and Pipes' (CityLab)

False alarm: Knife-wielding man on Metro revealed to be expert ham cutter (El Pais)

It’s Portugal Day, and no doubt there will be celebrations across the country, including the capital city, Lisbon. Though there was a time in the 19th century when the capital of Portugal was not only outside Lisbon, it was outside Portugal. Plus: Today in 1972, the number one song on the Billboard pop chart was “The Candy Man” by Sammy Davis Jr. He recorded it in just two takes, convinced the song would wreck his career. 

Due to the Napoleonic Wars, the capital of Portugal was moved from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro for thirteen years. (The Vintage News)

The Number Ones: Sammy Davis Jr.’s “The Candy Man” (Stereogum)

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This past Monday was National Day in Sweden, but it's Thursday that the real fun gets underway, because that’s when people eat pea soup and pancakes. Together. Plus: graduating seniors at Basha High School in Chandler, Arizona celebrate the end of the school year with the Paper Toss. 

PEA SOUP AND PANCAKES – SWEDEN’S THURSDAY FAVOURITE (Routes North)

Basha High School end of year paper toss video goes viral (ABC 15)

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Today in 1867, Frank Lloyd Wright was born. He would go on to design some of the most striking buildings ever built, from houses, to museums, to office buildings to... gas stations. Plus: some of Wright's many other designs were never built, though now they’re being brought to life in virtual reality thanks to 3D rendering. 

Lindholm Oil Company Service Station (FrankLloydWright.org)

Three unbuilt Frank Lloyd Wright houses are brought to life as digital reconstructions (designboom)

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Firefighting is dangerous work, in part because of the exposure to dangerous chemicals. Researchers are learning more about those exposures thanks to a simple silicone wristband. Iceland’s new tourism program sets the country’s horses to work on giant keyboards, sending out-of-office emails to your bosses and colleagues so you don’t have to.

How a $1 wristband could help track firefighters exposure to cancer-causing chemicals (CBS 17)

Iceland Has Horses That Will Respond To Work Emails on a Giant Keyboard While You’re on Vacation (My Modern Met)

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Today in 1933, Camden, New Jersey became the site of the very first drive-in movie theater. Here's the story of Richard Hollingshead, who brought movies outside so people could drive right up to the picture. Plus: a new watercraft that sure sounds like it’s out of a movie. 

June 6, 1933: The Era of Drive-In Movies Begins (Newspapers.com)

All Aboard the Party Submarine (UrbanDaddy)

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