This week we're replaying some of our sweetest episodes of all time. In this episode from November 2020, we marked National Candy Day, and the day after Election Day, with a visit to the back row of the U.S. Senate chamber, where, for over half a century,  senators have kept a desk drawer filled with candy to share with colleagues. Plus: in Japan, candy is also fine art, thanks to the practice of amezaiku, or sculpting molten sugar syrup.

The History Of The Senate’s Sweet Candy Desk (DCist)

Reviving a Centuries-Old Japanese Confectionery Art (New York Times)

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This week we're replaying some of our sweetest episodes of all time. In this episode from December 2019, researchers in Switzerland say they’ve found a way to change the color of  chocolate, and without adding any colors or dyes to it. Instead, they  use a special imprint to give it a glowing, rainbow-y patina. Plus: the annual PeepsFest is getting underway, and they're going to do a ball  drop for New Year's with a giant Peep!

Making chocolate colourful (ETH Zurich)

PeepsFest

Happy New Year to everyone, especially our backers on Patreon!

This week we're replaying some of our sweetest episodes of all time. In this episode from October 2019 we marked National Candy Corn Day. While no candy gets more hassle around Halloween time than candy corn, it also has its fans. I mean, someone's eating those 9 billion pieces produced each year. Plus: a haunted house in Utah with an unforgettably creepy name.

The Saccharine History of Candy Corn (National Geographic)

2019 Strangling Brothers Haunted Circus (Visit Salt Lake)

Backing Cool Weird Awesome on Patreon is so, so sweet

This week we're replaying some of our sweetest episodes of all time. In this episode from June 2019, when I was traveling to Buffalo, New York for a book event, I decided to celebrate one of the city's beloved foods: sponge candy. Meanwhile, an ice cream shop in Buffalo has done what you might expect an ice cream shop in Buffalo to do: add Buffalo sauce to the ice cream.

Buffalo sponge candy (Atlas Obscura)

A treat with heat: Lake Effect Ice Cream unveils wing-sauce flavor (Buffalo News)

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This week we're replaying some of our sweetest episodes of all time. In this episode from April 2019, we look at Peeps, which are the stuff of candy and cultural legend. Not only are there billions of them produced, eaten and/or used in dioramas every year, there's a PeepsMobile, a converted Volkswagen Beetle with a giant yellow Peep on top, and there's PeepResearch.org - an entire website devoted to researching what happens to the candies when you mess with them.

The sticky, sugary history of Peeps (Vox)

Emory pair unlocks the mystery of Peeps (Emory University)

RAM 10th Annual International PEEPS Art Exhibition (Racine Art Museum)

Today is the anniversary of the release in 1954 of the classic monster movie “Creature From The Black Lagoon.” The woman who designed the creature, Milicent Patrick, was almost forgotten, but film lovers and fans have been working to make sure her story is told. Plus: for those who find working from home isn't really working, Japan has a solution that's increasingly popular: an office-in-a-box known as a Telecube. 

Movie monster maker Milicent Patrick finally gets her due in ‘The Lady From the Black Lagoon’ (Los Angeles Times)

Get your work done inside Tokyo’s first convenience store private working booth (Sora News 24)

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New research shows certain types of male butterflies can create an anti-pheromone they cover their partners in, hoping that the smelly chemical will ward off other males. Definitely not the most thoughtful Valentine's Day gift ever. Plus: data analysis shows the language people use about their relationships can predict a breakup months before it happens! 

Butterflies Mark Their Mates To Repel Other Suitors (University of Cambridge)

Reddit Study Reveals How Many Months It Takes To Get Over A Breakup (Inverse)

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Frost damage is a growing problem for fruit growers, but a team at Washington State University has developed a cellulose nanocrystal coating that can insulate the buds of grapes and cherries and keep them safe during cold snaps. Plus: a meteorologist who worked in Antarctica just got back the wallet he accidentally left there more than half a century ago. 

Cellulose nanocrystals insulate crops against frost damage (Washington State University)

San Diego man reunited with wallet lost in Antarctica 53 years ago (San Diego Union Tribune)

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Millions of people are wearing masks these days to protect themselves and others. And researchers in Australia have found a way to reuse those single-use, disposable masks to make new roads. Plus: it's National Pizza Day, so here's a very geometry-heavy way to slice up a pizza and still make it equal for two eaters. 

Used face masks can make roads: Aust study (The West Australian) 

The Pizza Theorem (Futility Closet)

We'd grab a pizza with our backers on Patreon

Building new schools can take lots of time and money, but a new initiative has developed a construction method using 3D printing that they say can put an entire classroom together in a week or less. Plus: a new photo project is recreating great images from fine art and pop culture, but with all the people and characters replaced by hot dogs!

The schools of the future can be built in less than a week (Fast Company)

Pop Culture and Fine Art Recreated With Hot Dogs (Laughing Squid)

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