Guitars as we know them date back to 16th century Europe, but stringed instruments have been around for even longer. And the earliest guitar-like instrument we've been able to find appears to have belonged to Har-Mose, who played for Queen Hatshepsut 3500 years ago in ancient Egypt. Plus: it's National Weatherpersons Day, and boy are we getting lots of weather at our show's HQ. 

Guitar: The Instrument That Rocked The World (Visit Omaha)

A Brief History of the Guitar (Science of Rock)

5 Facts About the Trickiness of Weather Forecasting (Mental Floss)

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It was today in 1932 that the makers of the cheese curl (or one of them, there are several origin stories) applied for a patent for their creation. Only their creation was supposed to be something entirely different. Plus: LEGO City is a bustling place, and some fans are hoping it will add bike lanes for LEGO riders. 

Junk Food’s Happiest Accident (Tedium)

Elmer's Cheesy History (Elmer's CheeWees)

LEGO bike lanes might be on their way thanks to this idea (Designboom)

This podcast and its backers on Patreon are a delicious combination

A new website called the Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction is taking us back through the words that have made sci-fi what it is and showing how much this genre has shaped popular culture. Plus: meet a planet that's barely orbiting a brown dwarf, some 450 light years from earth, a spot in the actual universe that seems more like science fiction. 

A New Way to Trace the History of Sci-Fi’s Made-Up Words (WIRED)

The Weirdest Binary: Planet and Not-a-Star Barely Orbit Each Other (Bad Astronomy)

Space is the place for us and our backers on Patreon, join us!

Sagarmatha, aka Mount Everest, is the world's highest mountain, and the site of a growing environmental problem. A new initiative wants to remove trash and recyclables from the peak and turn some of them into art. Plus: a year after its founding, the Black Art Library is bringing new attention to great Black visual artists and is itself an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.

A Museum in the Himalayas Has a Solution for the Tons of Trash Climbers Leave on Mount Everest: Turn It Into Art (Artnet)

Black Art Library is a resource of rare publications highlighting the work of Black artists (It's Nice That)

Join us as a backer on Patreon and together we'll make some great art

On this day in 1976, Elvis Presley apparently got so excited describing the Fool's Gold sandwich, made at a restaurant in Denver, that he flew to Denver that night to eat it, only to fly right back to Memphis when he was done. And that's not the only food Elvis loved; did you know about his penchant for BBQ bologna? 

Elvis Presley’s “Fool’s Gold” sandwich was born in Denver (Denver Post)

A Dish Fit for a King (NPR)

Well you can do anything but don't step on our Patreon backers' shoes

Champ and Major are the new White House dogs, but there have been lots of pets at the president's house over the years, including Rebecca the raccoon, who definitely left her mark on the place during Calvin Coolidge's presidency. Plus: a company in the UK just made a 500-plus pound protein bar. Do you eat it to refuel after an ultramarathon, maybe? 

When Rebecca the Raccoon Ruled the White House (Library of Congress)

Calvin Coolidge’s Reuben (Presidential Pet Museum)

British company creates world's largest protein bar (UPI)

Our Patreon backers deserve any pet they like, even a presidential raccoon

The next Mars rover is set to land next month, and it's equipped with microphones to make the first audio recordings on another planet. So how does sound work on Mars, which has about 1 percent of the atmosphere Earth does? Plus: Saturn's ringed moon Rhea is getting a chemical coating that likely started on another moon. 

New Mars rover may collect first sounds recorded on another planet (UPI)

Saturn's Moon Rhea Has A Mysterious Material On Its Surface (Inverse)

Cool Weird Awesome's Patreon backers are the best backers in the whole solar system

It was on this day in 1955 that began a promotional campaign for the ages: where you could buy a box of cereal and find a deed to some land inside each specially marked box. Plus: a guy in the UK was trying to spot birds, but instead found 1,300 handmade gold coins nearly 2,000 years old. 

The Yukon Square Inch Land Rush of 1955 (Amusing Planet)

British Birdwatcher Accidentally Discovers 1,300 Pieces of Buried Treasure (My Modern Met)

We don't have land for our Patreon backers, but we do have some pretty great extras

On this day in 1917, a massive storm destroyed most of the small village of Hallsands, in southern England. Nearly everyone in town moved away after that, but one resident, Elizabeth Prettejohn, stayed for the rest of her life, until the mid 1960s. Plus: why a university in Melbourne, Australia has an upside-down statue. 

The strange but true life of Elizabeth Prettejohn who lived alone in ruined Hallsands (Devon Live)

Upside Down Statue (Atlas Obscura)

You're never alone as a Cool Weird Awesome backer on Patreon

Today's an interesting anniversary for those of us doing virtual meetings, parties and play dates: the anniversary of the first transcontinental conference call, starting at the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition in San Francisco and calling a very special guest in New York. Plus: a restaurant in Montreal is winning fans for a menu which weighs the pros and cons of the restaurant's own dishes. 

This 1915 conference call made history (Computer World)

Flashback 1914: Transcontinental Phone Line Finished (Sound & Vision)

'We are simply not the best,' Montreal restaurateur says of his very honest menu (As It Happens)

Our Patreon backers really are the best