This week we’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about our neighbors in the solar system. In this episode from July 2022, the story of Venetia Burney, who at age eleven did something few people have done: she named a planet! Plus: the people of Ripon, Wisconsin team up to make the world’s largest chocolate chip cookie.

⁠Venetia Burney Phair (1918-2009)⁠ (NASA)

⁠Ripon's signature Cookie Daze has been discontinued, chamber cites closure of cookie factory⁠ (Ripon Press)

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This week we’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about our neighbors in the solar system. In this episode from October 2021, we find out whether scientists who study Uranus think the many jokes humans make about the seventh planet are funny. Plus: a visit to a magic shop in Burnsville, Minnesota that's the oldest in the US. 

⁠Here’s What Uranus Scientists Think About Your Disgusting Jokes⁠ (Futurism)

⁠The Oldest Magic Shop In The U.S. Is Right Here In Minnesota, And It’s Full Of Enchanting Fun⁠ (Only in Minnesota)

⁠No joke, our Patreon backers are out of this world

Ahead of World Baking Day, we look at the history of a baking and TV legend, the Pillsbury Doughboy. But did you know about his full name and his doughy relatives? Plus: today in Iowa, it’s day two of the three day Orange City Tulip Festival. 

Meet the Pillsbury Doughboy’s Family! (Huffington Post)

The Doughboy is 50! (General Mills)

Orange City Tulip Festival 

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Today in 1882 inventor Maria Beasley received the patent for what's probably her most well-known invention, a collapsible life raft. But Beasley was one of those inventors who came up with idea after idea in a bunch of fields, so there's lots more to her story. Plus: starting tomorrow in Nixa, Missouri, it’s Nixa Sucker Days.

Maria Beasley: Engineering dynamo (Go! Magazine via Iowa State University Institute for Transportation) 

NIXA SUCKER DAYS 

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There's a little Spanish enclave in southwestern France, and in the 1980s a dispute over a road between that community and the rest of Spain became known as a "war of the stop signs." Plus: when Harriet Richardson emailed a local church with some punny ideas for their sign, the church gave her a sign of her own.

The Spanish town that ended up in France (El Pais)

PLEASE STOP EMAILING US HARRIET. The internet is still good, people are still good. (Kottke.org)

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Today in 2005, test pilot Didier Delsalle took a helicopter where a helicopter had never gone before: the summit of Mount Everest. Plus: could cargo drones lug gear up and down the world's tallest mountain so that Sherpas and others climbers don't have to put themselves at risk to do it?

Landing on Everest: Didier Delsalle Recalls his Record Flight (Vertical Magazine)

Could Flying Drones Save Lives on Mount Everest? (Outside)

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This month in 2014, the debut of Mr. Trash Wheel! He’s become a social media sensation for his giant googly eyes and his dedication to cleaning up Baltimore’s waterfront. Plus: this month in 1984, the first online grocery order, by a retiree using her TV remote control (!)

Baltimore’s Trash Wheel family celebrating 10 years of cleaner water (WBAL)

Mr. Trash Wheel cleans up Baltimore Harbor with a dash of humor (PBS Newshour)

Online shopping: The pensioner who pioneered a home shopping revolution (BBC)

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Today in 1907, the birthday of Finnish Olympic gold medalist Kalle Jalkanen. His relay team had a big come from behind victory in the 1936 Winter Games, but what legend says happened along the way is an even more unusual part of the story. Plus: If you’re celebrating Mother’s Day this Sunday, you could head to St. Petersburg, Florida, which is home to the Museum of Motherhood.

The death of Finland's ski king was arcstained - Major executed four prisoners of war (Iltalehti) 

Museum of Motherhood 

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Today in 2007, the New York Times published a feature story on Kool Aid pickles, a sweet and sour treat that found some diehard fans in the southern US. Plus: officials in North Yorkshire, England say that to avoid issues with their geographic computer systems, their street signs will henceforth have no apostrophes. 

A Sweet So Sour: Kool-Aid Dills (New York Times)

North Yorkshire Council to phase out apostrophe use on street signs (BBC)

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For National Have A Coke Day, a look at the time a few decades ago when Coke encouraged people not to drink something great, but to choose OK Soda. Plus: starting today in Homer, Alaska, it’s the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival.

The Strange Story Of "OK Soda" (Buzzfeed)

KACHEMAK BAY SHOREBIRD FESTIVAL 

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