There’s new research out that suggests that for those trying to eat healthy, bigger is better - at least when it comes to font sizes on parts of the menu. Plus: the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest has announced this year’s winner of the worst opening sentence to an unwritten novel.  

Font size can ‘nudge’ customers toward healthier food choices (Washington State University)

2023 Grand Prize Winner (Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest)

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This week we’re replaying some of our favorite past episodes about some delicious between-meal treats. In this episode from October 2019, we find out why candy corn has fans, not just detractors. After all, 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 favorite past episodes about some delicious between-meal treats. In this episode from May 2020, authorities in Belgium call on citizens to do their duty and help the country's potato farmers by ordering frites twice a week - fitting, since Belgium is home of the world's only Frietmuseum and considers itself the birthplace of the fried potato. Plus: today in 2008, the passing of the man who made the Pringles can possible. And he included that iconic tube of chips in his final wishes. 

Belgians asked to eat fries twice a week (Brussels Times)

The Humble Origins Of The French Fry Might Surprise You (Food Republic)

Can Belgium Claim Ownership of the French Fry? (BBC)

The Man Buried in a Pringles Can (TIME)

Back Cool Weird Awesome for just $1 a month - just as good for your ears as fries are for your appetite

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite past episodes about some delicious between-meal treats. In this episode from December 2020, we take a closer look at the amazing and frequently disturbing history of gingerbread, including how one of the most famous royals of all time helped bring gingerbread people into the world. Plus: a lesson in patience from a musical great who made herself into a cookie-baking expert. 

The History of Gingerbread (PBS)

5 Facts You Probably Don't Know About Christmas Cookies (Food and Wine)

Neko Case: Pet Sounds (Spin)

There's nothing sweeter than our backers on Patreon

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite past episodes about some delicious between-meal treats. In this episode from February 2021, the makers of the cheese curl (or one of them, there are several origin stories) end with a creation that was supposed to be something entirely different. Plus: LEGO City is a

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

This week we’re replaying some of our favorite past episodes about some delicious between-meal treats. In this episode from April 2021, we mark National Pretzel Day with a deep dive into the history of this near-perfect snack. Plus: if you're hungry for pretzels, we'll tell you about a pretzel-themed restaurant in Maryland. 

The Religious History of Pretzels (Food and Wine)

History of Pretzels (The Spruce Eats)

The Pretzel: A Twisted History (History.com)

The Pretzel-Themed Restaurant In Maryland Where All Of Your Carby Dreams Come True (Only in Maryland)

We'd make homemade pretzels every day for our Patreon backers if we could

The second Friday in August is an exciting time in the Scottish community of South Queensferrry. That’s when the town holds an event that takes some explaining: the Burryman’s Parade. Plus: today in North Plains, Oregon, it's the annual Elephant Garlic festival.

'Not many people can say they are the Burryman' (The Scotsman)

North Plains Elephant Garlic Festival

How about a parade of backers head over to our Patreon page?

Today in 1995 one of the most unusual endings to a big league baseball game ever: an umpire called a forfeit after the fans showered the field with souvenir baseballs. Plus: starting tomorrow in Williston, North Dakota, it's the 2023 North Dakota Chokecherry Festival.

The crazy story behind MLB’s last forfeit (MLB.com) 

2023 North Dakota Chokecherry Festival

You can have a ball as one of our backers on Patreon

This month in 1912, the community of Bisbee, Arizona decided to gamify its anti-bug response by offering rewards for the most avid fly-swatters. Plus: starting tomorrow in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, it’s the US Open Chainsaw Sculpture Championship.

The Bisbee fly-catching contest of 1912 (Boing Boing)

US Open Chainsaw Sculpture Championship

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For National Dollar Day, the story of the time a guy overseeing the printing of US money decided the best person to feature on that money was… himself. Plus: for International Cat Day, a look at a 19 foot long fiberglass cat in Pine Island, New York.

A Treasury Official in 1866 Put His Own Face on U.S. Currency (Atlas Obscura) 

The Biggest Cat In The World (WeirdNJ via YouTube)

For just 20 Spencer M. Clark bills a month (aka $1), you can back this show on Patreon