This week We’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about some of our favorite rock musicians. In this episode from October 2020, we remember guitar great Eddie Van Halen. His band won millions of fans on record and offstage, and won a reputation for offstage excess. But one of their most infamous stories - that they banned brown M&Ms from backstage - wasn't quite what it seemed. Plus: a Gloria Estefan hit gets a heavy metal treatment on YouTube. 

Did Van Halen’s Concert Contract Require the Removal of Brown M&Ms? (Snopes)

A Headbashingly Good Metal Cover of Gloria Estefan’s Conga (Geeks Are Sexy)

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This is one of the great technological and social breakthroughs of our time: scientists have figured out how parrots can do video calls with each other, and they love it! Plus: today in West Frankfort, Illinois, it’s day two of the Old King Coal Festival.  

Parrots Taught to Video Call Each Other Show Increased Happiness According to New Study (My Modern Met)  

2023 Old King Coal Festival (Enjoy Illinois)

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Today in 1858 Minnesota became the 32nd state in the Union. There's a part of the state that's on the other side of a lake from the rest, which means anyone who wants to drive from the Northwest Angle to the rest of Minnesota has to drive through Canada. Plus: there's a Minnesota-shaped forest on the other side of that same lake.

Minnesota's Northwest Angle, an American geographic oddity (CBS News)

Somebody Made A Forest Shaped Exactly Like Minnesota And It Is Absolutely Incredible (Only In Minnesota)

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National Train Day is coming up this weekend, so we'll take a look at a railroad that doesn't get a lot of attention, the one NASA has used to move parts and supplies to and from Kennedy Space Center. Plus: today in 1806, the birthday of James Shields, the only person who's served as US Senator from three different states.

Critical to the Countdown: The NASA Railroad (Southeastern Railway Museum)

Senator for Three States (US Senate)

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We’ve talked a lot on the show about the many different skills robots are learning. Now we can tell you about Experimental Sport Tennis Wheelchair Robot, which is learning to play tennis. Plus: the startup GaeaStar is 3D printing disposable coffee cups made of clay. When you're finished, you can just toss it on the ground and it'll turn back into dirt.

Tennis Robot Could Pave Way for Advancement in Fast-Movement Robotics (Georgia Tech)

The Coffee Cups Made From Dirt: Smash Them on the Ground and Walk Away (CNET)

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Today in 2006, IT job candidate Guy Goma rose to the occasion when a BBC TV producer mistakenly brought him onto a live show to talk about the internet, even though they were actually supposed to interview a different Guy on the air. Plus: the website Brilliant Maps used AI to make 19 world maps as if they’d been drawn by famous artists. 

It's Been 10 Years Since the Wrong Guy Analyzed the Internet for the BBC (TIME)

19 World Maps In The Style of Famous Artists (Brilliant Maps)

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Today in 1965 the launch of what is the oldest functioning object in Earth orbit, Lincoln Calibration Sphere 1. To say it's "functioning" might be overstating things, since all it does it sit up there, but it's still had a big impact on science. Plus: tomorrow in Burlington, North Carolina, the start of the annual Carousel Festival.

The Oldest Functioning Satellite (Amusing Planet)

32nd Annual Burlington Carousel Festival

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Today in 2021, the BBC reported on a very unusual happening: a farmer in Belgium accidentally redrew the country’s border with France. Plus: it’s National Orange Juice Day, and fans may head to Houston, Texas to hang out at the folk art space known as The Orange Show.

Belgian farmer accidentally moves French border (BBC)

The Orange Show is a folk art installation dedicated to a beloved citrus fruit (Boing Boing)

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Today in 1966, NBC’s “The Tonight Show” turned Twister, a board game that might have fallen through the cracks, into a big hit. Plus: the new photo book “Most Touched” features the unique and sometimes striking designs of door handles.

How Johnny Carson Saved Twister (History.com)

'most touched' photo book gathers more than 1,000 door handles from around the world (designboom)

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It's our 1000th episode! To celebrate, here's the story of a guy this month in 1929 who won a bet by proving he could push a peanut all the way up Pikes Peak with his nose. Plus: a prisoner tries a novel way to get out from behind bars.

Colorado Springs man hopes to be the fourth person to push a peanut up Pikes Peak with his nose (Colorado Public Radio)

MISCELLANY: Miscellany, may 2, 1960 (TIME)

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