Nov 6th, 2008 · In 1983, Big Country wrote anthemic rock songs, but featured an unlikely lead instrument — the bagpipes. The unexpected sound of "In a Big Country" became a Top 20 single, but their debut album, The Crossing, offered so much more beyond its novelty.
Sep 3rd, 2008 · Once described as an "excitement merchant" for his soul-stirring sound, the keyboard whiz brought the Hammond B-3 organ from novelty status to the forefront of the jazz community through innovation and prolific recording.
Oct 19th, 2007 · The Solar Decathlon pits 20 colleges from the U.S. and abroad in designing, building and operating a solar house of a standard size. Veteran participants say the novelty is gone -- people now realize that future generations will eventually live in these structures.
Mar 6th, 2007 · Archie McPhees is a Seattle-based novelty store so big and quirky that the Smithsonian collects its catalogs as examples of pop culture.
Feb 3rd, 2006 · Until very recently in the football league's history, a black quarterback was unheard of in the NFL. Today there are still just a few, but they are no longer a novelty. Roy Hurst continues to be amazed by the sight of a black man leading a professional football team on the field.
Nov 28th, 2005 · Travel always seems exciting: the novelty of a different place, new experiences, the chance to meet new people. But it doesn't always turn out that way. Lonely Planet editor Don George has put together his own collection of "on the road" tales from famous to not-so-famous writers in a new travel anthology, By the Seat of My Pants: Humorous Tales of Travel and Misadventure.
Aug 22nd, 2005 · A compilation of Ethel Merman recordings from the '50s, The World is Your Balloon, collects songs she recorded for Decca Records. Few are songs Merman herself made famous.
Dec 19th, 2004 · One of the last novelty-item factories in the country, the S.S. Adams Company in Neptune, New Jersey, manufactures joy buzzers, whoopee cushions, and cans of jumping snakes. Mark Newgarden, author of Cheap Laffs: The Art of the Novelty Item, and NPR's Petra Mayer take a tour.