At the corner of Brook and Oak Streets in Old Louisville sits a building that started out as the duPont Manual Training High School, back in 1892. When Dan Trabue moved to the neighborhood around 25 years ago, he noticed something curious near the building's roofline: six round medallions, each with a face staring out over the neighborhood. "I was curious who they were and I couldn't really see them that well," Dan says. "I asked around a little bit and looked online, didn't find anything, and I...
Jun 16, 2025•7 min
"Whose voice is that on the the walk sign at Douglass Loop and Bardstown Road? I go through that area quite a bit, and at some point I noticed that there was a voice, and that the voice didn't sound like they were from Louisville." That's what Dan Pike and many other people have been curious about over the years. So he sent his message to Curious Louisville, and LPM's Giselle Rhoden was up for the challenge. Have a burning question about our community? Visit curiouslouisville.org to share it, an...
Apr 14, 2025•6 min
You may have seen it while driving down Lexington road, away from downtown, just before Headliners Music Hall. A retaining wall in the side of the hill... with a door in the middle. What's behind it? It's a question we get a lot at Curious Louisville. On this episode, Ashlie Stevens takes us behind the door. More Info
Jan 31, 2020•4 min
For fourteen years, Robert Miles has seen cars in ditches, in neighbor’s yards and in his own fencing that borders the boundary of the horse farm his family owns. He lives off Todds Point Road in Shelby County. “It’s horrific, you’re taking your life in your hands every time you go through,” Miles said of a particular curve in the road. Todds Point is an idyllic rural road going through horse country. But it’s narrow, and doesn’t have white outer edge lines that could help drivers stay on the ro...
Nov 27, 2019•6 min
The United States prides itself on a kind of rugged individualism. We like to think we do things our own way here. So while the rest of the world uses the metric system, here in America, we use a system based on inches, feet, yards and miles. Except on a particular stretch of Louisville highway. Lots of you asked us why. On this episode, WFPL's Ashlie Stevens finds out. Curious Louisville wouldn't be possible without you! Click here to support the work we do : http://donate.curiouslouisville.org...
Jun 14, 2019•6 min•Ep. 42
Woody Woodpecker. Donald Duck. Iago from “Aladdin." Louie, the U of L cardinal. All these birds have something in common: at various points in their histories, they have been depicted with a full toothy grin. Which leads to our latest Curious Louisville question from Rachel Peterson: “Why does the U of L cardinal mascot have teeth?” “Birds don’t have teeth,” Rachel said. “I get that it’s trying to look fierce, but it’s just biologically inaccurate." WFPL’s Liz Schlemmer and Ashlie Stevens looked...
May 17, 2019•5 min•Ep. 41
Nadeem Saddiqui and his family recently moved to Valley Station, in the southeastern part of Louisville. "It's stereotypically not the most multi-cultural area of Louisville," he said. So it surprised him to see a street named Omar Khayyam Blvd. "It was a medieval Persian poet," he said. "Growing up my parents had a lot of books of his poetry." Nadeem wanted to know how this street came to be, in this neighborhood. So we went looking for the answer.
Apr 26, 2019•7 min•Ep. 40
Support Curious Louisville: Curious Louisville is all about you. You send us your questions, and we take you along with us on a search for the answer. It's people-powered. In fact, our whole organization here is people-powered -- it's because of your support that we can do the work we do. Join us with a pledge today , and we pledge in return to keep letting your curiosity be our guide! Click here to give . Thank you! History is full of untold stories, and today on Curious Louisville, we're telli...
Apr 04, 2019•5 min•Ep. 39
Is it art? Is it crime? A little bit of both? Whatever it is, it's part of your morning commute. "Every morning when I commute to work, no matter which way I go, I started to see more and more graffiti on the back of the signs," Joe Sullivan reported. "I saw it and I thought, I hope they take that down, because if they don't take it away, it's just going to embolden people to do more. And it seems to have." Joe says he sees the artistic talent on display in some graffiti. But he also thinks it's...
Mar 21, 2019•5 min•Ep. 38
Every year at the beginning of Lent, (the period in the Christian calendar between Ash Wednesday and Easter) WFPL publishes a guide to all the fish fries in Louisville. It's always one of our most popular stories of the year. There are Facebook groups dedicated solely to rating the different fish fries around town. And hundreds upon hundreds of people line up in our city's churches every Friday night to eat fried fish, hush puppies, and macaroni and cheese. This made US curious: Why exactly are ...
Mar 07, 2019•6 min•Ep. 37
Louisville is a city of neighborhoods. For a lot of people, where they live is a big part of their identity. And Curious Louisville listener Evan Patrick wondered about how one neighborhood developed an identity of its own. WFPL’s Ashlie Stevens looked into the answer.
Mar 05, 2019•3 min•Ep. 36
In the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, a young Muhammad Ali -- then called Cassius Clay -- defeated three-time European boxing champion Zbigniew Pietrzykowski. He returned to Louisville with a gold medal, which he wore around his neck for days afterwards; some biographers say he even slept with it around his neck. But then, the medal disappeared, and its fate has long been the topic of sports media speculation (despite the fact that he received a replacement medal in 1996). One prevailing theory i...
Feb 28, 2019•6 min•Ep. 35
It was supposed to be Louisville’s answer to the St. Louis arch. But in the press, it was eventually called ugly. A turkey A good idea gone bad. It’s been gone since 1998, but not entirely forgotten. In fact, it’s been on Curious Louisville listener Mark Friedland’s mind: Whatever happened to the Falls Fountain? In this edition of Curious Louisville, we find out the answer.
Feb 14, 2019•6 min•Ep. 34
If you're driving downtown near the river, you can't miss it: a brand new paint job in progress on the Clark Memorial Bridge . We've heard it compared to a school bus, a canary, and butter. Curious Louisville listener Allan Steinberg wanted to know how the color was chosen. (Allan's not a fan: "I was hoping it was only the primer!") WFPL's Amina Elahi went to Rebecca Metheny, the director of the Louisville Downtown Partnership. They're responsible for the paint job, and they also oversaw the KFC...
Jan 25, 2019•5 min•Ep. 33
In a park off of River Road, nearly hidden by scrubby grass is a mystery: an about 50-foot wide stone circle marking long-ago infrastructure. This ring intrigued Curious Louisville listener Jim Turner, and he asked about it. “I heard [the circle] was a wading pool administered by the Louisville Water Company in the late 1800's. Is that true?” he wrote. Turner grew up in Louisville, not far from the stone circle. He remembers riding his bike from Field Elementary to the waterworks on Zorn Avenue....
Jan 10, 2019•5 min•Ep. 32
In the middle of the Ohio River, visible from I-65 and Louisville’s Portland neighborhood, is a tiny island called “Shippingport.” You can drive to the base of the island, but you’ll be met with an array of “no trespassing” signs and wire gates. And Curious Louisville listener Ruby Fields wanted to know what was behind them.
Nov 09, 2018•4 min•Ep. 31
If you’re driving down I-64, and happen to look out over the Ohio River, you may catch a glimpse of a house-like structure on top of the 14th Street Bridge. It’s small -- barely noticeable -- but a lot of people have questions about it. Including our latest Curious Louisville listener. WFPL’s Ashlie Stevens has more.
Oct 03, 2018•3 min•Ep. 30
Over the last couple years, WFPL's Curious Louisville has received nearly a dozen questions about Louisville recycling. People want to know what happens after it leaves the curb, where it all goes, and how a 2017 Chinese policy impacts recycling in Kentucky. In this installment of Curious Louisville, WFPL’s Energy & Environment Reporter Ryan Van Velzer visits the largest recycling center in Louisville to answer one of our most commonly asked questions.
Oct 03, 2018•6 min•Ep. 29
Traffic signals: you barely notice them until they’re not working. But what actually causes them to malfunction? That's what a Curious Louisville listener wanted know; As WFPL's Amina Elahi found out the culprit is often power, or -- more accurately -- the lack of it. Here's more:
Oct 02, 2018•7 min•Ep. 28
What do Paul McCartney, Betty White and Muhammad Ali have in common? All three, along with about 100,000 other people, have been given the title “Kentucky Colonel.” But how does one gain the honor? That was listener Patrick Grantz’s question for Curious Louisville -- and our resident Kentucky Colonel, broadcast managing editor Rick Howlett, has the answer:
Oct 02, 2018•6 min•Ep. 27
If you listen to our sister station WFPK, or attended Forecastle in 2016, you’ve probably heard of Pokey LaFarge He’s an artist whose music, as NPR’s Stephen Thompson once said, “evokes the old-timey spirit of a thousand crackling 78 RPM records.” LaFarge is based in St. Louis, but lived in Louisville for a time, which is what inspired his 2015 song “Home Away From Home” -- and our latest Curious Louisville question from listener Troy Richardson. WFPL’s Ashlie Stevens has more:...
Oct 02, 2018•6 min•Ep. 26
Earlier this month, Curious Louisville asked what questions you have about the JCPS audit and possible state takeover. You sent us more than 50 in the first 24 hours, and we realized we’d need to dedicate some extra time to answer them all. Here's our hour-long news special, hosted by Kentucky Public Radio’s Ryland Barton and WFPL education reporter Roxanne Scott.
May 25, 2018•50 min•Ep. 25
Curious Louisville asked for your questions about the JCPS audit -- and you had lots of questions! In today’s edition, we take a look at the Jefferson County Teachers Association--also known as JCTA or the teachers union--to answer this question from former teacher, Paul Downs: "With JCTA and JCPS set to renegotiate a new contract for teachers this summer, what happens if the state takes over and the contract has not yet been negotiated?" WFPL's Laura Ellis and Roxanne Scott have the answers... ...
May 15, 2018•4 min•Ep. 24
Last month, the Kentucky Department of Education released an audit recommending the state take over Louisville’s public school system. Curious Louisville asked for your questions about the audit. Shawn Carroll and Karen Rippy wanted to know if there had been other state-takeovers in Kentucky. And if so, how were they working out? Ashlie Stevens talked to Kentucky Public Radio's Ryland Barton for the answer.
May 14, 2018•6 min•Ep. 23
As part of Curious Derby, we’ve reported on horse safety, injuries and even deaths while racing. But this caused Rob Harris from Louisville to wonder: "What happens to race horses once they retire, winners or not?" WFPL’s Ashlie Stevens went to a farm that specifically houses older thoroughbreds to find out the answer:
May 04, 2018•4 min•Ep. 22
When you watch the Kentucky Oaks tonight, look for a solid brown filly whose jockey is in orange and brown checkered silks. Her name is Chocolate Martini, and trainer Tom Amoss bought her at a claiming race. That got listener Elizabeth Jesse thinking. "So my best friend, her name is Hayley Amoss, and her dad is a trainer, Tom Amoss," Elizabeth said. "And he claimed a horse that’s actually running in the Oaks. Her name is Chocolate Martini and they only paid 25,000 for her. So that kind of sparke...
May 04, 2018•3 min•Ep. 21
It’s 34 notes in the key of C -- no sharps, no flats. And it means the next race is about 10 minutes away. You know it as the Call to the Post. Listener Hannah Zimmerman wanted to know where it came from, so WFPL's Laura Ellis went looking for the answer.
May 03, 2018•2 min•Ep. 20
During the most exciting two minutes in sports, a lot of people pay attention to the athleticism of the horses -- and with good reason. But have you ever wondered what type of physical conditioning it requires to guide and stay balanced on top of a 1000-pound racehorse? As part of our Curious Derby series, WFPL health reporter Lisa Gillespie looked into how jockeys stay in shape for races, and how they heal after injuries.
May 02, 2018•5 min•Ep. 19
Every horse racing fan remembers Eight Belles’ death, said Michael Blowen, the owner of Old Friends, a retirement farm for thoroughbreds. It happened in 2008, minutes after the filly had placed in the Kentucky Derby; she collapsed on the track after both her ankles broke. In television coverage from the race, cameras zoomed in on veterinarian Dr. Larry Bramlage. “They immediately euthanized her because there was no possible way to save her," Bramlage said after the race. “But I’ll tell you,” sai...
May 01, 2018•8 min•Ep. 18
The perfect dress. An outrageous hat. A pair of killer heels -- and a pair of backup flip flops. Everyone knows what the Derby essentials are for women. But what about men? Tyler Franklin wanted to know, what's up with men's Derby fashion? How did it evolve? WFPL's Ryan Van Velzer needed the answer too -- he's going to his first Derby this year and had NO idea what to wear. Tyler and Ryan teamed up for this Derby edition of Curious Louisville.
Apr 25, 2018•7 min•Ep. 17
