Accessibility links
Diversions Irrestible and odd stories from news, culture, sports, and literature. Subscribe to the Diversions RSS feed.

Diversions

Marking The Centennial Of Esperanto Creator's Visit

This weekend, advocates of the Esperanto language will meet in Washington, D.C., to mark the 1910 visit of the language's creator, L.L. Zamenhof. A hundred years ago, Esperanto was taken very seriously by important people in the nation's capital.

Marking The Centennial Of Esperanto Creator's Visit

Listen · 2:44
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/127118219/127119999" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
His Life Is All Wrapped Up

Adal Rifai sits in his friend Louie Saunders' apartment in Chicago, after wrapping Saunders' belongings while he was out of town. It took 16 people, 35 rolls of wrapping paper and eight hours to finish the job. John H. White/AP/Chicago Sun-Times hide caption

toggle caption
John H. White/AP/Chicago Sun-Times

His Life Is All Wrapped Up

This Christmas, Louie Saunders has hundreds of wrapped-up gifts. But they aren't exactly new. Friends from his improv troupe wrapped every single item in his apartment. His clothes, the bath mat — even a beer in his fridge. The elaborate prank required 35 rolls of wrapping paper and 16 comedians turned wrappers.

His Life Is All Wrapped Up

Listen · 0:29
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/121902260/121902259" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Planet Money Burger Story Takes The Cake

The people have spoken: According to NPR's online poll, the winner of Planet Money's 2nd annual "Iron Reporter" competition is Alex Blumberg, with a story about the guy behind the burger chain Five Guys' efforts to break into worldwide shopping malls. Here, his story.

Planet Money Burger Story Takes The Cake

Listen · 6:52
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/121880233/121880213" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
For Sale: 'Lost In Space' Robot Replicas

Mike Joyce has sold 53 robot replicas at $25,000 apiece. Mike Joyce/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Mike Joyce/NPR

For Sale: 'Lost In Space' Robot Replicas

As a child, Mike Joyce dreamed of two things: being an astronaut and owning his own robot from the show Lost in Space. Now, he makes and sells them at $25,000 a pop. Building the robot started as a hobby, and then selling these replica robots became a business. He's sold 53 so far.

For Sale: 'Lost In Space' Robot Replicas

Listen · 2:05
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/121837948/121853098" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wizard Wannabes: 'Potter' Park To Open In Spring

"Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" isn't a new J.K. Rowling book or film. It's a ride — or, rather, it will be when the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter," a section of Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park, opens in Orlando, Fla., next spring.

Wizard Wannabes: 'Potter' Park To Open In Spring

Listen · 4:14
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/112864636/112872627" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

From Dull To Droll: A Comic Makeover

Comic Judy Carter took it upon herself to find the most serious person she could and teach him to be funny. Her target: Capt. John Heinzel, who trains naval officers and cadets on the history of the Civil Engineer Corps.

From Dull To Droll: A Comic Makeover

Listen · 7:50
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/112526795/112502136" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Kayaking To A Different View Of The Rio Grande

Eric Ellman, executive director of Los Caminos del Rio, offers kayak trips down the Rio Grande. He's trying to change the way people see the river. His yellow lab, Buster, is a frequent companion. Peter Breslow/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Peter Breslow/NPR

Kayaking To A Different View Of The Rio Grande

The Rio Grande is far more than a border between the United States and Mexico, and it's more than a barrier to illegal immigrants and drug smugglers. To one man who lives in the borderlands, the river is a kayaker's paradise.

Kayaking To A Different View Of The Rio Grande

Listen · 5:43
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/106993934/111527046" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!

Not My Job: Doug Glanville

Doug Glanville, an All-Star outfielder with the Cubs, Phillies and Rangers, answers three questions about the less well-known aspects of Walter Cronkite's life. Cronkite died last Friday at the age of 92.

Not My Job: Doug Glanville

Listen · 11:42
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/107008161/106995849" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

A New Owner For 'The Onion'?

"America's finest news source," The Onion, is joking that it has been taken over by a Chinese conglomerate. Editor Joe Randazzo tells NPR the satirical paper was "at a point of great vulnerability, crouched like an injured dog in the corner."

A New Owner For 'The Onion'?

Listen · 3:22
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/106894674/106894647" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

World

In Colombia, Tourists Flock To Drug Kingpin's Ranch

What once served as an exotic playground for Colombian drug cartel boss Pablo Escobar is now a theme park with guided tours, horseback riding, a swimming pool and a zoo. Park officials say the goal isn't to glorify the drug trafficker but to chronicle his place in history.

In Colombia, Tourists Flock To Drug Kingpin's Ranch

Listen · 4:25
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/106863446/106876593" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Sweetness And Light

For Tom Watson, The Club And The Caddie Were Key

Watching golfer Tom Watson narrowly lose the British Open on Sunday, commentator Frank Deford was reminded of another narrow contest, back in 1977. It's an anecdote about Watson and Turnberry — and caddies.

For Tom Watson, The Club And The Caddie Were Key

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/106797752/106813183" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Books

What Happened To Our Moonbases And Jetpacks?

On the eve of the moon landing anniversary, Host Liane Hansen speaks with Daniel Wilson, author of Where's My Jetpack?: A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future that Never Arrived, about all of the predictions for spaceflight that never came to pass.

What Happened To Our Moonbases And Jetpacks?

Listen · 4:55
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/106783639/106783623" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Sports

Oregon Passes Its Own "Rooney Rule" For Coaches

The state of Oregon has passed a new law that emulates the National Football League's "Rooney Rule," encouraging the hiring of minority coaches. The move comes after the University of Oregon, in a quick and very non-transparent process, hired an assistant coach to replace the head football coach of the Ducks. Both coaches are white, as are the head football coaches at all the state's public universities.

Oregon Passes Its Own "Rooney Rule" For Coaches

Listen · 3:00
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/106783644/106783625" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Sunday Puzzle

The Most Common Consonants, In Any Order

Three of the most common consonants of the English language are R, S and T. Every answer today is a word, name or phrase that contains each of the letters R, S and T exactly once, along with any number of vowels. For example, if the clue is "short-winded," the answer would be, "terse." Note: The R, S and T can appear in any order.

The Most Common Consonants, In Any Order

Listen · 9:28
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/106774188/106783626" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Environment

A Single Wing Starts Quest For Mystery Bird

Birdwatching might not seem the kind of hobby to attract the Indiana Jones type, but Gerry Nicholls is what you might call an extreme bird watcher. This year he and his friends set out on an international chase for a creature that has never been officially sighted.

A Single Wing Starts Quest For Mystery Bird

Listen · 4:58
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/106749870/106783624" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!

Not My Job: Jimmy Fallon

The host of NBC's Late Night, Jimmy Fallon, plays our game called "The first 20 audience members into the auditorium tonight were given Geniune Carl Kasell sportscoat elbow patches." Three questions about unusual fan promotions at minor league baseball games.

Not My Job: Jimmy Fallon

Listen · 11:44
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/106769988/106769974" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Books

A Love Affair With The Romance Novel

Times are tough in American publishing. There's the growing cost of publication and distribution, and new competition for attention from online readers. Despite the downturn, one kind of story is still selling better than many other forms of adult fiction.

A Love Affair With The Romance Novel

Listen · 8:08
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/106770512/106770495" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

National

'56 Thunderbird Renews 70-Year-Old Sweethearts

Host Scott Simon talks to Clyde and Betty Jackson, 70-year-old high school sweethearts from Edgefield, South Carolina, who are reliving their honeymoon in Daytona Beach, Florida. Fifty years ago, they drove there from South Carolina in a '56 Thunderbird. After years rotting in the garage, the car was recently refurbished by their daughter, and they are once again joy-riding around Daytona on a second honeymoon.

'56 Thunderbird Renews 70-Year-Old Sweethearts

Listen · 4:31
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/106770524/106771277" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Sports

British Open: Who Needs Tiger Woods Anyway?

Even though the world's number one ranked golfer is out of the tournament, the British Open in beautiful and blustery Turnberry, Scotland, is heading toward a memorable finish. Fifty-nine-year-old Tom Watson, who won at Turnberry 32 years ago, was tied for the lead as Saturday's third round began. Watson is trying to becoming the oldest player — by far — to win a major championship.

British Open: Who Needs Tiger Woods Anyway?

Listen · 3:56
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/106770532/106771280" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Maker's Quest

Rabbit So Good, A Restaurant's Remembered

Ever eat fried rabbit? Barbecued rabbit? Rice with rabbit gravy? Such dishes were standard fare at the Venz Rabbit Hutch Restaurant in Logan, Ala. But food was only part of the experience. In this installment of our summer series "Place and Memory," we pay a visit to the Rabbit Hutch.

Rabbit So Good, A Restaurant's Remembered

Listen · 7:25
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/106733223/106770492" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Browse archive or search npr.org