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Humor & Fun Games, puzzles, and contests plus odd stories from comedy, art, and society.

Humor & Fun

Friday

Annual Prizes Honor the Stranger Side of Science

If you've ever wondered about opera's effects on mouse heart surgery, or pondered the timing of when cows are likely to get up or lie down, you're in luck. At the annual IgNobel Prize ceremony, awards go to scientific research that first makes you laugh, then makes you think.

Annual Prizes Honor the Stranger Side of Science

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Tuesday

Meet Mensch On A Bench, Jewish Counterpart To Elf On The Shelf
Courtesy of Neal Hoffman

Religion

Meet Mensch On A Bench, Jewish Counterpart To Elf On The Shelf

The popular holiday toy Elf on the Shelf now has a Jewish counterpart. It's called Mensch on a Bench. Host Michel Martin talks to the creator, Neal Hoffman, about how he came up with the idea.

Meet Mensch On A Bench, Jewish Counterpart To Elf On The Shelf

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Papers, Please: A Game That Puts Your Sympathy To The Test

Papers, Please casts you as an immigration inspector whose goal is to keep those who don't belong out of the fictional nation of Arstotzka. papersplea.se hide caption

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All Tech Considered

Papers, Please: A Game That Puts Your Sympathy To The Test

In the "dystopian document thriller," you are an immigration agent on the border of the fictional nation of Arstotzka. Will you follow the rules? Or will you aid those fighting against the establishment?

Monday

Sunday

Friday

Not My Job: Coach Muffet McGraw Gets Quizzed On Tuffets
Jim Prisching/AP

Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!

Not My Job: Coach Muffet McGraw Gets Quizzed On Tuffets

The only other Muffet we've ever met is the Little Miss, so we've invited McGraw — women's basketball coach at University of Notre Dame — to play a game called "So what exactly is a tuffet anyway?" Three questions about nursery rhymes and children's songs.

Not My Job: Coach Muffet McGraw Gets Quizzed On Tuffets

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Thursday

Ask Me Another

Zombie Gourmets

Host Ophira Eisenberg and house musician Jonathan Coulton serve up clues to groups of nouns or names that follow this rhyming pattern. Points awarded to those who answer in a scary zombie voice.

Zombie Gourmets

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Random Questions With: R.L. Stine

R.L. Stine: This man wants to terrify your children. Lam Thuy Vo/NPR hide caption

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Ask Me Another

Random Questions With: R.L. Stine

The celebrated horror author of the Goosebumps and Fear Street series recounts his origins as a humor writer and his "controversial" thoughts on things that go "bump" in the night.

Random Questions With: R.L. Stine

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Ask Me Another

Quoth The Raven, Something More

In Edgar Allan Poe's poem, the titular raven repeatedly says, "Nevermore." While he "still is sitting, still is sitting," that raven has moved on to quoth'ing celebrity names that rhyme with "-moore."

Quoth The Raven, Something More

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R.L. Stine: What's Scarier?

Author R.L. Stine tries to guess whether Ask Me Another listeners find "ventriloquist dolls" or "a swarm of bees" scarier. Lam Thuy Vo/NPR hide caption

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Ask Me Another

R.L. Stine: What's Scarier?

We put the best-selling horror author of the Goosebumps and Fear Street series to the test. What scares people more: ghosts, or being alone? Plus, Stine reveals his own biggest fear.

R.L. Stine: What's Scarier?

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Tuesday

The Surprising Cultural Stamina Of Pokemon

Participants compete in the 2013 Pokemon World Championships in Vancouver, Canada, on Aug. 10. The Pokemon franchise has become a billion-dollar franchise since it debuted on American shores 15 years ago. Sergei Bachlakov/Xinhua /Landov hide caption

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All Tech Considered

The Surprising Cultural Stamina Of Pokemon

Turnstyle

Fifteen years ago, pocket-sized characters known as Pokemon arrived on American shores from Japan. The cute creatures were suddenly everywhere: television, video games, card games and a movie. But few people imagined that in 2013, the franchise would still be going strong.

The Surprising Cultural Stamina Of Pokemon

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Monday