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Must Reads : The Two-Way Some stories are just too weird, too funny or too sad to ignore. They may not be "serious news," but are so fascinating you must read them. NPR correspondents are on the watch for such tales. We pass along the best, from NPR and other news outlets.
The Two-Way

The Two-Way

Must Reads

Friday

Say It Ain't So, Joe: Bazooka Bubble Gum Is Killing Its Tiny Comics

The latest "comic of the week" on Bazooka Bubble Gum's Facebook page. Bazooka Bubble Gum hide caption

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Bazooka Bubble Gum

Must Reads

Say It Ain't So, Joe: Bazooka Bubble Gum Is Killing Its Tiny Comics

A tiny comic strip has wrapped each piece of gum since 1953. But the company says it's redesigning its packaging to be more relevant to today's bubble-blowing kids. Instead of comics, there will be brainteasers and codes that unlock onilne content, The New York Times reports.

Sad Story About Missing Hat Touches Many Hearts, Goes Viral

Bridget Hughes and her hat, before it went missing. Facebook.com hide caption

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Facebook.com

Must Reads

Sad Story About Missing Hat Touches Many Hearts, Goes Viral

Bridget Hughes' floppy hat is one of the only things she could keep with her as a reminder of her mom, who died when Hughes was 7. It was the hat her mother wore while in chemotherapy. This week, Hughes says, it was lost at the Phoenix airport. Now, Hughes' Facebook post is whipping around the Web.

From 'Morning Edition'

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Thursday

Wednesday

This Just In: No One Was Shot Or Stabbed Monday In New York City

At least for one day and night, the city that never sleeps was peaceful. Eduardo Munoz/Reuters /Landov hide caption

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Eduardo Munoz/Reuters /Landov

Must Reads

This Just In: No One Was Shot Or Stabbed Monday In New York City

Police officials can't remember the last time a whole day went by without someone being shot, stabbed or slashed by someone else. But that's just what happened as the week began. The sharp drop in violent crime from decades before continues.

OK, North Korea's Leader Isn't 'Sexiest Man Alive,' Chinese Media Concede

Before it disappeared from the Web: Here's how People's Daily Online packaged its coverage of the "news" that Kim Jong Un is 2012's sexiest man. People's Daily Online (frame grab of a page that has now been removed) hide caption

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People's Daily Online (frame grab of a page that has now been removed)

Must Reads

OK, North Korea's Leader Isn't 'Sexiest Man Alive,' Chinese Media Concede

China's Web surfers have had much fun at the expense of People's Daily Online after it accepted as fact that The Onion thinks Kim Jong Un is 2012's biggest hunk. Editors at the Communist Party's mouthpiece now realize they were punk'd.

Tuesday

Attention Chinese Media: Kim Jong Un Is 2012's Most Interesting Man

The mysterious, most-interesting, super-sexy North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. (And if you believe all that, you may be reading too many reports from Chinese media.) Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images

Must Reads

Attention Chinese Media: Kim Jong Un Is 2012's Most Interesting Man

People's Daily Online gave big play to The Onion's declaration that Kim Jong Un is 2012's sexiest man. Can we convince the Chinese news media that he's even more than that?

Monday

Wednesday

How Did Thanksgiving End Up On The Fourth Thursday?

President Roosevelt celebrating Thanksgiving with polio patients at the Warm Springs Foundation for Infantile Paralysis Sufferers the Friday after the national holiday in 1938. Bettmann/Corbis/AP hide caption

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Bettmann/Corbis/AP

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How Did Thanksgiving End Up On The Fourth Thursday?

Why not on a Friday? And why not the last Thursday? There is an explanation. But you have to go back to things decreed by presidents Washington, Lincoln and Roosevelt (FDR, that is).

Crazy, But True: One Guy Scores 138 Points, Breaking NCAA Hoops Record

Going for the record: Grinnell College's Jack Taylor during Tuesday night's game, in which he scored 138 points. Cory Hall/Grinnell College/AP hide caption

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Cory Hall/Grinnell College/AP

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Crazy, But True: One Guy Scores 138 Points, Breaking NCAA Hoops Record

Sophomore guard Jack Taylor of Iowa's Grinnell College shot and shot and shot some more. He smashed the old individual NCAA record, set in 1954, of 113 points. "I am very exhausted," he said afterward.

Tuesday

Monday

In Obit, Daughters Let Dad Have Last Say About NFL's Woeful Chiefs

There were a lot of empty seats at Sunday's Kansas City Chiefs game (which the team lost, to Cincinnati, 28-6). And some fans showed their unhappiness by wearing bags over their heads. "Sam" Lickteig wasn't happy with the Chiefs' play either, his family says. John Sleezer/MCT /Landov hide caption

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John Sleezer/MCT /Landov

Must Reads

In Obit, Daughters Let Dad Have Last Say About NFL's Woeful Chiefs

Loren G. "Sam" Lickteig loved the Chiefs, his family says, but was distraught about how bad the team has been. He was also a funny man. So in his honor, Lickteig's daughters wrote in his obituary that he died "of complications from MS and heartbreaking disappointment" caused by the football team.

Will San Francisco Tell Its Nudists To Cover Up?

Woody Miller, a "naturist," was among the men out on Market Street in San Francisco this day. Kimhiro Hoshino/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Kimhiro Hoshino/AFP/Getty Images

Must Reads

Will San Francisco Tell Its Nudists To Cover Up?

Some men in the Castro District have for years liked to go without (clothes, that is) in public. One of the city's supervisors says he's been getting many complaints. Last year, he got a law passed requiring that the naked guys have towels ready to put down on benches. Now, he's looking to do more.

Sunday