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

Must Reads

Friday February 28, 2014

A Pelican Shows Us What It's Like To Fly

A peli-cam captures the flight of a bird on Tanzania's Lake Tanganyika. YouTube hide caption

toggle caption

YouTube

Must Reads

A Pelican Shows Us What It's Like To Fly

February 28, 2014 • What happens when a young pelican needs help from humans? Say he gets lost and needs some pointers on learning how to fly. That was the case recently in Tanzania.

Miss. Man Thought Dead, Comes Back To Life On Embalming Table

Seventy-eight-year-old Walter Williams. YouTube hide caption

toggle caption

YouTube

America

Miss. Man Thought Dead, Comes Back To Life On Embalming Table

February 28, 2014 • The coroner says he took the man's pulse and put him in a body bag only to be surprised when he put the 78-year-old on the embalming table.

Batman? Zorro? Lone Ranger? No, That Masked Man Is LeBron

Hi-Yo, Silver? The Miami Heat's LeBron James in the black protective mask he wore Thursday night. Robert Duyos/MCT/Landov hide caption

toggle caption

Robert Duyos/MCT/Landov

Must Reads

Batman? Zorro? Lone Ranger? No, That Masked Man Is LeBron

February 28, 2014 • After breaking his nose, the NBA's best player came back with a pretty menacing-looking mask.

Book News: Author Criticizes S.C. School Funding Cuts Over Gay-Themed Books

Alison Bechdel is the author of the graphic memoir Fun Home and the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For. Elena Seibert/Courtesy Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hide caption

toggle caption

Elena Seibert/Courtesy Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Books

Book News: Author Criticizes S.C. School Funding Cuts Over Gay-Themed Books

February 28, 2014 • Also: More than 120 academic papers turn out to be fakes; the Israeli Embassy donates 300 books on Anne Frank to Tokyo public; Colson Whitehead talks to The New York Times about writing spaces.

Thursday February 27, 2014

Boom: Amazing Soccer Goal Comes On Game's First Play

Harrison High School junior Andrew Deltac blasts a kick from 67 yards out to score in the opening seconds of a recent soccer game. YouTube hide caption

toggle caption

YouTube

America

Boom: Amazing Soccer Goal Comes On Game's First Play

February 27, 2014 • The ball soared through the night air and over the head of the goalie, who had been caught out near the top of the penalty area.

Latest Leak: U.K. Spied On Webchats, Grabbed Millions Of Images

Who else might be watching? Britain's spies collected millions of images from video chats, according to the latest secrets spilled by NSA leaker Edward Snowden. Paul Sakuma/AP hide caption

toggle caption

Paul Sakuma/AP

International

Latest Leak: U.K. Spied On Webchats, Grabbed Millions Of Images

February 27, 2014 • According to more secrets spilled by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, Britain's cyber spies downloaded snapshots of innocent Yahoo users. Much of what they saw was for adult audiences.

Any Way It's Measured, Tesla's $5B 'Gigafactory' Is Huge

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Must Reads

Any Way It's Measured, Tesla's $5B 'Gigafactory' Is Huge

February 27, 2014 • The electric-car company wants to build a massive plant in the U.S. to churn out 500,000 vehicle batteries a year. That's more than the combined current production at all the factories in the world.

Wednesday February 26, 2014

Robot Swarm: A Flock Of Drones That Fly Autonomously

An image from a video by the COLLMOT Robotic Research Project shows a group of drones flying autonomously across a field. COLLMOT Robotic Research Project hide caption

toggle caption

COLLMOT Robotic Research Project

Must Reads

Robot Swarm: A Flock Of Drones That Fly Autonomously

February 26, 2014 • Inspired by birds that fly in tight bunches, researchers fit drones with GPS, processors, and radios that allow them to navigate in formation or while following a leader.

Killers Were Tiny, Victims Were Huge At Chile's Whale Graveyard

The fossilized remains of a whale that washed up on a shore in what's now Chile more than 5 million years ago. Vince Rossi/Smithsonian Institution hide caption

toggle caption

Vince Rossi/Smithsonian Institution

Must Reads

Killers Were Tiny, Victims Were Huge At Chile's Whale Graveyard

February 26, 2014 • Millions of years ago, dozens of the massive sea creatures washed ashore. Their fossils were discovered in 2011. Scientists have worked to figure out what killed them. Now they have an answer.

North Korea's Still In The Dark, As Photos From Space Show

This image was taken Jan. 30 by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. North Korea is the large dark patch in the middle. The only significant light is from its capital, Pyongyang. The next photo adds reference points. NASA.gov hide caption

toggle caption

NASA.gov

International

North Korea's Still In The Dark, As Photos From Space Show

February 26, 2014 • Viewed at night from far above, the communist nation is a huge, nearly black patch between South Korea and China. In the years NASA has been taking such photos, there's been no real change.

Book News: Apple Appeals Ruling In E-Book Price-Fixing Case

Apple says in its appeal filed Tuesday that it was ignorant of any price-fixing conspiracy. Daniel Barry/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Daniel Barry/Getty Images

Books

Book News: Apple Appeals Ruling In E-Book Price-Fixing Case

February 26, 2014 • Also: Emily Gould writes about being broke; The Relentless Award is founded in honor of Philip Seymour Hoffman.

What A Rush! California Couple Finds Gold Coins Worth $10M

Thar's gold in them thar cans: One of the eight cans discovered by a California couple. They were stuffed with gold coins minted in the 1800s. The cache's estimated value: $10 million. Kagin's Inc./AP hide caption

toggle caption

Kagin's Inc./AP

Must Reads

What A Rush! California Couple Finds Gold Coins Worth $10M

February 26, 2014 • It's thought to be the richest cache of coins ever discovered in the U.S. Minted in the 1800s, they were stuffed into eight cans and buried on a Sierra Nevada ridge.

Tuesday February 25, 2014

Winter Blahs Got You Down? 'Crowboarding' Video Can Help

A video of a crow using a jar lid as a sled has been a recent hit on YouTube. But as winter storms continue, many of us are running out of ways to enjoy the snow. YouTube hide caption

toggle caption

YouTube

America

Winter Blahs Got You Down? 'Crowboarding' Video Can Help

February 25, 2014 • If the snow and ice have cramped your style, you might take cues on how to make the best of things from a crow. The bird was filmed using a jar lid as a sled, over and over.

Missing Mango Mystery Solved, Here Are The Juicy Details

The Big Mango in Bowen, Australia, seen here in 2011. Jack Zalium/NPR hide caption

toggle caption

Jack Zalium/NPR

Must Reads

Missing Mango Mystery Solved, Here Are The Juicy Details

February 25, 2014 • Who took the 33-foot-tall statue from its place of honor in Bowen, Australia? The culprits have stepped forward. They aren't trying to put the squeeze on anybody.

Book News: Bernanke Writing A Book On The Fed And The Great Recession

Ben Bernanke is seen leaving his Washington, D.C., office on Jan. 31, his last day as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Books

Book News: Bernanke Writing A Book On The Fed And The Great Recession

February 25, 2014 • Also: The man behind the infamous @GSElevator twitter account is outed by The New York Times; Neil Young has a deal for a second memoir; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie condemns Nigeria's anti-gay laws.