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Diversions from NPR

• Hungary: Santa Should Avoid Kissing Children
  The state health authority in Hungary is cracking down. Officials are worried that Santa Claus might get swine flu, or spread it. Although the color of his beard suggests that Santa is not in a high-risk group, he does come in contact with kids. Hungarian authorities issued an advisory that Santa should avoid kissing children. And he should also get vaccinated if possible.
• Soccer Goalie Penalized For Rescuing Cat
  In Croatia, a soccer goalie thought he was just doing a good deed when he saw a cat on the field. Early in the match, the goalie picked up the cat and carried it to safety under the scoreboard. That's against the rules. A penalty was called on the player for leaving the field during a game. Though opposing fans were so impressed, they spent the rest of the match cheering on the cat-saving keeper.
• Wait, Wait, Where's NPR's Carl Kasell Going?
  Carl Kasell, who has been on the air with NPR since 1975, will give his final newscast on December 30th. He will continue to serve as official judge and scorekeeper on NPR?s ?Wait Wait ? Don?t Tell Me.?
• Rare Darwin Book Found In Guest Bathroom
  Charles Darwin's revolutionary book <em>On the Origin of Species</em> turns 150 on Tuesday. It's the book where Darwin introduced the theory of natural selection and survival of the fittest. To mark the publishing milestone, Christie's will be auctioning a recently discovered treasure: a rare first edition. It had been on a shelf in the guest bathroom of a family in Oxford, England.
• N.Y. Tavern To Offer 100-Proof Thanksgiving Turkey
  The owner of O'Casey's Tavern in Midtown Manhattan will unveil on Thanksgiving what he says is the nation's first 100-proof turkey. The bird will be infused with fruit-flavored and 100-proof vodka for three days before roasting. The meat will have hints of peach, raspberry, cherry and apple. The gravy also will be laced with liquor.
• Bank Robber Leaves Wallet Behind
  Albert Perkins lost his wallet. He took it out at the bank, and that's the last time he saw it. What makes it awkward is that authorities say Perkins was robbing the bank at the time. Perkins left his wallet on the counter of the First Federal Bank in Kansas City, Mo. Police used the driver's license to identify the robber, leading to Perkin's guilty plea.
• Drug Paraphernalia Disguised As Ornaments Seized
  Customs authorities in California seized a large shipment of Christmas ornaments from China. They weren't meant to adorn any tree. More than 300,000 pieces of drug paraphernalia were seized. The items were disguised as glass figures and Christmas ornaments.
• Dealer Selling Letter Lincoln Wrote To Boy
  A letter written by Abraham Lincoln is up for sale. An eight-year-old boy claimed to have met Lincoln, but his friends didn't believe him. So the boys' teacher wrote the president. In one of only two known letters he sent to a child, Lincoln confirmed: "I did see and talk with master George Evans Patten, last May, at Springfield, Illinois. Respectfully, A Lincoln."
• Big-Time Blowouts Still Can Help Losing Team
  Houston Baptist had one of the worst weekends in women's college basketball history. The Huskies got hammered 104-35 by Duke on Friday, then got beat 109-30 by TCU on Sunday. Coach Todd Buchanan is not discouraged. He says losing that big was an "incredible" experience.
• Leggo My Eggo. There's A Waffle Shortage
  There's a nationwide shortage of the popular breakfast food Eggo waffles. Kellogg's says flood damage at its Atlanta bakery disrupted waffle operations. The waffles are being rationed to stores across the country.
• Clerk's Mistake Is Lottery Players Good Fortune
  It takes the right kind of luck to win the lottery, and for a New Jersey man it also took getting the wrong ticket. He had asked for the scratch-off lottery ticket called Deuces Wild. The clerk mistakenly gave him Aces High. A short time later he returned to the store, but not to complain. He had a winning ticket worth $100,000.
• 2009 Word Of The Year: Unfriend
  The editors of <em>The New Oxford American Dictionary</em> have announced their 2009 Word of the Year. It was a crowded field. Words under consideration included: zombie bank, death panel and sexting. The winner: unfriend. It means to remove someone as a friend on a social networking Web site such as Facebook.
• What Exit? Turkey Calls N.J. Turnpike Home
  A wild turkey is attacking the New Jersey Turnpike. The turkey wanders around the toll booths at Interchange 14B. It dodges cars and disrupts traffic. It sits on the toll collectors' parked cars. And it defies every effort to catch it.
• How Do You Say 2010?
  In 45 days, there will be a mob at Times Square counting down. But what do we call the year that kicks in when the ball comes down? The four digits &mdash; 2,0,1,0 &mdash; are not in dispute, but how we say them evidently is.
• Searching For Shackleton's Abandoned Scotch
  A century ago, Sir Ernest Shackleton abandoned a bid to reach the South Pole. His party also abandoned two crates of Scotch whiskey. The owners of the McKinlay and Co. brand want to find that Scotch. They want to recreate the original whiskey from 100 years ago. It's for that purpose that they will set out on an expedition in January, the height of the Antarctic summer.