NPR News Nuggets: Highway Tacos, Subway Wine & A Plane's Tiny Stowaway

Here's a quick roundup of some of the mini-moments you may have missed on this week's Morning Edition.

Baseball stirs from its slumber

How many times has a coach said "make sure you rest up for the big game"? Well, probably every time there is a big game. That saying takes on a whole new meaning this year for the Boston Red Sox. As Morning Edition host David Greene said on Monday, the players had a busy time last week ahead of spring training as they tested out new equipment for the coming season. This included mattresses, pillows, blankets and sheets — all meant to improve their sleep. What's different is that, when they're told to rest up, the players and coaches can dream a few dreams before a home game — inside Fenway Park. Yes, they have a sleeping room in the stadium. So pitchers can nestle all snug in their beds while visions of strikeouts dance in their heads.

One-stop mobile taco shop

At NPR, we like to think that podcasts and news shows are all you need to accompany a long drive. However, it's inevitable that one day you'll hit a traffic jam, and as much as the stories keep you company, you could get hungry and have nowhere to go. The tragedy! But how nice would it be if a food truck just showed up and you could pause that podcast and grab a quick bite? Sounds like a dream, but for some people stuck on a Seattle highway it was reality. As Morning Edition host David Greene said on Tuesday, a tractor-trailer crash on Interstate 5 in Seattle backed up traffic for hours right around lunchtime — which served up a business opportunity. The food truck Tacos El Tajin saw all those people stuck in traffic alongside them as potential customers, so they opened up for business right in the middle of it and sent lovely taco smells wafting down the highway. Pretty great advertisement, if you ask me. The driver told The Seattle Times that he is ready to serve food everywhere; this writer would like to note that NPR headquarters qualifies as part of "everywhere."

Pass the wine

Sometimes you just need to grab a drink with a friend. Or make a friend. Or maybe you just really need a drink. In any case, riding the train in New York City might be a good place for you to go to find all of those things. As Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep said on Wednesday, riders on the subway found a bottle of wine at their feet when it rolled out from under a seat. Someone had rudely abandoned a perfectly good bottle of wine! Rest assured, passengers knew how to handle this emergency situation. A pair of strangers opened the wine and shared it, as journalist Colleen Hagerty documented the momentous occasion. As for how they shared, Hagerty tweeted that one of them found an empty wine bottle and poured some of the fresh wine into it. Sharing is caring, y'all.

Fievel goes nowhere

Thanks to a 2006 film, the idea of any snakes, poisonous or not, being transported on a plane is unsettling. But mice? Well, apparently a plane will not take off if the crew knows of their presence. As Morning Edition host Rachel Martin said on Thursday, a flight heading to San Francisco from London was delayed because of one little mouse. A passenger apparently tweeted out "Just had my flight cancelled because of a mouse onboard the plane. Could it not get a visa?" No word on the mouse's documentation, but British Airways took no chances and found a new plane for the flight. They also said "Everyone with two legs is now on their way to California," and apologized for the delay. The mouse probably did not get a cookie.

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