NPR News Nuggets: Sixth Sense Discovered, Pokemon Politics & JetBlue Blues

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

Sixth Sense

As it turns out, M. Night Shyamalan was onto something when he created the The Sixth Sense — except it has nothing to do with seeing dead people and everything to do with intuition. As Morning Edition host Renee Montagne told us on Monday, researchers at the National Institutes of Health have identified an intuition gene that allows people to sense what their bodies should do without using the other five senses.

The researchers tested this theory on patients who have a mutation of the gene, Piezo2. When the patients were blindfolded they couldn't walk without seeing their arms and legs and lost their sense of body awareness. Sorry Haley Joel Osment, we were rooting for you, too.

Fake It 'Til You Make It

Remember that time that a giant octopus capsized a Staten Island ferry boat and 400 people met their end in New York Harbor? Yeah, me neither, yet tons of people are starting to question whether this really did happen as a sculpture depicting the fictitious event has been making its way around New York as Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep told us on Monday. It turns out this joke has been a long-time coming for artist Joe Reginella. He first thought of the idea when he was 11 years old and has now put his prankster plan in action by setting up a website, Wikipedia page, and gift store as part of his elaborate joke for unsuspecting tourists and entertainment seekers.

Walken Talk, People, Walken Talk

Just a heads up, but you can view a number of disembodied heads at a sculpture park in Queens, N.Y. The installation "Monument to Walken" features many faces of actor Christopher Walken, who is from Queens. As Morning Edition host Renee Montagne told us Tuesday, the installation, though spooky, is not meant to be part of the borough's Halloween decor, it's merely a coincidence in timing. If you'd rather not visit during the ghoulish month, the installation will be on display through March.

Dude, Where's My Kid?

They had one job: get the kid from one airport to the other and reunite him with his mother. One job, and they failed. That pretty much sums up what happened when JetBlue lost Maribel Martinez's 5-year-old son on his way home to New York City. As Morning Edition host David Greene told us on Tuesday, the airline got its signals crossed and sent Martinez's son to Boston and presented her with another boy in New York. In all, it took airline officials three hours to figure out what happened and get the mother son duo in contact with each other. Martinez's most precious cargo was returned to her, but now she is suing JetBlue.

Gotta Catch 'Em All

Norway's prime minister Erna Solberg wants to be the very best like no one was before. No, not the best prime minister Norway has ever seen, but rather the best Pokémon master. Solberg knows her destiny and it does not include paying attention during a debate in parliament. As Morning Edition host David Green told us on Thursday, The Guardian reported that Solberg was preoccupied during the parliament meeting and was on her phone trying to catch 'em all with her Pokémon Go app. Yes, catching them is her real test and training them is her cause. Solberg has even proved she will travel across the land searching far and wide as evidenced by her taking her security detail on a chase for Pokémon while in Slovakia. It's safe to say, Solberg will continue to battle every day.

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