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NPR News Nuggets: Butter Aficionados, Iguana Interference & 12 Flight Tips

After the Trump administration and British government announced that passengers flying into the U.S. and Britain on direct flights from a number of majority-Muslim nations must place most electronic devices in their checked bags, Royal Jordanian airlines released a list of 12 things passengers could do on a long flight without their favorite device.
Khalil Mazraawi
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AFP/Getty Images
After the Trump administration and British government announced that passengers flying into the U.S. and Britain on direct flights from a number of majority-Muslim nations must place most electronic devices in their checked bags, Royal Jordanian airlines released a list of 12 things passengers could do on a long flight without their favorite device.

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

Oh, butter

One thing that will never go out of style is old laws. Mainly because there will always be some laws that don't make as much sense in hindsight as they did when they were passed. This week's law comes from Wisconsin. As Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep said on Monday, Wisconsin is a dairy-obsessed state. I mean, they are home of the cheeseheads. The law from the 1950s requires any butter sold in Wisconsin to receive a passing grade from the federal or state butter graders. However, not everyone is a butter purist as shown by an Associated Press investigation which found some Wisconsinites sneak across state lines to buy ungraded Irish butter. So now butter aficionados have sued to call an end to the government-mandated taste test. Butter luck next time, guys.

Gettin' Iggy with it

If you've ever been to a sporting event you know there are different types of seating, and a lot of people prefer to be closer to the court. Those courtside seats just weren't enough for one spectator at the Miami Open tennis tournament this week, though. During a tied 3-3 third set of a match between Jiri Vesely and Tommy Haas, Iggy decided to get up close and personal with the players. I should mention Iggy is an iguana. Yes, a lizard. As Morning Edition host David Greene said on Thursday, Iggy positioned himself on top of the scoreboard and caught the attention of, well, pretty much everyone. Play stopped and the officials tried to escort the reptile off the court. It didn't quite work out for them, but when Iggy got a little frightened, he scurried away. Before Iggy made his exit, Haas got a selfie with the super fan. Haas lost, so Iggy might not be a lucky lizard, but he's No. 1 in our hearts.

Flight plight

One of the latest security measures the Trump administration has taken revolves around restricting the in-flight use of electronics. The measures, that took effect on Tuesday, force those on flights coming to the United States from a number of majority-Muslim countries to place electronic devices in checked baggage. These devices include laptops, tablets and cameras. Phones are still allowed on flight. As you can imagine, this might put a strain on passengers with long flights whose lives are ingrained in technology. But as Morning Edition host Rachel Martin said on Friday, Royal Jordanian Airlines offered their passengers 12 tips to get through a 12-hour flight without the technology they've been able to use in the past. The measure isn't exactly taking passengers back to the Stone Age, but as the airlines suggest, this is a chance to "engage in primitive dialogue from the pre-Internet era." Some suggestions get more a bit philosophical like thinking "of reasons why you don't have a laptop or tablet with you."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Wynne Davis is a digital reporter and producer for NPR's All Things Considered.