Breakdancing gave Manizha Talash a sense of purpose, but it put her life at risk after regime change in Afghanistan. (WaPo gift link, archive). At such times, she doesn't think about what's going on back home in Kabul. She doesn't think about the winding road — the death threats, the fear, the uncertainty — that led her to this point, on the cusp of appearing in the Paris Olympics. When she's competing, when she's training and when she's dancing, it's just Talash and the thumping music.

The Aéroplume is a one-person blimp, minimum-sized, that enables you to fly by flapping wings. €70 for 30 minutes. You can fly it in a hangar, or in a cave. Tom Scott takes flight.

The awkward, inspiring, completely out-there inside story of 'Napoleon Dynamite'. Twenty years later, the proud weirdos who made the movie look back on their deadpan classic.(WaPo gift link, archive)

Scientific American: A Doctor Who superfan explains in detail how the unusual cardiovascular system of the alien Time Lords could evolve and function (archive). Reddit AMA with author.

In 2019, Diesel the donkey had gone missing after getting scared on a trail while on a hiking trip with his human family from Auburn, California. Five years later, he has been spotted living with a herd of wild elk.