The antidote: your favourite reads beyond coronavirus

1. Bobby Joe Morrow, the 1956 Olympic sprint champion who lost his way

‘Four men have won the sprint triple of 100m, 200m and 4x100m at the Olympics and, chances are, you know three of them: Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis and Usain Bolt. Then there is Bobby Joe Morrow, who died last weekend at the age of 84. When Morrow won all three at the Melbourne Games in 1956 he was, briefly, as famous as any of the others.’

2. Rhys Nicholson: the 10 funniest things I have ever seen (on the internet)

‘As a self-employed/unemployed comedian, I spend a lot of time just kind of letting YouTube take me where she wants to go. We just kind of get each other, you know? That’s why these links are basically all on YouTube. I am over 30 so I don’t know what TikTok is.’

3. My learning disability is a bit of me, but it doesn’t define me

‘I am standing on my dad’s doorstep. It’s 20 years since he called me a retard. I haven’t seen much of him since then. He told me I’d never work, never live on my own, never have a relationship. I came on the bus from the flat where I live alone. I’ve got an ex-girlfriend standing next to me for moral support. I haven’t told my dad I’m coming.’

4. ‘It’s still ridiculous’ – Van Persie’s 2012-13 season at Manchester United

‘This was Robin van Persie in the 2012-13 season: 26 goals, two hat-tricks and the Premier League golden boot. It was a campaign in which the Dutchman elevated new teammates and was the X factor in Manchester United’s 20th and most recent championship triumph.’

5. A wing and a prayer: the remarkable story of Hampstead Heath’s widowed swan

‘Once upon a time – well, in 2016, obviously – a pair of swans lived on a lake on the heath, in the village of Hampstead …’

6. The Mystery of Charles Dickens by AN Wilson review – a great writer’s dark side

‘One chapter of his book is devoted to “The Mystery of the Public Readings”, in which Dickens drove himself to near collapse (and made huge amounts of money) by touring America as well as Britain to perform readings from his work. In 1869, he had a stroke on stage in Chester, but still refused to stop the readings, partly because of the money but mostly because he was addicted to the instant responsiveness of his audience.’

7. Best foot forward! How to give yourself a pedicure

‘As long as you can comfortably reach your feet, then it is possible to give yourself a good DIY pedicure. It is worth investing in a pumice stone or skin file (“Like a large emery board or a small metal grater,” says Reaney) and a good pair of nail clippers (“The ones that look like small pliers”) before you get started.’

8. Hong Kong visas: why is the UK standing up to China now?

‘There is a streak of guilt that runs through the Conservative party about its treatment of Hong Kong citizens, and an admission that, under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, the great cold warrior, it placed the people of Hong Kong into the hands of the Chinese Communist party in 1994.’

9. Pentagon chief opposes Trump threat to deploy military at protests

‘[Mark] Esper has been supportive of Trump and has avoided contradicting him until now. But there is reported to be mounting unease among senior officers about the politicisation of the armed forces, and concern over Esper’s own actions.’

10. ‘He wears the armor of God’: evangelicals hail Trump’s church photo op

‘The Horbowys had gathered in Tallahassee, Florida, to watch live as Trump walked from the White House to St John’s. “My mother just shouted out, ‘God give him strength! He’s doing a Jericho walk!’” A Jericho walk refers to the biblical book of Joshua, where God commanded the Israelites to walk seven times around the opposing city of Jericho, whose walls then came crashing down.’

How we create the antidote

Every day we measure not only how many people click on individual stories but also how long they spend reading them. This list is created by comparing the attention time with the length of each article, to come up with a ranking for the stories people read most deeply.