Sideswipe: August 23: What could go wrong?

Via @baffling_new_zealand

YouTube has removed a pair of videos showing Tesla drivers conducting amateur vehicle safety tests using their own children in place of mannequins in the road or the driveway. The tests were to determine if a slow-moving Tesla equipped with the company's latest driver assistance systems would automatically avoid colliding with pedestrians walking or standing still in the road. Tesla fan Tad Park drove a Model 3 vehicle at 12km/h towards one of his children. "We made sure the car recognised the kid. Even if the system completely failed, I was prepared to take over at any time. I had a sense of when I was going to need to brake if the car was not sufficiently slowing down," he said. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the US said no vehicle available for purchase today is capable of driving itself.

Shall we meat on Queen Street?

Via @baffling_new_zealand

Super high Wi-Fi

On October 6, 1889, a German geology professor named Hans Meyer, an Austrian mountaineer called Ludwig Purtscheller and a group of local guides were the first to climb the highest peak of Kilimanjaro. The sense of achievement, the magnificent view ... If only they could have tweeted it. Well, now anyone who does reach the peaks can! High-speed internet service is now available on the slopes of Africa's highest mountain, allowing climbers to Insta their way to the summit – or even call for emergency help before they join the 10 or so people per year who die on the slopes. Now visitors to the mountain can stay connected to the world below them up as far as the Horombo huts, at around 3720m above sea level – although they'll have to wait a little longer before they can tweet at the top, since internet access isn't expected for the full 5895m height until the end of the year.

Please let this be true

According to a legend, the winner of the 1906 Tour de France, René Pottier, was ahead of his competitors by more than an hour during one stage. He stopped at a roadside cafe, drank an entire bottle of wine, waited for others to catch up, chased them down, and still won the stage. Obviously no anti-doping regulations back then. Runner Thomas Hicks was only able to complete the 1904 Olympic marathon thanks to regular injections of strychnine and swigs of brandy.

Please let this be true

According to a legend, the winner of the 1906 Tour de France René Pottier was ahead of his competitors by more than an hour during one stage. He stopped at a roadside cafe, drank an entire bottle of wine, waited for others to catch up, chased them down, and still won the stage. Obviously no anti-doping regulations back then. Thomas Hicks was only able to complete the 1904 Olympic marathon thanks to regular injections of strychnine and swigs of brandy.