Sideswipe: January 2: Cursed images

A cursed mannequin in a department store. Photo / Supplied

Psychology hacks for the holiday season

1. If you’re suffering from racing thoughts, use the 333 rule: name three things you see, three things you hear, and three parts of your body. This will help centre your mind and bring you back to the present.

2. If someone is making jokes at your expense, act like you can’t hear them and ask them to repeat it a few times. By the time they say it the third or fourth time, nobody’s laughing.

3. When someone in a group of people laughs, they tend to look at the person that they like the most.

4. Whenever you are introducing a new idea to someone, if you lead with the words “this might not be for you”, it naturally engages the person’s interest and makes them feel like it probably is for them.

5. Showing the palms of your hands while talking to someone subconsciously communicates that you have nothing to hide and you can be trusted.

6. If you take an extra moment to look at somebody’s eye color when meeting them, you’ll be giving the perfect amount of eye contact. (TikToker Adorian Deck or “The Facts Guy”, has a video series titled “Psychology Hacks You Need To Know”.)

Dobby has seen things...

Bad fiction awards

The annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest calls for entrants to “compose opening sentences to the worst of all possible novels”. This was the winner of the romance category.

“At least it was a creative way to be dumped, Ben mused to himself as he looked at the new location of his name on the updated seating chart for his wedding reception — the singles’ table.” (Izzy Maurer, Lincoln, UK)