Sideswipe: January 23: Commuter comfort

Commuter comfort in Ranui, West Auckland.

Failure not so bad

Dwelling on your past failures might actually help reduce stress.

A study from 2018, says it all: "Writing about past failures attenuates cortisol responses and sustained attention deficits following psychosocial stress." According to the study, "Writing about a previous failure may allow an individual to experience a new stressor as less stressful, reducing its physiological and behavioural effects." It sounds paradoxical, but the next time you're facing a crazy situation, just reflect on a time when it all went wrong - and things might not feel so bad. (Via Mentalfloss.com)

Brewer sees red over label

"Is anyone able to date this old bottle of beer?" asks Dave Ronson of Pakuranga. "DB introduced the brand "Double Red", but an injunction by Lion forced them to change the name to 'Double Bitter', as 'Red' was associated with Lion's popular beer with the red label. It was only after this that they included the word 'Red' on their label. A couple of these bottles were lurking in my basement, and were discovered during a recent tidy-up. I'd be curious to know how long they've been there."

Whisper campaign succeeds

After being the number two imported beer in the US, Corona executives in the US noticed that sales had slumped for no apparent reason - some regions' sales dropped by as much as 80 per cent while, oddly, in others nothing much changed at all in the figures. Corona then did some sleuthing and discovered that there was a bizarre rumour being spread in bars across the United States that Mexican workers at the main Corona brewery frequently urinated in the vats used to ferment the beer. The rumour was tracked back to employees of a rival distributor, who imported a rival European beer.. So why was the rumour so readily believed? Partly the pale ale colour of the beer and the clear glass bottles showcasing the beer's yellow hue, but really the slander worked so well because of xenophobic fears about anything coming in from Mexico.

Very important sign to read

Very important sign to read, spotted in Wahi.

Video pick An animated history of cats

Got a Sideswipe? Send your pictures, links and anecdotes to Ana at ana.samways@nzherald.co.nz