Sideswipe: June 1: TV's 60th birthday

60s telly.

Your TV has been on for 60 years

New Zealand's first official television transmission was 60 years ago today, at 7.30pm, and was only available to viewers in Auckland. The three hours of programming included an episode of The Adventures of Robin Hood, a live interview with a visiting British ballerina and a performance by the Howard Morrison Quartet. Transmission did not begin in Christchurch until June 1961; Wellington followed four weeks later.

Dunedin had to wait until July 31, 1962. By 1965, the four stations were broadcasting seven nights a week for a total of 50 hours. There was no national network and each centre saw local programmes. Overseas programmes were flown from centre to centre and played in different cities in successive weeks. Television licences, which cost £4 each year (equivalent to around $170 today), were introduced in August 1960. By 1965, more than 300,000 licences had been issued.

In 1961, advertising hit our screens but were allowed only on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. In February 1966, the average price of a 23-inch (58.4cm) black-and-white television "consolette" was £131, equivalent to nearly $5000 today. (nzhistory.govt.nz)

IRL autocorrect

Generational power struggle

A grandmother from the Netherlands has been ordered to delete her grandchildren's photos from Facebook and Pinterest, after her daughter sued her for posting the pictures. The law there says photos of children up to the age of 16 can be posted online only with the consent of their parents. The grandmother was sued after repeatedly refusing to delete pictures of her three grandchildren, aged 14, 6 and 5. The rules don't typically apply to "purely personal" data, but the judge ruled that by posting the children's pictures on Facebook, the grandmother made them available to a wider audience."With Facebook, it cannot be ruled out that placed photos may be distributed and may end up in the hands of third parties," the ruling read.

Unsolicited advice

When choking on food and unable to get help, you can get into a push-up position and then just drop down. The ground hitting your stomach and chest will cause what you're choking on to dislodge.

Weirdest thing you've done for money

1. "When I was 6 or 7, I used to pluck my parents' grey hairs for 10 cents per strand."
2. "When I was a kid, a neighbour paid me to be "a live scarecrow" in his garden. My job was to chase the birds and other animals away that might otherwise destroy his garden when he wasn't home to guard it."
3. "Snorted wasabi. It was not worth $2."