Sideswipe: June 16: Pepsi product placement?

Pepsi product placement? "My daughter and myself spotted this possum, chilling on the verge, going into Kohukohu North Hokianga," writes Sarah. Photo / Supplied

Popular sound track

Fart jokes are one of the lowest forms of humour but the film Blazing Saddles (1974) sought to elevate the humble blow-off to new heights of hilarity. Director Mel Brooks insisted sound engineers increase the volume on the fart noises in the comedy starring the late Gene Wilder. Brooks was annoyed that old westerns showed cowboys eating beans, but never the unpleasant aftermath of what an all-bean diet does to a human colon.

The scene quickly became one the film's most iconic, which posed a problem for some TV stations who bought the rights a few years later: cutting the scene would likely anger fans of the original film, but leaving it in would probably result in offence, they thought. The solution was to show the scene in its entirety while muting every single fart noise.

(Watch the Blazing Saddles fart scene.) (Source: factfiend.com)

Choc-a-block

"I always get a packet of Cadbury's choccy buttons sent from Scotland for my birthday on June 7th," writes Colin. "This year they were posted on 31st May, usually get here in 5 days. Didn't hit my mail box in Auckland till 14th June this year. Must have sat on the tarmac in Dubai for a few days, melted into one side of the packet then solidified when they hit our winter weather."

"Must have sat on the tarmac in Dubai for a few days... Then solidified when they hit our winter weather". Photo / Supplied

Did you know ...

1. Deep Purple were recognised by The Guinness Book of World Records as the "globe's loudest band" when, in a concert at the London Rainbow Theatre, their sound reached 117 dB. Three audience members were rendered unconscious.

2. In 1973, the Dutch egg industry noted a drop in sales - supermarket shoppers were put off by the antiseptic appearance of the factory-cleaned eggs. To remedy this, the Dutch Egg Board decided to stick mud, manure, and bits of feather onto the eggs to give them that straight from the farmyard look.

3. The stringy bits along the sides of bananas are called phloem bundles.

Millennial musings

As a variation of yesterday's Shower Thoughts, from Tony. "Being a millennial is like joining a game of Monopoly where all the best properties have gone ... AND everybody else gets $200 when they pass Go but you only get $50." Surely far more frustrating?"

So many questions.

Good read

Mayoral indiscretion Bevan Chuang is trying her hand at clairvoyance.

Video pick

From 1988 this Muscle Motion exercise video with the men of Chippendales is so of its time...

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