Sideswipe: June 28: Heads will roll

Spotted on the southern motorway near the Greenlane exit, on Monday.

Patched-up pets

Animals with affordable healthcare: The annual report of the Association of British Insurers included information on pet owners specifying that among the claims paid were those for a bearded dragon with an abscess, an anorexic Burmese python, a cocker spaniel that swallowed a turkey baster, a cockatoo with respiratory problems, and even a "lethargic" house cat (which nonetheless cost the equivalent of $470 to treat). (Via News of the Weird)

Don't assume you shouldn't tell Mum

A reader writes: "I was 8 years old and mowing the lawn with a reel mower. Mother's brand new dress fell off the clothesline directly into the mower. Perfect 2 inch cuts at 6 inch intervals down the side seams of her dress. Father suggested not telling my mother, but we finally plucked up the courage. We unexpectedly got a 'Oh well I didn't really like it anyway, I can get another better dress'. The lesson I learnt was to never assume."

They pick it up so fast at that age

Reddit.com asks "What's your don't tell your mother moment?" This guy decided to play Grand Theft Auto with a mate while his daughter played on the floor. "She was young and we didn't think she'd absorb any of it," he writes. "Skip ahead a few weeks to when she starts kindergarten and is playing on the playground. She immediately runs for the boy playing in the plastic toy car, opens the door and pulls the boy out, carjacking-style. We play games when she isn't there now."

Witness to a small and perfectly timed act of kindness

"Climbing out of the subway I saw two women ahead of me," a reader of the awl.com explains. "They did not seem to know each other. The woman ahead on the stairs tripped and her shoe twisted off. The other woman behind her caught the shoe and with both hands perfectly slipped it back on the stranger's foot. This happened as if choreographed, and under four seconds."

Wrong number is an opportunity

A reader had this exchange with a stranger trying to pick her up via iMessage...

Show us your Census data, Australia!

If Australia were just 100 people then each dot in this nifty graphic would represent 1 per cent of the 23.4 million people that make up the Australian population. Interestingly the UK is the largest single source of residents born overseas, followed by India and New Zealand. Take a look at how else things are changing across the ditch.

Picture this

Five mates take the same picture over 35 years...Starts off with a few shirts off, ends well covered.

Actor's visual food metaphor

Good one, Sam!

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