Sideswipe: October 7: Cat goes postal

"Climb in the letterbox and wait for anyone foolish enough to put their hand near the letter slot."

"Our neighbour's cat, which acts more like a dog, has a very feline approach to the ancient postman enemy," writes Michael Beck of Meadowbank. "Climb in the letterbox and wait for anyone foolish enough to put their hand near the letter slot."

Rats launched Jackson's brilliant career

The Jackson Five had a slew of hits, but Michael was trying to break into the spotlight. He had a few middling successes before his first big hit. The first Michael Jackson song to reach number one was Ben, a rat love song. In the 1970s, Willard was a popular horror movie. It told the story of a man who used rats to attack people who had betrayed him. The sequel focused on one of the rats. Michael Jackson was asked to sing the romantic song of that movie. The career that launched Billie Jean, Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough and Smooth Criminal all started over sultry rat tunes. (Source: listverse.com)

Well at least they're being honest about it.

Happy as a pig in mud

Pigs don't have many sweat glands, which makes controlling body temperature a problem. So, for the longest time, scientists believed pigs wallowed in mud to keep cool. Although that's true, a study in Applied Animal Behaviour Science discovered an evolutionary twist: Porkers don't roll in mud because they have just a few sweat glands; rather, they have a few sweat glands because they like to roll in mud. (Put differently, swine never developed sweat glands because their ancestors were always playing in muck!) Now some scientists believe a mud bath simply makes pigs happy. It's a tautology, but pigs like mud because, well, they like mud. (Source: Mental Floss)

Recipes classic still in vogue

A copy of the Edmonds cookbook bought in 1956.

"My 87-year-old mother had been following the recent discussions about the Edmonds cookbook and showed me her 60-year-old copy that she still uses, bought when she got married in 1956."

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