Sideswipe

The owner of a horse float in Gore gets carried away with the letter 'e'.

A reader writes: "After having a few drinks at the Sheraton in Auckland I signed the Visa authorisation for $47, which did not include a tip. Checking my Visa statement a few weeks later, I noticed the charge was $52. I phoned and asked for a copy of my signed authority to be sent to me - shock! The Sheraton had added on a $5 tip after I had signed the voucher. I wrote asking for an explanation. When I hadn't received a reply after three weeks I phoned to check the recipient had received my letter. Yes he had, apologies, he would phone me back after the weekend. No word, no letter until I received my Visa statement in January and noticed a $5 credit had been passed by the Sheraton. The amount is trivial but the principle is not - is this theft or credit card fraud? People have been convicted for stealing a newspaper! The PR on behalf of the Sheraton is appalling. So check your statements."

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American soldiers returning home from Vietnam were abused and spat upon. Now the Government just arrests them. Herold Noel, 25, wasn't expecting a parade. But when he and his fellow soldiers from the Army's Expeditionary Unit 37 arrived home from Iraq in Hinesville, Georgia, they got what one might call less than a hero's welcome. Waiting for them as they deplaned were local police officers. In their hands were lists of names of soldiers with outstanding warrants, mostly for traffic and parking tickets left unpaid while they were off fighting the war.

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Andrew writes: "I am a 15-year-old boy and my sister is a 13-year-old moody teenager who got severely annoyed with me, then told me to get out of her room. Giving me five seconds to leave, she began counting down. When she reached one, she then went ... '1 and a 1/2' I found this extremely amusing and have been laughing for 3 minutes".

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Conor Brownlow found a digital camera in Devonport on Saturday, January 15. It contains 141 photos, many of which were taken in Los Angeles. If anyone can accurately identify the camera and its contents, please email Sideswipe and we will reunite them with their property. We suspect that the owner is either Elvis or the man to his left.

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Californian small business VIP Fibers has an enthusiastic clientele of pet owners who pay to make specialty items (blankets, pillows, scarves) from their animals' hair ("Better yarn from your pet than a sheep you never met").

One client brought in enough sheddings of his golden retriever for a blanket, two couch pillows, a small teddy bear, a scarf and a picture frame. (Source: News of the Weird).