KEY POINTS:
At a work Christmas party on Waiheke Island, Gem and Clare thought this toilet door sign in the ferry terminal was rather weird. But their companion Gordon thought it was obviously a room intended for handicapped people and/or parents who wanted to lie down on the floor and bounce their babies up against the wall.
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In the Middle East it is a sign of contempt to throw a shoe at someone. After George Bush ducked two shoes hurled at him by an Iraqijournalist this week, the Mirror explored insulting behaviour in other countries:
1. If you are handed a business card in Japan you can cause offence by throwing it on your desk or stuffing it in your back pocket, as the exchange of business cards there is meant to be a well thought out practice.
2. To show distaste in Scandinavia, keep your chin down during a bottoms-up. It is highly offensive to look down at your feet while drinking a toast.
3. If you blow your nose into a handkerchief in Japan you'll insult those around you. Carrying a soiled hanky around all day is thought to be disgusting.
4. While the thumb and forefinger forming the letter "O" is a Western sign for "okay", in Russia it is understood to be an insult with sexual connotations.
5. In Argentina it is considered an insult if you turn up for a dinner date on time. This is thought to be a sign of greed rather than politeness.
(Source: Mirror.co.uk)
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Following the thread about not being allowed into bars because of dress code, a reader was given another reason for not being allowed through the door of another establishment. "I was in Ponsonby Rd with a few mates (all males) on Friday night and we went to enter The Ponsonby Social Club. The bouncer stopped us and said, 'Sorry too many guys in here at the moment, so you can't come in ... unless you like guys.' So the club is only for females and homosexual males?"
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Watching romantic comedies can ruin your love life, ladies, because they promote unrealistic expectations of relationships. The study, conducted by university academics in Edinburgh, found fans of films such as Runaway Bride and Notting Hill are more likely to believe in predestined love. And they often fail to communicate with their partner because they believe their partner should know what they want without being told. Researchers say the problem is that while most of us know that the idea of a perfect relationship is unrealistic, some of us are still more influenced by media portrayals than we realise. As part of the project, 100 student volunteers were asked to watch the 2001 romantic comedy Serendipity, while a further 100 watched a David Lynch film. Students watching the romantic film were later found to be more likely to believe in fate and destiny.
(Source: BBC.co.uk)
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Mary Pickworth writes: "I am a New Zealander living in the south of France and this year I will be enjoying a very Kiwi Christmas, dining on New Zealand lamb. It sells in the supermarkets for 4.69 a kg, compared to the local lamb which is 11.50 a kg."
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CORNELIUS F. Salonis spent two months in a Minnesota jail on drug possession charges before lab tests showed the white powder police found in his car was deodorant. His lawyer blamed a faulty field test.
(Source: Reason.com)
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Today's Webpick: The first installment of the best web videos of 2008. Watch them here.
These are the very best online videos from Ana's online magazine Spare Room.
