A reader writes of how easily people can misinterpret: "My 80-year-old friend recently dislocated the middle finger of her right hand. She is able to drive her car with the finger immobilised and sticking up in the air off the steering wheel. Last week as she was driving out of
the local supermarket car park a woman in a car coming the other way gave her 'the fingers' gesture with great emphasis and a nasty look."
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Are the good folk of Gordonton poking fun or are they trying to pull a fast one, wonders Lesley Utting. "During a recent trip to Hamilton via Gordonton we noticed an intriguing sign for free- range whitebait. We wondered whether the whitebait had travelled from maybe the Piako River to the Waikato River but weren't sure of the various waterways they would need to move in. Then passing through Gordonton itself, a shop proudly proclaimed its free-range whitebait for sale. Can anyone advise just what is free-range whitebait?"
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The Newsroom news service distributed to subscribers the following press release from the United Nations headed: "Top Official Says UN Malking Prigress On Improving Efficiency And Coordination". The efficiency evidently doesn't include headlines on press releases.
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Monday's Sideswipe brought you the story of the homeless who joined the great and the good for Auckland City Council's reopening of Grafton Bridge. Councillor Ken Bagueley said several had grabbed a handful of the free food "so I guess they'll eat well tonight". However, an invited guest tells Sideswipe that the food may not have been all that great. "It didn't fail to catch my attention that the biscuits on offer had a best-before date of 28/11/2007. Good on ya, Auckland City Council!"
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Do you recognise this couple? A man went into a printing company to discuss making a photo album for his mother, but left some of his photos and slides behind on our counter and has not been to collect them. Contact sbreen@premierprint.co.nz
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A bra that can double as a pair of gas masks in an emergency has won an award at Harvard University's IgNobels, a tongue-in-cheek homage to the Nobel prize. The bra can be turned into two protective face masks, one for the wearer and the other for whoever else may need one. The patent states that each of the bra's cup sections is fitted with a filter device, meaning the wearer can whip it off and detach each section to fit it over the face. Source: AFP
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View today's Herald cartoon
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Today's Webpick: These days Sesame Street uses the iPod and TVs Mad Men to educate the preschoolers. Go here
Follow Ana Samways on Twitter here
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Ana Samways is away.