KEY POINTS:
A reader shares her most devious prank: "I was working for a friend in a clothing shop. Finding myself 'overdue' I began to worry I might be pregnant. My friend badgered me until I went and bought a home pregnancy test kit. Half an hour later I pulled out the test stick to find it blue - yep, I was pregnant. A couple of weeks passed and my friend became concerned as she was now a few days overdue. Not forgetting her badgering, I made her use the spare test I had not used. When it came time to check the stick, my friend became very nervous and ran next door to the dairy to buy cigarettes. While she was gone I checked the test, it was white and she was not pregnant. Not wanting to miss such a good opportunity, I grabbed blue chalk, coloured in the tip and reinserted it. My friend returned, checked the test and began screaming. I finally managed to tell her it was a prank amidst my sobs of hysterical laughter."
* * *
A reader writes: "My wife and I were going from Canada to USA and she was filling out the entry form at a desk. Alongside her was another person filling out his form. When he left, there was a wallet left on the counter. I called out to him and he said it wasn't his, so I picked it up and opened it. Inside was a white envelope with a wad of US$100 notes, about 25cm thick. I managed to find some security guy and I handed it to him and drew his attention to the money. About an hour later I saw a policeman and told him the story and he said yes, it had been reported and the owner had picked it up. The policeman said there would have been about $5000-$6000 in it. Someone was lucky, eh?"
* * *
Rock star Sheryl Crow recently suggested that people might limit their toilet paper use to address climate change. At the time we laughed, but it turns out global tissue consumption is no laughing matter. According to figures in World Watch magazine, annual consumption of toilet tissue in North America per head is roughly 23kg versus 1.8kg in Asia and 0.4kg in Africa. (Source: WorldWatch.org)
* * *
Barbara's tale of the girl crying on the street corner in yesterday's Sideswipe is so relevant to the anti-smacking bill, declares a concerned reader. "How much kinder a swift slap on the leg would have been instead of the mental torture her mother inflicted on her and how much longer will the horror of it stay with her. But never mind - Mummy is a law-abiding citizen who didn't smack. Sue Bradford will be so pleased."
