Sideswipe: Have a cow, man

A property management company is suing one of its former tenants over a Tweet. The tenant was staying in an apartment run by Horizon Realty in Chicago and wrote on social networking site Twitter: "Who said sleeping in a mouldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon Realty thinks it's okay." Horizon Realty filed a libel lawsuit seeking $50,000 damages. The tenant had only 20 followers. (Mashable.com)

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Richard writes regarding the picture in yesterday's Crimescene column of a man measuring the distance between the steel girders in front of an ATM. "Since he looks like a friend of mine I emailed him the link asking for an explanation.

This was his reply: "Ooh, ah ... yes ... well ... you see, my grandmother is a very large woman and I was measuring to see if she'd be able to use the cash machine when she arrives from Alabama next summer. I'm taking measurements of all the cash machines in areas she's likely to visit and Dargaville is on the list."

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A reader writes: "While in a liquor store in Avondale, my wife and I were amazed as the woman in the store sold a very intoxicated, wobbling man a crate of beer, but were lost for words when she asked the man if he wanted a hand to get to his car! Anything for a profit, eh?"

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Phone operators at Scotland Yard's control room will have to make a record of when they nip to the loo. Employees will have to note toilet visits as a "code three" which will be recorded on a database in a bid to discourage staff from taking unnecessary breaks. Most employees are not happy about the monitoring. A spokesman said: "Staff in this environment have regular breaks that compare very favourably with outside industry so the need for extra personal breaks should be minimal."

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Answers to yesterday's quiz:

1. The one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends is boxing.

2. The only two vegetables that can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons are asparagus and rhubarb (others suggested taro).

3. The only vegetable or fruit never sold frozen, canned, processed, or cooked is lettuce (although, maybe watermelon too).

4. Six or more things you can wear on your feet beginning with 'S' include shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, skates, snowshoes, stockings, stilts ...

To all of you who sent in answers, well done! But there is no prize - just self-satisfaction.

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View today's Herald cartoon

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