KEY POINTS:
My brother is visiting from Britain and we went on this cool bush walk to Mercer Bay in the Waitakeres. We couldn't resist this shot," writes John Clark.
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A bunch of high school students in Maryland have fessed up to a game that takes advantage of the fact that, based only on a photograph of a licence plate, police are able to catch and fine motorists who break the law. Using laser printers, Wootton High School students have been making copies of innocent people's licence plates to stick over their own plates. The students then speed by the camera in front of the school, which takes a photo of the fake plate number and sends a $40 fine ticket to the real licence plate holder. The teens call it 'speed camera pimping game'. Unfortunately, the companies that send the tickets don't check to make sure the vehicle registration information for the 'guilty' driver matches the photographed car.
(Source: RadarOnline.com)
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Hangover cures from around the world: Time magazine has compiled a list of hangover cures. The Romanians recommend tripe (cow's stomach) boiled in a greasy, salty soup with garlic and cream. The Americans' Prairie Oyster - a concoction of tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce and a raw egg - sounds like a salmonella shake, and the Polish sour pickle juice solution sounds unlikely to reach its intended destination. In China strong green tea is suggested and in Russia they don't ingest anything, instead heading to the sauna with some birch branches. (Although not featured in the story, every New Zealander knows a mince and cheese pie and chocolate milk works a treat).
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Ah choo! Sneezing could be triggered by sexual thoughts, according to Dr Mahmood Bhutta, from John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, England. He launched a study after seeing a patient who suffered uncontrollable sneezing fits every time he had a sexual thought. Sneezing usually occurs in response to nasal irritation. Eyebrow plucking can also provoke sneezing. But other more puzzling sneezing triggers are also known, said the researchers.
One was the "photic sneeze reflex" - an apparently inherited sneezing reaction to sunlight, which affects almost a quarter of the population. More rare were cases of people from the same family sneezing after meals, independent.co.uk reported.
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A phone call to National Geographic magazine in the United States asking for help with a photograph request met an unexpected response.
"Hi, I'm in New Zealand, and I need some help to get some photographs from you."
"I'm sorry, we can't supply photos to Europe."
"No, I'm in New Zealand."
"That's what I said, we can't supply photos to Europe."
Perhaps geography lessons would be helpful for the customer service staff.
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