KEY POINTS:
"Thanks for stating the blindingly obvious, Plant Barn," writes Caralise Moore. "What has OSH brought us to?"
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Foot spas have been named the most useless gadget, with the bread-maker a close second. A survey by UK website which.co.uk found that heated hair-straighteners or curlers were rated higher than TVs when it asked people to name the top gadget that had changed their life. The mobile phone was the most popular life-changing gadget, named by almost a quarter of people surveyed and 42 per cent of the 16-24 age group. In second place came the laptop, followed by the MP3 player. One person even said their salad spinner had changed their life, reports the Daily Telegraph.
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Strange new products: A Dallas company has designed a device to remind parents not to leave their children in the car. The Child Minder System has a smart pad and controller box which is placed in the child's car seat. The child's weight activates the system, and if the parent turns off the car's ignition and walks away the key ring alarm unit warns that the child is still inside. Capitalising on parental neurosis, the device has been developed in response to the 35 hot-car deaths a year in the US. "Some people say, how could a parent forget a child in the car, but I know it's so easy," said Jocelyn Spears of Baby Alert International, the makers of the product. "All of our lives are so busy, we get distracted and we forget something."
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Martin asks: "Is anyone else frustrated by the latest coverage of rugby on Sky TV? This year, they have started broadcasting in wide- format so those of us who have perfectly functioning, older televisions (not wide-format), cannot see the left-hand side of the score graphic in the top, left-hand of the screen. Surely if Sky moved the graphic a little to the right it would be visible for those with wide-format screens as well as those with the old-fashioned format."
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Private hospitals in Australia are setting up luxury maternity units in five-star hotels, with transfers by limousine. Women who have uncomplicated deliveries will be able to move with their babies into an ocean-view suite, with 24-hour access to an on-site midwife. They can order meals from the hotel's room service, have their partners stay over, and receive visitors all hours. The costs will be included in obstetric cover provided by private health funds. Rising birth rates, the growing number of caesarean sections and the closure of maternity units have put pressure on hospitals. (Source: News.com.au)
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Today's Webpick: Australian film director Baz Luhrmanns ponderings became a number one single in the UK in 1999. Here is Everybodys Free (To Wear Sunscreen) to brighten up your Monday.
Watch it here.
These are the very best online videos from Ana's online magazine Spare Room.
