Sideswipe: Pot raid reveals guinea pigs

An incentive bound to attract punters. Photo / Supplied

British police thought they'd found the marijuana mother lode - infrared scanners on a helicopter indicated a large, concentrated use of electricity in a house in the West Yorkshire town of Odsal. The heat signature screamed pot nursery, but when police arrived, they found the last thing they expected: guinea pigs. A local elementary-school teacher who lives in the house said she received a call at work. "The police came on the phone and said: 'We think you're growing cannabis in your garage,' she told the BBC. "I said: 'No, it's a heater to keep my guinea pigs warm because it's been so cold."' Police apologised for the mix-up.

Bikers ride out traffic jam

Beijing traffic is so bad that some drivers will pay to get out of traffic jams. How? There is a service where a motorbike is dispatched to pick you up and take you to your destination and bring a driver to sit in your car in the traffic jam to deliver your car when the jam clears. (Source: Yahoo News)

Home detention flaws

A reader writes: "I have just finished six months' home detention for fracturing the eye socket of a girl who followed me for hours and called me a nigger (I did not know this person). While on Community Detention I was made to have three bracelet changes because the batteries went flat (they blame this on magnets and steel draining them and put it down to the fact that I work with heavy machinery). I managed to go out later than curfew on more than one occasion. The NZ legal system is a joke."

Man of letters
A British man can boast the longest name in the world after adopting middle names beginning with all 26 letters of the alphabet. Barnaby Usansky, 36, formerly Nick, is fascinated by words and added the new names by Deed Poll - plus Marmaduke - because he loves it so much. His full name is now Barnaby Marmaduke Aloysius Benjy Cobweb Dartagnan Egbert Felix Gaspar Humbert Ignatius Jayden Kasper Leroy Maximilian Neddy Obiajulu Pepin Quilliam Rosencrantz Sexton Teddy Upwood Vivatma Wayland Xylon Yardley Zachary Usansky. But despite the new title - all 197 letters of it - his mates still call him Nick.

Bigger boxes, less tea

Sprite and deodorant are not the only things changing, says Graham Dodd. "Boxes of Dilmah Tea (30g) are now bigger, but boast five fewer tea bags than the earlier smaller boxes."