Sideswipe: Pros and cons

Dee Hunter thought these chocolate macadamia nuts would make a nice treat during Coronation Street ... until she opened the deceptive packaging. Photo / Supplied

The chief executive of a body armour company charged with tax fraud and insider trading argued at his trial in New York City that his company's hiring of prostitutes for staff and board members was a legitimate expense because it could "make [employees] more productive". (Source: New York Times)

Brace yourself to keep cool

The hot weather moved Tony Baker, of Hamilton, to think longingly of braces. "One great advantage of braces in hot weather is they allow unimpeded circulation of cooling air up the trouser legs and space around the waist whereas belts tend to keep the hot, humid air trapped around the nether regions ... So my mission was to find a pair of braces, and it didn't take long to locate some elastic ones for only $3. I have used these with shorts for three weeks and they are so much more comfortable than belts. I have also been thinking of ways to increase the air flow and one method is simply to jump up and down a few times. This is something to do in private as I'm sure the sight of an 80-year-old man performing in this manner in public would have him committed to an institution."

Salami reprieve for prisoner

A convict in California who disliked salami was able to receive kosher meals after his lawyer cited the Seinfeld holiday Festivus as his religious belief. The drug dealer wanted kosher meals to maintain his physique but officials said it was a matter of religious needs. The man's lawyer successfully argued his client's devotion to Festivus - the holiday celebrated on the hit TV show with an aluminium pole and the airing of grievances. (Source: NorthJersey.com)

Look after the birds

Bird fancier Victoria Carter has a pair of loved-up kereru drinking and washing in her bird bath. She says that the dry weather is making birds desperate for water. "Even large, shallow bowls on the lawn with water will bring the birds."

Whatever - it's, like, really annoying

Whatever you think about using grating words, at the end of the day it's actually better not to say whatever, if you know what I mean. For the second consecutive year "whatever" topped a Marist poll as the most annoying word or phrase in the English language. Nearly 39 per cent of 1020 Americans questioned in the survey deemed it the most irritating word, followed by "like" with 28 per cent and the phrase "you know what I mean" at 15 per cent.

Annual presence puts strain on Santa Santa has been put on notice by doctors: sleep deprivation and the temptations of booze laid out by grateful families could turn him into a public menace. "Each year, Santa Claus and his team of elves and reindeer stay awake for days and nights so he can deliver presents to children all over the world for Christmas," say Franco Cappuccio and Michelle Miller of Britain's University of Warwick Medical School. "But he could be putting his and their health at risk." Cappuccio and Miller assess the perils faced - and posed - by Santa on his nightlong global trek. Days without sleep, frantic all-night driving and tipples by the Christmas tree all add up to a terrifying picture ... of a sleigh-crash in slow motion. "Considering that he does it only once a year, it may not be too bad for his long-term health," the pair said. "However, in the short term, there are risks."