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Home / New Zealand

<i>Sideswipe:</i> Tuesday

Ana Samways
By Ana Samways
Sideswipe - ana.samways@nzherald.co.nz·NZ Herald·
24 Mar, 2008 04:00 PM3 mins to read

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Now that's inflation.

Now that's inflation.

Ana Samways
Opinion by Ana SamwaysLearn more

KEY POINTS:

A single girl, presumably, making music circa 1956-style.

* * *

Says Tara: "For an assembly performance our choir sang Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World. It seemed right at the time because of the great sunny weather and all. The hall doors were flung open and we could see the glorious morning outside. It was great timing because just when the choir came to the bit, "I see trees are green", three huge trucks passed by the open hall doors, each carrying a load of dead cut trees. Ironically their company's slogan read, 'We cut trees for the good of you'. When the choir came to that verse again the trucks did a u-turn and passed us once more. I had to try not to laugh because that would mean an hour detention after school."

* * *

A man who is suspected of hypnotising supermarket checkout staff to hand over money from their cash registers has been caught on camera. The last thing staff remember is the thief leaning over and saying, "Look into my eyes", before finding the till empty. In the latest incident captured on CCTV, a female bank clerk reportedly handed over nearly £630, yet had no memory of the incident until she was shown the footage. (Source: BBC.com)

* * *

Claire Gummer received a wonderful pair of possum and merino fibre socks as a present and was amused to learn from the label that in New Zealand, 'the possum runs wild in the native forests'. "What a great euphemism for 'the possum is an introduced pest that destroys native vegetation'," she says.

* * *

A local council in Australia has stacked two empty shipping containers on a cliff top to block water views for residents suspected of illegally cutting down trees. Port Stephens Council hired a crane, at a cost of more than $10,000, to punish those responsible for cutting down 20 trees. Irate locals complain they are being treated like children - which appears to be the idea. "Obviously those people who weren't involved [in chopping down the trees] and now have their views obstructed are not happy, and we appreciate that position, but it's like if you can't find the perpetrator in school, so everybody is held back for detention," said a council spokesman. (Source: News.com.au)

* * *

The reader who suggested people who give out Easter treats to children in public places should require a permit, because she'd heard about "drug dealers putting stuff on those fake tattoos with cartoon characters kids buy to hook them early", shouldn't believe everything she hears. The Blue Star Acid Scare is an infamous piece of scaremongering about rub-on tattoos laced with LSD and has been around since the 70s, according to urban legend site Snopes. Flyers warning communities were produced and widely distributed. The combination drugs and kids in imminent danger will always propagate the spread of false information, but taking a moment to think it through - what benefit would drug dealers gain from distributing free LSD to kids with no income? - is helpful in identifying the truth from the hoax.

* * *

Today's Webpick: You'd never think farmers Robert and Tanya Harris had just won a US$270 million lottery. Watch it here. Scroll down.

These are the very best online videos from Ana's online magazine Spare Room.

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