1. "Second date. I go to his house to watch movies. I wake up alone, as he has gone to work. I'm getting dressed and look up to see a white board on which he's written his life mottos. Some highlights: 'Act like a king and you'll be treated like a king.' 'Make them come to you.' 'Do not care: Effective way of getting what you want from people.' I left and never spoke to him again."
2. "I took out this girl who reminded me of Elijah Wood from Lord of the Rings. I shouldn't have said anything. I don't think there's a woman alive who wants to be told they resemble a male hobbit."
3. "A woman I met online and subsequently went out to dinner with took a picture of me on her cell phone soon after we'd sat down. It was a first date so I thought that was a little odd, but hey. Then she started texting and told me that she was just sending the picture to her friends and her mother to see what they thought."
One day you're cute, the next ...
In the cuteness stakes, 5-year-olds are past their prime, according to a study. Researchers in Canada and China polled adults who described the younger children as cuter, with a big shift at age 4. At that point, key "facial cues" like big eyes and heads combined with small noses and mouths become less apparent, Time reports. "These cues make us feel soft and protective, whether or not we're biologically relatives," an expert writes. That helps babies survive; indeed, babies with "tiny eyes, flat foreheads, and square faces" tend to get less attention. Bonnie Rochman reflects on the study in Time, noting that while she doesn't have a favourite child, it would be difficult to argue that her youngest - at just about 4 - doesn't win the cuteness race. "Her face is still round, her body still squeezable, her baby teeth intact, and her syntax to die for." (Source: Newser.com)
Expensive twist
A reader writes: "Can someone tell me why a 1. 5-litre bottle of soda water with a twist of lemon is $3.25 (full price) at Countdown but at Fresh Choice it's $5.45?"
