Sideswipe: August 10: I am the walrus

Photos / Supplied

Forget Happy Feet, looks like a walrus (photo, left) has made it all the way into Auckland Harbour.

Nips and tucks

Rod Petersen spotted this newspaper ad (photo, right) in Thailand.

Royal selling point

While waiting at the checkout at Countdown, Jenny Ross noticed three women's magazines all featuring the Duchess of Cambridge on the cover. "One has her 'pregnant', one 'living in domestic bliss' and the last one 'sad and lonely'. Cover stories of Kate must sell magazines, but I won't believe a word they say."

Body parts for an education

Students should be able to sell their kidneys for tens of thousands of pounds to pay off university debts, says a Scots academic. Sue Rabbitt Roff believes making it legal to sell the body part would boost the number of organs available to save lives and help students struggling with money. She argues that donors should be paid the average UK annual income of around £28,000 ($56,531). It is illegal to sell organs and tissues in the UK. The National Union of Students in Scotland described the idea as "ludicrous" and said students should not be expected to lose a body part to pay for their education. (The Scotsman.com)

A station too far

A reader writes: "Using public transport is a joke! I live in Pukekohe and used to work in the city, so paying $255 for a monthly train pass for eight stages was quite a good deal. However, I've now changed jobs and the closest train station is Homai. I rang and asked how much a monthly pass would be for the four-stage journey and got told that since I lived in Pukekohe it would still be $255. I think I'll stick to the convenience of driving!"

Security killed the play

Damien can sympathise with Paul at the All Blacks game last Saturday. "We had front-row tickets in the ASB stand right on halfway. However, there was a security guard standing halfway between our seats and the sideline who obscured our view every time play was within 10m either side of halfway. Given there was a security guard every 10m, including guards standing among the crowd in our stand alone, as well as multiple police squads standing atop the stands on the concourse, surely this is unnecessary?"

Getting the bird

Eleven-year-old Skylar Capo rescued a baby woodpecker from the family cat and wanted to take care of the bird for a day or so to make sure it was OK before letting it go. However, in a local shop, she and her mother ran into a US Fish and Wildlife Service agent, who fined Skylar $535 for violating the Migratory Bird Act (handling a baby woodpecker). (Source: News of the Weird)