Sideswipe: Buyer beware - we insist

Could this market be for kids who are misbehaving?. Photo / Supplied

Trevor purchased a small alloy platform from a hardware chain. "When I got home I discovered no fewer than 11 stickers on it relating to safety. Is this Occupational Safety and Health madness, or what?"

Lighting the route to safer driving

A reader from Westmere writes: "Driving in the midday gloom and rain last week and seeing many cars without headlights on, I wondered why cars are not designed - as many motorcycles are - to have their headlights come on with the ignition? Repeated studies have shown that using headlights in the daytime increases safety; there is no situation I can think of when it would be disadvantageous to have them on - and even if there is, a manual override would suffice; it would avoid the peril posed by unlit cars driving at night; and it would be impossible to leave your lights on when you left your car. Can anyone point out the downside?"

Giving police work the bird

Vultures are being used instead of the traditional police dogs to recover bodies in Germany. A team of three carrion-seeking birds, named Sherlock, Miss Marple and Colombo, all have keen eyesight and an acute sense of smell and are expected to do a better job of handling rough terrain and scanning larger areas. The only hitch is that the scavenger birds tend to peck at their finds. (Source: Newser.com)

Net result is disappointment

A reader writes: "Does anyone else get annoyed at all the misleading advertising on the net? I wanted to go to the zoo and Googled Auckland Zoo and was presented with this advert: "Up to 90% Off Zoo Tickets - Save On Zoo Tickets @spreets.co.nz," it says. But there was no discount whatsoever on Auckland Zoo. False advertising? I think so."

So mulch for that idea

Robert Densem must have a very low opinion of landscapers to assume they would use spray paint instead of grass, says Catie. "I have no inside scoop but would bet the 'maintenance man' at Auckland Airport was spraying on seed mix. Green dye is commonly added and it often includes chemicals to boost growth." (Matt says the lurid stuff seen by your reader is hydro mulch, which will turn into a beautiful lawn over the next few months).