Sideswipe: January 19: Retail fingers

Got seed? "Noel Leeming - the new agricultural specialists," says Katy Bexley.

Bus man finds missing link

"On Christmas Eve my 5-year-old son and I caught a Howick and Eastern bus home from a visit with his grandparents," writes Emily. "He had been given a box of Lego for Christmas and had had a sneaky look in the box. On Christmas Day he realised a single piece of Lego was missing, and the crying began as he explained that 'it was the most important piece'. I spoke with a lovely man at the bus depot and he said he would take a look. He called back and had searched the buses and rubbish and found the piece. We were able to pick it up that day. Most people would have just laughed at the idea of finding a small piece of Lego missing somewhere in a whole fleet of buses."

Faces of nature

Ewan Morrell spotted this somewhere near Grasmere on the way to Arthurs Pass.

First date a little too hot

Waiters/waitresses, what's the worst date you've ever waited on?

"I worked in a restaurant that had a huge selection (150+) of hot sauces. A couple came in, the guy started bragging about how much he loved hot sauce. He asked for the hottest one we have. I brought the bottle to his table, he filled a spoon with the sauce and made a big production of how he was going to eat it. I told him not to, the hostess told him not to, the waitress serving the next table told him not to ... he put it in his mouth, started choking and gagging, puked on the table then passed out and did a faceplant right into the puke. We called 911. He refused treatment when the paramedics showed up. They left without even ordering a meal. The girl told one of the staff it was their first date." (Via Ask Reddit)

More cameras and no signs

A reader writes: "Drivers going along the Mt Wellington Highway beware - two new speed cameras have been installed and all the speed limit signs have been removed. Despite it being a four-lane highway (two lanes each direction) it is a 50km/h area."

Picture this: Penguins have knees...

Olden days: Yearbook comments from 1946 were pretty harsh, for the ladies...

Good read: Woman fakes her own death to get out an online date...

Picture this: Photographer captures rare pictures of flipped iceberg...

Video: Swedish guy shows what happens when a a bottle rocket is shot under the surface of a frozen lake.

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Got a Sideswipe? Send your pictures, links and anecdotes to Ana at ana.samways@nzherald.co.nz