Sideswipe: July 15: Road apology

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Now that's the kind of pre-emptive number plate I like...

Holy cannelloni!

An Austrian man has won the right to be photographed for his driving licence wearing a pasta strainer on the grounds of religious freedom. A self-styled "pastafarian", Niko Alm belongs to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, which lampoons religion. The spaghetti church started in 2005 in opposition to moves at a Kansas, United States, school to teach the theory of intelligent design in biology class as an alternative to evolution, and since has engaged in a light-hearted campaign against religion. Pastafarians also believe heaven has a beer volcano and a factory producing strippers. (Source: Telegraph.co.uk)

100 per cent Pure rubbish

Georgia writes: "I travel to school on the Southern train line and am horrified at the amount of rubbish on the side of the tracks. Some residents have thrown whole bags of rubbish, broken furniture and toys over their back fence on to the banks by the lines. Surely to maintain NZ's 'clean green' reputation we could get volunteers or the council to take action before thousands of Rugby World Cup fans see the mess!"

Inventive vocab

1) Elderburb - a suburb which has a predominantly elderly population (ie Orewa).

2) Facebook minute - elongated time spent distracted on Facebook when the original intent was just to check your messages.

3) Lawnmower parent - one who tries to smooth a child's path through life by solving his/her problems.

4) Edgehog - a bus passenger hogging the aisle seat.

Global oddities

1) Cursive handwriting (the joined-up writing) is becoming a dead art in Indiana and has been taken off the school curriculum. Instead the kids will learn not typing but keyboarding.

2) The newest must-have product for summer in Japan is a cooling spray in a can. The foam-like spray quickly solidifies and can then be wrapped around the wrist or neck, providing instant relief from the sweltering heat.

3) The advice to drink 6-8 glasses of water a day is being questioned. It's thought to come from a 1945 recommendation but some professionals say most of the water we need would be consumed in other foods and drinking so much water could cause a salt deficiency.