Sideswipe: May 18: Soccer parents, please read

A sign at our soccer club reminding parents about reality.

Star performance

A reader writes: "Today my grandson went for his 4-year old check-up at the local Plunket. The nurse showed him a picture of the sun and asked him what it was, to which he replied 'a star'. She repeated this question to my grandson and again he stated that it was "a star". Sensing her exasperation he then clarified his answer by stating that 'the sun is the closest star to Earth in our galaxy'. I wish I could have seen the expression on her face!"

Hairy moment

"Your chocolate mousse piece last week reminded me of my late Dad who was a very caring person but he could be a little gauche at times," writes Jock from Waimate. "At a drinks party he noticed a hair on a female friend's cheek. 'Hang on,' he said and pinched the hair to remove it. Unfortunately it was connected to her inner nose and, in her pain, she spat a mouthful of gin down his front."

Guarding against gropers

An all-female lifeguard team who help to save drowning tourists in some of China's most dangerous rapids have been fitted with cameras to stop men from groping them.The cameras were given to the White Swan Women's Rafting Rescue Team, who work around rapids in Sanmenxia canyon in Henan province in central China.The women say the cameras, which are cunningly disguised using leaves and flowers, are needed after men began deliberately throwing themselves into the river so they could grope their rescuers. (Via The Daily Mail)

Rustic living

Outdoor furniture for sale on Trade Me described as "rustic".

Pitching Potter

Mad Men's Don Draper usually pitches campaigns to clients, but this is what it would be like if the adman pitched Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. "Most people will tell you this is a story about good vs evil. And about magic. But they're wrong. It's about a boy. A boy with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. There's a scar in all of us. There is no good, no evil, no magic, no Hagrid. Just us ... and our scars." Lights cigarette.

Not the right area

A reader from Kaikohe would like to tell TV3 that his home town is a little further north.

Video: One of the best ads ever...

Herald app users tap here for today's video.

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