Would-be passenger Hopping mad
"On Sunday I was going for lunch with friends in town," writes Erica. "Having not used my Hop card in a while, I checked my balance online. Realising I only had enough to get to town but not back again, I decided to top it up using my debit card. If I'd known that it would take approximately 72 hours to process my payment, I'd have trudged through the rain to top my card up at Britomart before going home! Since then, I have also discovered that student fares when paying with cash don't apply to AUT students and have had to ask my brother to run me to uni today since with no credit on my card and having used all my cash getting there and back yesterday, I have no way to get to class."
Fresh bread smell wins by a nose
Freshly baked bread has won in a poll to find Britain's top 50 favourite smells, declares the Daily Mail, followed by bacon, newly-mown grass and coffee. The top 10 included cakes baking in the oven, just-laundered clothes, a roast and fresh flowers. Of the most unpleasant smells, bins, drains, body odour and vomit were expected, but somehow blue cheese made 18th spot. Philistines.
Alabama woman becomes rock star
In 1954, Ann Hodges was resting on her couch in Alabama when a hunk of rock burst through the ceiling and smacked into her hip. It was a meteorite. This being the height of the Cold War, the police confiscated it. A public uproar ensued, with folks insisting that the rock belonged to Hodges. (She was, after all, the first person in recorded history to be struck by a meteorite.) Instead, the court handed it to Hodges' landlord, who returned it to her for $500. (Source: Mental Floss)
Question of the day
"Reins [a harness-type contraption] may be deemed old fashioned and cruel these days but I used them when I took my children shopping. I put my dogs on a leash to keep them safe, why would I do anything less for my children?" (Source: Trade Me Message Board)
