Lose-lose situation
"I booked an Air NZ Perth-to-Auckland flight next July (2017)," writes Shane. "Oops, I erred and booked for the 20th when I should have booked the 19th. I made the correction (six months in advance). Penalty to correct the error $100. Cost to Air NZ . Last July (2016), I also booked an Air NZ Perth-to-Auckland flight. A couple of months in advance Air NZ cancelled the flight and changed my booking to the following day. Penalty to Air NZ , cost to me $200 for a hotel room."
Grad student makes ultimate sacrifice for science
Cornell University graduate student Michael Smith wanted to find out where on the body was the most painful place to be stung. He used honey bees to sting himself in 25 body locations and then rated the painfulness of the stings on a 1-10 scale.
To apply the sting, the bee was grabbed by the wings and pressed against the desired sting location and kept at the location for 5 seconds to ensure that the stinger would penetrate the skin. The least painful locations were the skull, middle toe tip, and upper arm (all scoring a 2.3). The three most painful locations were the nostril, upper lip, and penis shaft (9.0, 8.7, and 7.3, respectively). (Weird Universe)
Incident blown out of proportion
On the subject of things people erroneously believe ... A reader writes: "I once had to explain to a visiting Brit that contrary to her belief Auckland harbour wasn't created when the French let off a nuclear bomb on the Rainbow Warrior. This was a woman in her 30s too."
Malapropisms in brief
1. I worked for a guy who once summoned me to the window to point out a very thin girl who was walking by who was "emancipated". He wore "pro-pels" on his jacket and grew potatoes from "tumours".
2. The doctor was inquiring about the date of my daughter's last menstrual cycle. She answered by saying it was hard to tell because her periods were so erotic.
3. I have a friend who always refers to overweight people as "obeast".
4. A parent speaking to his child's teacher, trying to account for his son's lack of interest in reading books: "I can't explain it - both my wife and I are vivid readers."
5. We were admiring the gardens as we were walking along the beach-front at Orewa just prior to Christmas, when my husband commented on the pretty polonies growing in one of the gardens. Of course he was given a bunch of intermingled [polony sausages] on sticks and peonies in a vase for Christmas.
Video: Slo-motion footage of a mouse trap severing the tip of a hot dog will make for uncomfortable viewing for some.
Video: A man literally tosses a baby to safety from a sinking car. Good catch fella.
Video: This guys has some excellent treadmill moves...
Got a Sideswipe? Send your pictures, links and anecdotes to Ana at ana.samways@nzherald.co.nz