Sideswipe: January 9: Elrond or Saint Anthony?

A great-grandmother has been accidentally praying to a Lord of the Rings figurine, after mistaking it for a Saint Anthony. In a Facebook post which has gone viral, Brazilian make-up artist Gabriela Brandao posted a picture of the figurine with the caption: "My great-grandmother prays to this Saint Anthony every day ... But look closer." Not Saint Anthony, the patron saint of lost things, but Elrond Half-elven, the Lord of Rivendell from The Lord of the Rings movies, played by Hugo Weaving.

News nostalgia

In September 1909 Mrs Christina Brown of Elgin, Illinois, filed for divorce on the grounds that her husband wielded occult powers, compelling her to do things against her will, such as: Sitting for hours in one chair while he controlled her thoughts as well as actions without touch or word; revealing the choicest bits of neighbourhood gossip, no matter how solemnly she had sworn to keep them a secret; telling him what she really thought of him, despite her effort to pretend that he was the only man in the world; admitting that she didn't believe his fish stories; confessing that she had cooked up the oldest and poorest food in the house when he brought a friend home to dinner unexpectedly; purchasing a hat and gown at the cheapest store in town when she had fully intended to buy them at a more expensive establishment.
(Source: Weird Universe)

What untruth did you believe for the longest time?

1. "There used to be STP stickers put on the back of car windows in the late '60s," writes Roberta. "I was a very young female teenager at that time, the scandal of the introduction of the pill as a form birth control was very much the topic of the day. I thought it was a way of showing support for the pill. I only found out recently it means specially treated petroleum."

2. "I believed the saying 'make ends meet' was 'make end's meat'," writes Rachel. "I thought it implied making enough money for the end-of-day meat (i.e. dinner). It made perfect sense to me. I was very surprised when I finally saw it written down."

Lanterns custom we don't want

"One custom we don't want in New Zealand - lanterns like these are launched from West Harbour and blow towards the North Shore and then the Pacific Ocean with the prevailing westerly," declares a reader. "Guess who has to dispose of them up if they land on my property? Here's what they look like before they go to landfill: At least these weren't ingested by dolphins in the Hauraki Gulf."

Books a happy sight

In reference to Friday's Sideswipe picture of the shambolic pile of returned books at the Glen Innes Library, Steve Horne has a different perspective: "What a neat problem. So many adults and children keen on holiday reading."

Picture this:

Mental as architecture

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Video: How to pitch a tent...

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