Sideswipe: November 21: More seat? No thanks I'm stuffed

Lessons from libraries

A librarian who goes by @grumpwitch on Twitter wrote a thread about things they've learned while working in a library ... and it's delightful.

• A huge number of people under 20 can't read face clocks, having grown up with only digital one.

• A disturbing number of young people don't actually know how book lending at the library works. They assume it costs money.

• Teach your children about libraries.

• People use hidden codes like asterisks to mark which books they've read. Please don't do that.

• The system will let you know if you've already borrowed something. Just ask.

• If an automatic door breaks, people will walk into it instead of reading the sign at face height.

• Some elderly people go through books at a TERRIFYING rate. They are to be feared and respected.

• Some people are so afraid of computers that they will come to you with a query and then become upset if you offer to look it up on the computer instead of in a book.

• Some people have never, ever used a telephone. Especially older women. Their husband did it for them.

• Most banks assume that everyone has an email now. In fact, some people have trouble proving that they exist at all without one.

• Some people will go their entire lives only reading two to three authors but still have enough material to read a book every month. (See also: Danielle Steel, James Patterson, Clive Cussler, etc.)

• Authors don't like to visit little libraries because they don't get paid. Bookstores often pay.

• The "sexy librarian" trope has caused incidences of sexual assault by men who can't tell the difference between porn and reality.

• Old ladies keep libraries in business. Old ladies who read are the best. Old ladies who can tell you exactly which page features the most gruesome murder scene are the very best.

Lofty goals

Robot spreads cat poo

A reader writes: "My daughter bought a robot vacuum cleaner and set it to vacuum the carpets at 2am each night picking up cat and dog hair the pets had dropped. Worked well until one night one of the cats had a poo on the carpet and the robot smeared it all over the family room floor."