A musician has said she was prevented from travelling with her cello on a British Airways flight because the instrument apparently needed a visa to travel in the extra seat she had booked for it. Jane Bevan, 35, was attempting to board aflight from Zurich to Baltimore, when she was told at check-in that her cello needed a US Esta travel visa. Bevan, who booked her cello under the name "Chuck Cello", said she called BA a month before her flight and was told that the second seat followed airline policy. "At the airport I was told by a BA steward there was a problem with the booking," she said. "I waited while she spoke to her supervisor and was then told the check-in for the extra seat could not be completed because the system needed an Esta visa."
China swims against the tampon tide
When China's Olympic swimmer Fu Yuanhui said her period held her back during the final of the women's 4x100m medley relay race on live TV, it was an education for many viewers in China. "I feel I didn't swim well today. I let my teammates down," Fu said. "Because my period came yesterday, I'm feeling a bit weak, but this is not an excuse." Some Weibo users, oblivious to the benefits of tampons, asked why there was 'no blood in the pool?' According to the LA Times, Chinese manufacturers made 85 billion sanitary pads last year, but no tampons. A lack of sex education has produced a cultural bias against the tampon and Chinese girls are often told, "use tampons after you get married". But safety concerns about Chinese-made pads - reports surfaced they might contain a cancer-causing agent, and attitudes like Yuanhui's has seen a shift and China's first domestic tampon brand is launching this month.
"At Tauranga Boys' College in 1969, if you went to a school assembly forgetting your Song Book you were required to write out the Lord's Prayer 20 times," writes Brian Pinny. "A three-time crime repeated would eventually lead to a caning."
Kerb extension puzzle
Photo / Supplied
"A lot of good things have been happening for cyclists in Auckland recently," concedes Tim Roberts. "But this is not one of them. The photo shows a newly-built kerb extension in Rockfield Rd, Penrose. The traffic engineers responsible apparently failed to notice that their new kerb completely blocks the cycle lane."
Picture this:TIME magazine and The New Yorker depict Donald Trump's decline in the polls since the Republican National Convention in a very similar way...
Video: In Oslo, at the official Dødsing competition, competitors attempt to bellyflop on purpose to impress the judges..." Redditor aMagnu explains how it's done. "It's not a bellyflop competition, it's called dødsing which kinda translates do "deathing". The idea is that you spread out as you would for a bellyflop, but tuck into a sort of folded-in-half-dive right before hitting the water. The contestants are scored based on style and how long they wait before tucking in. I'm pretty sure a full-blown bellyflop from that height (10m) is potentially very harmful. As the name implies it's about narrowly avoiding death."
Picture this: Darth Vader Tooth Pick Dispenser for the sci-fi fan who has everything...
Video: Real Estate marketing is like a bad music video these days...
Read Henry Cooke's opinion piece about the trend here. "...essentially ads for open homes, but instead of the standard cardboard job they are produced like mid-budget music videos: drone shots, thumping music, slow motion footage all of a sudden sped up, and a pervading sense that this is not for you."
