Sideswipe: February 16: About time too...

Spud juice

When it comes to dairy alternatives, we already have a lot of "milks" to choose from, but the latest alternative could prove to be a game-changer due to how available and cheap its main ingredient is. Potato milk doesn't sound like the most delicious thing in the world, but then again, neither does oat milk or soy milk and look how popular they turned out to be. Not to mention that this new dairy alternative is apparently "deliciously creamy" and works great for homemade lattes and cappuccinos. Plus, the humble potato uses a lot less land and resources than other plants that are currently used for milk, which makes both the vegetable and the milk more affordable. DUG, the world's only commercially available potato milk brand, recently made its debut on the UK market, where it is expected to make quite an impact purely based on the demand for animal product alternatives in that market. The Swedish company has plans to expand to other European countries, as well as the Chinese market, but a US launch doesn't seem likely in the near future.

Peak technology, 1978

Your free Covid test snapshot

"One can only marvel at the stupidity of Auckland transport bus lane monitors photographing the number plates of vehicles queued in the bus lane trying to get into the Covid testing station in Balmoral on Sunday," writes Peter. "This was not by deliberate wilfulness but purely because of the testing station location and demand for tests, there was simply nowhere else to queue. All these good citizens trying to do their best to protect the rest of us from a Covid infection, they [may well] now be getting a $150 bus lane fine from Auckland transport."

Misinformation used to be called a 'folk tale'

"I'm old enough to understand it," writes Fred. "It comes from a legendary folk tale and parental trick to get kids outside. They were given a small handful of salt and told that if they put a pinch on a bird's tail, the bird couldn't fly temporarily and they could catch it. I never got close enough to a bird to see if it was true."