Sideswipe: February 7: What are those pick-up things called?

No thank you!

Long-liver

The world's oldest freshwater fish, which survived two world wars, has been discovered.

The bigmouth buffalo fish lived to be about 112 years old – a much longer life than the 26 years previously expected of its species.

Researchers in the US used carbon dating on the fish's ear bones, a technique possible thanks to mid-20th century atomic bomb testing.

These nuclear tests doubled the amount of carbon-14 in the atmosphere before it eventually reduced.

This allows experts to look for carbon-14 in the fish to accurately date it.

About 85-90 per cent of the fish studied were more than 80 years old.

Deep sea fish however, can live even longer: the orange roughy can live for up to 175 years. (Via the Sun)

Tree trap

The Cruickshank golf story reminded a reader about South Africa's Harold Henning, playing on the US Seniors Tour.

"A long par-5 ran along the edge of a cliff and the only thing about half-way down the fairway, above the rocky shoreline, was a solitary pine. Henning hooked his drive towards out-of-bounds and he yelled "Hit the tree! Hit the tree!"

The ball duly obliged and bounced back coming to rest about 70 yards in front of the tee.

Henning stormed down to it and screamed "Not that flaming hard!" Other versions use a different word to 'flaming'."

How to make pedestrians cross

Lloyd Weeber noticed Pak'nSave at Botany has a new entrance and a pedestrian crossing.

Pak 'n Save at Botany has had an ... upgrade.

"But whoops, when you go straight across on the pedestrian crossing pushing a pram or trolley you are faced with a kerb, the ramp is inconveniently to the right, but not only do you have a trolley stopping kerb, but there's a huge column of yellow brick only a few centimetres back from the kerb. Question. Why not slant the pedestrian crossing? Then I could get my Pam's Berry Muesli without feeling disconnected entering the building."

Glasses are expensive, so ...

Susan found a pair of spectacles – possibly prescription spectacles - on Monday morning. They were found on the pavement near St John's Ambulance Station, Apollo Rd, almost opposite the Burger King, near the junction with Rosedale Rd on Auckland's North Shore. Email Sideswipe if you think they're yours.