Sideswipe: June 30: News flashback

News flashback: Christchurch-based One News crew Mandy Robertshaw, Alan Hutton and Mike Fitzgerald. "In February 1976, the team covered an incident outside a pet shop between the shop owner and an SPCA inspector. The inspector believed animals in the front window were suffering from heat exhaustion, and took action to remove them from the store. This was disputed by the pet shop owner, and a confrontation ensued." (Source: ArchivesNZ)

Friendly faces

There has been a sharp increase in the number of hate crimes targeting immigrants in the UK as a result of the EU referendum result. But an American woman living in London - known only as Allison - started a new campaign asking people to wear a safety pin "as a badge to symbolise solidarity against racism - and let any potential targets know that the wearer is a friendly face". Like the I'll Ride With You campaign against Islamophobia in Australia following the Sydney cafe shooting, this idea could catch on because of its simplicity and there's no language or political slogans involved. "I'm always having to remind people I'm an immigrant. You know, I'm white and speak English as a first language so I get a pass. They say 'Oh you don't count, you're not the kind of person we're talking about'," she told Indy100.com.

Helpful advice

What to do when you're stranded on an ice floe - we've all been there. Here are some science-inspired tips:

1. Wait it out: In 50-60 years, climate change will dunk you into warm and inviting water.

2. Ride to the shore: Polar bears will give almost anyone a ride in their stomachs.

3. Get a microwave: Now that you live on an ice floe, you'll need a microwave because all the food is frozen.

(By Peter Vidani on Fake Science)

A novel door tag spotted in an hotel in Palm Springs California, by Alison Chappell.?

Netflix as propaganda

Netflix has come to Russia and the Minister of Culture, Vladimir Medinsky has offered the theory that the White House is secretly funding the video-streaming company as a way to control minds worldwide. Having never heard of the concept of venture capital, Medinsky finds it suspicious that American tech start-ups seem to come from nowhere. "The White House fully understands that through Netflix, they can get into every home, every television and then - into every head," Medinsky told the Rambler. "Do you think that these gigantic start-ups get going all by themselves? That if a student is sitting there with an idea that billions of dollars come raining down?"

Good advice: How to loose your spare tyre for summer...

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