Dentist with a sense of humour.
1. Move to Auckland and buy yourself a house.
2. Here's a six pack and the car keys, just don't be too late okay ...
3. Maths and science don't matter, soon that'll all be taken care of by AI.
4. You should put off all your hopes and dreams until retirement ... there'll be plenty of time to chase them then.
5. Yes, you should jump into that fast-running water because you are bulletproof.
6. That shoestring playsuit will be great for that party in July.
Teenager Siddharth Mandala of Hyderabad, India, has developed an "electroshoe" that will allow women to fend off attackers. One kick with the shoe and it'll deliver a powerful electric shock to an assailant. The shoe also automatically recharges itself through energy harvested from the wearer's footsteps. So far it is only a prototype, but it's not the first time shoe-makers have come up with a design to fend off unwanted advances. In 1955 in Italy spiked defence shoes, with spurs to kick away sex pests, were also in the making. Police at the time referred to those harassing young women as "parrots" - because the girls said they repeated the same silly phrase all the time. Reviews of the shoes suggested such a girl would be "publicly displaying her vanity ... that her own good looks would encourage pursuit" and that the wise boy would give the spur-shod girl a wide berth "because of the unmistakeable evidence of spurs on the heart and probably the tongue".
Japanese artist Yukiko Morita always loved bread and believes there was something about that special combination of flour and yeast that produced wonderful flavours, beautiful tones, and shapes that make people feel warm inside. Somehow this led her to combine lighting design and baking into bread lamps you can buy.
Unless you've been living under a rock you will have heard that Donald Trump called any NFL player who kneels during the national anthem protesting police brutality a "son of a bitch"...followed up by his catchphrase from his reality show, "You're fired". It would be hilarious if the same level of stupidity wasn't being applied to nuclear war...One sports anchor, Dale Hansen in Dallas, cuts to the heart of the matter with this.
When Mahshid Mazooji missed her connecting flight she didn't want to sit and stew all night long, instead she managed to get airport staff and other passenger to join her dance along to Lionel Richie...
Got a Sideswipe? Send your pictures, links and anecdotes to Ana at ana.samways@nzherald.co.nz
We're celebrating this year's festival with extracts from some authors on the programme.