KEY POINTS:
The sauna-suit isn't just a nostalgic retro memory, says Josh, who found this beaut for sale on Trade Me. Described as "a Portable Sauna Tent Beauty Spa, available in Pink", it promises all the benefits of a sauna, plus portability, which is the real-deal clincher. "Now you can
watch television, read a book or enjoy your favorite music while sitting anywhere in your home having a sauna. Folds down after use into a carry bag."
***
The Darwin Awards commemorate those who "improve our gene pool by removing themselves from it" i.e. accidentally kill themselves through their own stupidity. Recipient from 2007 tops the votes. South Carolina: A 21-year-old couple were found naked on the road an hour before sunrise by a passing cabbie. The injured pair were taken to the nearest hospital, where they died without regaining consciousness. Authorities were at a loss to explain what had happened. There were no witnesses, no trace of clothing and no wrecked cars. Investigators eventually found a clue high on the roof of a nearby building: Two sets of neatly folded clothes, and nothing else. There was no indication of foul play, only of foreplay. "It appears as if [they] accidentally fell off the roof," Sergeant Florence McCants said. Safe sex takes on a new meaning when you are perched on the edge of a pyramid-shaped metal roof.
***
Reading the BBC News list of 100 Things We Didn't Know in 2007 in yesterday's Sideswipe, Anna thought the statement about shipping creating more emissions than aviation was a bit misleading. She writes: "The article says, 'Much greater tonnage carried by each vessel, compared with aircraft, meant that shipping was still a much greener form of transporting freight around the globe'. Planes put particulates and water vapour into the upper atmosphere and create additional cloud cover, a heat-trapping effect that will add to the problems caused by carbon dioxide emission. Overall, while the combined total number of ships compared to the combined total number of planes may mean more emissions from the shipping industry, the return in comparison to the level of goods they are able to transport means we should probably be encouraging more shipping, fewer planes and, if possible, buy local and seasonal!"
***
In a recent poll of 1219 mothers conducted by BabyCenter.com, 10 per cent considered changing their baby's name. The reasons they gave ranged from being inspired by another name to having a relative disagree with the choice. "Today, there's this perception that naming a child is almost like naming a product. There's this huge national drive now to not be like anyone else," says Laura Wattenberg, author of The Baby Name Wizard.
***
Further to Lake Superior State University's list of overused and poorly used words, writes Peter McAlley, the worst word used in NZ is "gutted". But how will the All Blacks management articulate their emotions after future losses?
