KEY POINTS:
Dan Brown saw the banana cellphone holder in Sideswipe a few weeks ago and had to have it. "I ordered one from the company in the US. It proved to be an absolute hit, although at first it was hard to not laugh when talking on the phone
in front of people. However, I do have three warnings for those wanting to get one:
1. The dimensions of your cellphone should be as close as possible to the dimensions of the banana; otherwise the banana/phone starts to split.
2. Don't try to carry it in a pocket, it just looks extremely dodgy.
3. Don't go to the supermarket carrying it. It looks too much like a real banana for some security guards."
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A reader from Grey Lynn has proof banks are crooks. "At 10am I transferred online $2000 from one bank account to another (both my accounts but under different customer IDs.) Immediately the balance of the account from which the money went was shown as $2000 less. The balance in the account to which it is going remained the same - and will be until tomorrow morning. Where is the money? Who has it? Is it parked somewhere? Is it invested? If a million people did this daily would the banks be getting overnight interest on $2 billion? - at 10 per cent, that's about $5 million. If the banks haven't got it why don't they show it as having arrived (as uncleared funds, unavailable for withdrawal until the next day but still generating interest) in the destination account?
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A court has dismissed a case against a baby boy summoned to appear for an unpaid chiropractor bill. Richard White was shocked when he got a subpoena requiring his 1-year-old son, Jacy, to appear in a Virginian court over the $391 bill. White says he took his baby son to the chiropractor and suspects when the family moved, the office updated records for everyone but Jacy.
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Jill Pitches writes: "To all those Westmere residents experiencing 'footpath rehabilitation' and wondering why they aren't receiving mail, don't try ringing NZ Post to ask why. They haven't a clue and swear the mail is still getting through. The local postie, though, is holding it at the NZ Post depot opposite Woolworths supermarket on Richmond Rd. Thanks, NZ Post, for letting us know - not!"
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Petrol stations should be called coffee stations, says Brendan Lochead. "I dropped into my local BP this morning to get a coffee. A bit different to my local, grubby, petrol-smelling station from 20 years ago where I grew up as a kid. BP Greenlane had 15 customers and all were waiting for coffee. The three staff were all either making coffee or taking payment for it. In the 10 minutes I spent waiting, I saw just one customer put gas in their car."
Today's Webpick: Vintage footage of Soviets dancing up a storm to Run DMC's "It's Like That". Watch it here.
These are the very best online videos from Ana's online magazine Spare Room.