Sideswipe: January 2: Out of luck

This car on the back of a tow truck at the Mount (Mt Maunganui). Photo / Supplied

This car was spotted on the back of a tow truck at Mt Maunganui.

Making little snapper happy

Mark Brady was at the live snapper tank at the fish market when a young woman approached the vendor and pointed to a small snapper. The fish was captured and placed in a large container she had brought. She then scooped in water from the fish tank. "I approached her and asked if she was going to release the fish. She shyly smiled and said she was. I asked her if she had done this before and she replied she had. Did she think the fish appreciated this? She replied, 'They are the happiest fish,' and then drove away. After that, I couldn't buy anything, but still felt a bit of a fraud as I had just had snapper and chips for lunch!"

Fancy this 'old' suit?

A special suit developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is designed to help people understand through personal experience what it's like to get old. Braces and bands mimic joint stiffness and muscular fatigue. Leg straps create slower leg movements. Helmet attachments give an age-induced curved spine. Yellow eyeglasses make it difficult to read small print, and earplugs simulate difficulty with sounds and tones. (Source: Geekosystem.com)

Motorcyclist's horror story

Kevin shares the reality of his motorcycle accident: "Me on bike, a car clipped me at a bend with a combo speed of about 160km/h. My right leg was torn off and left in the car's front suspension. My femur was broken in a compound way, popping out of the flesh. I catapulted through the air and landed on the road still conscious. Two ambulances came, but took the car driver first with his broken ankle because I was deemed a goner."

Nature gives something back

In 1995, while baking in her kitchen, Lena Pohlsson of Mora, Sweden, took off her wedding ring. She didn't see it again until 16 years later. As Lena was about to gather the last of the carrots from the family vegetable patch last October, she pulled out a carrot so small she was about to throw it away. But something appeared to be "growing" around the finger-sized vegetable - her ring. (Source: Neatorama.com)