Sideswipe: January 21: Cruelty free at KFC

"If supporters of the Cruelty Free Shop and their firmly held beliefs can't resist the dirty bird, what hope the rest of us?" writes Emma. Spotted at KFC Glen Innes on Saturday evening.

Accidents you'd rather keep to yourself
Buzzfeed asked readers to share weird accidents that resulted in an A&E visit ... here were some goodies:

1. "I fainted while on the toilet and hit my head on the bathroom floor. My whole family found me unconscious and pant-less. Turns out it was dehydration. Drink up, people!"
2. "Once dislocated my thumb after walking into my clothes airer and getting stuck!"
3. "Once I had to go to the ER mid-Brazilian. She pulled one way and I jumped the other ... I now refer to the event as my 'waxident'."
4. "I dropped a slice of hot pizza on my foot. It landed upside down and I got a 2nd degree burn from the cheese. It literally burned through my sock, and I had to pick cheese and fabric out of my badly blistered foot."
5. "I once broke my collar bone and scraped the skin off my face because I tripped over my own feet running after an ice-cream van. I was wearing huge novelty slippers, which aids in the embarrassment."
(Source: Buzzfeed)

Minister with a Pearl Earring
Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has tweeted an unusual request to Australians. Bishop lost her pearl earring in between television interviews on Monday morning and used social media to try to find the missing jewel. She included a photo of her Sky News interview sans earring. Bishop requested Australians call her office if they spotted it. A mocking Twitter account called 'JBish Ear Ring' soon appeared, including this gem: " It's actually not the 1st time I've been lost. Alexander Downer once borrowed me 2 complete a cute little fishnet ensemble."

A startled gate in Mt Eden spotted by Mike Dowsett.

Bic's input to soap wedding
Royalties for Bic! Fiona from Papatoetoe was watching UK soap Emmerdale and as characters Laurel and Marlon (finally) got married, they walked into the church where Bic Runga's Something Good was playing. Great song and great to have it featured on a very popular show.

"My 9-year-old found it in the loose sand of an NZ beach," writes Heleen. "It's a distinctive ring and our guess is that it belongs to a current or ex-US soldier or family member. We'd like to return it to its owner." If this is yours, please contact Sideswipe.

Picture this: I've posted this before but for those who missed it, here is actor John Schneider who played Bo Duke in "The Dukes of Hazzard" and Jonathan Kent in "Smallville", who in the middle of a photoshoot gets a call telling him that his father died. He came back from the call and asked the photographer to keep shooting in order to capture those real emotions.

Media eats itself: Ace journalists Laura McQuillan became news in 2012 when she caused controversy at the Scott Guy murder trial for wearing gold-sequinned disco pants disco pants to court. Now the famous leggings are for sale on Trade Me with all proceeds going to charity. Described as having "graced the cover of the New Zealand Herald and received in-depth, quality coverage from The Daily Mail and the Huffington Post" the listing says the pants are "perfect for when you want to stand out at a party or event. Not so suitable for courtroom journalism."

Video: "I was blocked by two trucks [on the motorway] I only wanted to take a picture while I was awaiting for them to clear up.And then I heard noise from behind.

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