A reader writes: "My toothbrush holder doesn't say where it was made. Pretty sure it wasn't in #ukraine tho.'' (@Mrjmuzz on Twitter)
Slamming door on male pride
A new study by researchers from Purdue University in Indiana showed that rather than being courteous, someone who holds the door open for a man is doing harm to his self-esteem and self-confidence by their action. The result is interesting: male, but not female, subjects reported lower levels of self-esteem and self-confidence when the door was held open for them. The researchers noted that "behaviour as fleeting and seemingly innocuous as door holding can have unforeseen negative consequences." They speculated that the gesture, polite as it may be, unintentionally send the message to a man that he is "inferior or too dependent".
Courtney Love at first sight
An excerpt from a biography on Kurt Cobain, Heavier Than Heaven, tells us about how he and Courtney Love met. (And it's pretty rock and roll). "Already infamous in Portland, Love was holding court in a booth when she saw Kurt walk by a few minutes before his band was set to appear onstage. Courtney was wearing a red polka-dot dress. 'You look like Dave Pirner,' she said to him, meaning the remark to sound like a small insult, but also a flirt. Kurt did look a bit like Pirner, the lead singer of Soul Asylum, as his hair had grown long and tangled - he washed it just once a week, and then only with bar soap. Kurt responded with a flirt of his own: He grabbed Courtney and wrestled her to the ground."
Hey dopey, I'm supposed to be here
A young reader writes: "Hey, I am a 14-year -old boy who cycles to school (Lynfield College) most days, and I enjoy cycling, but it's being ruined by a driver of a silver Rav 4. Three times the Rav 4 driver has gone within half a metre of me, and three times he has beeped at me ... Just sending this so the driver (no offence, but who is not too bright) so they know that, as well as it being legal to cycle on the road, you are supposed to cycle on the road."
Marketing: This surreal, interactive site by Old Spice gets some smooth guy's hairpiece to play Huey Lewis songs by request on the keyboard. (Yip, that sums it up) ...
Obligatory real estate link: The seven most expensive houses in the world...
Picture this #1: Best wine list ever written...
Picture this #2: Old Labour are not the only ones who need to get their shit together...
Video: Beard transplants are now a thing -- for fellas who can grow a decent one. Here's what it looks like straight after surgery...
Got a Sideswipe? Send your pictures, links and anecdotes to Ana at ana.samways@nzherald.co.nz