Sideswipe: Nov 22: Poke your nose and ears here

Photo / Supplied

Piercing, not poking.

Mind over matter

If you've ever walked into a room purposefully then immediately forgot what you went in there to do, you're not alone. Entering or exiting through a doorway serves as an "event boundary" in the mind, which separates episodes of activity and files them away. Recalling the decision or activity that was made in a different room is difficult because it has been "compartmentalised".

A billboard with issues

Lipton Tea has a billboard on the corner of Albert and Customs Sts in central Auckland. When you are sitting at the lights on Albert St, it says the traffic is worse on Albert, and conversely, when on you're on Customs St, it says it's worse on Customs. Anybody else think they've put it up wrong?

War on Twitter

Twitter can be educational. Alwyn Collinson is tweeting World War II events in real time, each day recording the events that took place on the same date in 1939. Recent updates include: "From today, Jews living in the city of Lodz, Poland, must sew a yellow star on to their clothing to identify their race." He has vowed to continue for the next six years. Check it out at @RealTimeWWII.

Foreign sounds

Sounds that your kids have probably never heard:

1. Rotary dial telephone.
2. Manual typewriter.
3. Instamatic camera Flash Cube.
4. A tape rewinding.
5. A needle being dragged off a record.
6. The floppy drive accessing grind.
7. The manual credit card imprinter.
(Via Mental Floss.com)

Perils of letterheads

Bobby of Titirangi laughed at the Department of Conversation sign ... "It reminded me of when my wife worked for Auckland Council in its transport department. First day on the job, she noticed the letterhead on the stationery said Department of PC and BS - short for Project Co-ordination and Business Services. She pointed it out. It was changed."

Horns not toys

Wilna writes: "For Tunnel Silence Chris. This is what the official Road Code states: 'The horn should only be used as a reasonable traffic warning.' If horns are sounded often enough for casual greetings, they will become the Boy Who Cried Wolf."