Sideswipe: November 4: Berm murderer

Berm murder in Meadowbank.

Is handsaw linked to wharf strike?

Melodie Wehner, of Henderson Valley, writes: "A fine old handsaw we rescued from underneath a Glendowie house where it had been for at least 50 years caught my husband's eye. We found that the maker is world renowned Disston, Philadelphia. But when he cleaned up the brass fittings he found the hand-carved date '29.10.1913' which we tied to the Auckland Wharf Strike. Wondering whether it was a common memento? Perhaps your column might find answers."

Slow day in front of the telly

In an attempt to beat the world "sheep to sweater" record, a team of Norwegian knitters will shear a ewe on live TV before spinning its wool and knitting a jumper in the shortest possible time. The previous record, held by Australia, is four hours and 51 minutes. This is the latest in the Norwegian concept of Slow TV which was launched in 2009 when NRK showed the view from the roof of a seven-hour train ride from Bergen to Oslo. Since then the channel has shown a 24-hour salmon fishing special, a 12-hour show about a fire being built and lit, and a 379-hour boat trip. (Source: The Telegraph.co.uk)

Canny plan to reduce the speed of traffic

The city council in Anprior, a small town of about 200 in Scotland, is experimenting with an unusual method of reducing the speed of motorists taking the road through their village. The road is straight, but they've painted it with a wiggly white centre line to look like it is bumpy and curved. The idea is that drivers will take more caution than if they saw a straight stretching out before them. Some local residents say it's "silly" and one said "it just looks like the lines were painted by a drunken road worker". (Source: The Daily Record)

Stamp of approval for snail mail

Grant says he just received this letter. "The 70 cents worth of postage is made up of a 4 cent 1975 NZ Health stamp, a 17 cent 1980 NZ Health stamp, a 30 cent NZ stamp with a photo of Wellington Harbour, a 7 cent 1977 Christmas stamp and a 12 cent NZ stamp with picture of a putorino (Maori flute) on it. Wonder if there is any value in these?"

Following on from last week's funny wi-fi network names ... Apparently there is one in Grey Lynn called "Mum Click Here For internet".

Flushing out the drug dealers

A reader writes: "We had ideas that our previous neighbours were drug dealers so I changed our wi-fi name to NZ Police Drug Detection Unit 5. They moved out less than a week later. Speaking to the landlord when they were cleaning the property, he said they left with no notice but paid up all their rent they were overdue on and there was drug paraphernalia all over the place. Problem solved."

Video: Stock footage for business success...

Picture this #1: Craig wonders if he should follow the instruction on his prescription...

Picture this #2: You'll never look at Australia the same way ...

Picture this #3: Rob the Balloon Guy has got the best tagline...

Video: From new Australian sketch comedy show The Elegant Gentleman's Guide To Knife Fighting. (NSFW language)

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