Opinion - Paul Hickey: Petrol panic, doors or wheels and sweet treats

Repco Old Taupo Rd staff with goodies from Marshmallow Sweet Treats after being 'Afternoon Tea Shout' winners. Photo / Supplied

In this day and age, we are constantly being warned about sophisticated scams that are trying to suck us in.

From investments to rich lost relatives to problems with our Windows. Heck, even Tinder Swindlers have become overnight celebrities because of the scams they have run.

We are told to not believe everything we hear or read, especially on the internet or social media.

And I think I'm pretty savvy when it comes to seeing through the murkiness of it all, but I sure fell for one last week, and I know for a fact I wasn't the only local.

Okay, it wasn't a scam as such, but boy did we all get suckered into the story about petrol prices going up at 6pm last Friday night.

What started out as a legit news story about one company upping their price (which would then bring them into line or just slightly above everyone else) gathered all sorts of Chinese whispers through social media to send the country into petrol-geddon.

Although we even got caught out a bit too, with radio stations chatting about the expected rise, and I was one of many who got caught up in the queues.

Subsequently no rises happened over the weekend, and then there was this week's announcement taking 25 cents off the tax. But for many of us our tanks were still too full to take full advantage.

Not a scam per se, but certainly a good reminder for us in these crazy times to give things a bit of thought before reacting.

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But not everything on the internet is so serious though, and this past week has seen a little bit of light relief in the form of a 'wheelie' big debate about whether the world has more wheels or doors.

Totally pointless, yes. But what a bit of light relief away from all the seriously depressing real news in the world right now.

I'm not sure how huge the implications are, but the debate (which apparently has its origins here in New Zealand) has of course prompted a lot of people to feel the need to share their opinion.

The tweet went viral, amassing more than 15,000 likes and 4500 retweets (and the official poll has amassed more than quarter of a million votes, with 46.4 per cent of people voting for more doors while 53.6 per cent picked wheels.

For the record, on Wednesday afternoon Hinemoa St was filled with cars in the parks, and my view from The Hits Studio saw doors come out on top.

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I love the feedback coming in to my studio by text and phone from listeners all over Rotorua, especially those who are working hard across the day and listening to my show on The Hits.

As you can expect there seems to be more at the moment working from home again with the latest Covid outbreak, but that's not stopping me giving our workday listeners the chance to win afternoon tea each week!

I'm teaming up with Marshmallow Sweet Treats in Hinemoa St with a delicious workplace shout every Tuesday afternoon.

Listen Tuesday mornings to register your workplace for the draw, and then we could be delivering you the goodies later that day.

You will love what Marshmallow prepares for you, and make sure you visit their store in Hinemoa St. It is bright pink. You can't miss it!

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Paul Hickey is your local host on The Hits Rotorua weekdays between 9am and 3pm. Featuring Rotorua news, information, and giveaways, plus trending stories from around the world. Listen on 97.5FM or download the iHeartRadio app. PLUS follow The Hits Rotorua and Paul on Facebook and Instagram.