Sideswipe: November 11: Dead clear road safety message

Low-impact clothes course?

A council has been charging adults £15 ($30) to attend a course on "how to wear accessories". The three-hour course run by Northamptonshire County Council's adult learning department offers to teach people how to "understand the impact of accessories" such as socks and handbags. Locals have branded the course "a complete waste of money".

Strange but true ...

1. A family in Italy named Marsili cannot feel pain because of a genetic mutation. Family members can suffer burns and broken bones but feel virtually no discomfort and do not need any sort of anaesthesia during surgery.

2. The song I Put a Spell on You by Screamin' Jay Hawkins was supposed to be a ballad, but during a recording session, Hawkins "screamed and grunted" through the whole song because he was drunk. It was his most-successful recording and is in The Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

3. The saying "curiosity killed the cat" is often invoked to stop people being inquisitive; what is less well known is that the whole phrase is: "curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back".

Lighting up history

"An original 1892 Edison Electric Light sign used in hotels, railroad stations and other public places to help with the transition from match-lit indoor gaslights to electric lightbulbs operated by a rotating switch on the wall." — American Computer & Robotics Museum

Topping up takes its toll

A Westmere reader wonders why his Northern Gateway toll-road account gets topped up by $10 when it falls below $10. The toll is $2.40. Wouldn't it make more sense to top it up when it falls below $2.40 — or maybe below $4.80? He now has $19 sitting in his account, presumably accruing interest for NZTA. How many millions does that add up to across the motoring public? Enough to lower the toll, perhaps?