Sideswipe: January 27: Slice of lemon. Literally.

Did you know …(wholesome edition)

1. In the 1950s, British Post Office cats were paid for catching mice. Adjusted for inflation, they made about £200 a year ($380).
2. Suitcases with wheels weren’t invented until 1970, and only patented for two years later.
3. Before rubber erasers appeared in the late 18th century, crustless bread was used to remove pencil marks from paper.

News nostalgia

In February 2019 episode ofFox & Friends Pete Hegseth explained that his 2019 New Year’s resolution was “say things on air that I say off air.”
Following through on that promise, he told his co-hosts that he had not washed his hands in 10 years because “germs are not a real thing. I can’t see them, therefore they are not real.” Last week a thread on Reddit revived the quote. But is it true? At the time the Guardian reported that Hegseth largely walked back his comments, deriding the media for taking his words seriously. On Twitter Hegseth gave mixed messages. He claimed he had been joking. He also said he supported drinking from hosepipes and riding bikes without a helmet.

Secret to keeping the boat afloat

Odd utensils

Growing up we had a ‘cat fork’ with a distinctive bent prong, as the name suggests it was for cat food and was the pariah of all utensils. Cat fork occasionally got put into the general cutlery population making us all heave. Cat fork still lives with my parents,it will outlive us all. My husband stole a fork for me from a posh sit down dinner so I could drunkenly eat a pot noodle in our hotel room. It’s our fanciest fork.

Comms in the time of Covid

“Hi. I’m just texting to confirm that you got my voicemail about the email with the link to the invite to join the chat to schedule the zoom meeting to plan the webinar for the virtual conference.” From New Scientist magazine. Spotted by David Blaker.

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