Sideswipe
“Came across this ‘do not dig sign’ which is in one area of the Hillsborough Cemetery,” writes Charles Fisher. “Makes you wonder why there is a gas line running through the cemetery and how dangerous grave digging could be.”
When in Rome . . . or Florence
According to Italian newspaper La Nazione, three 20-year-old American students studying in Italy bought some pasta and took it back to their apartment in Florence, with high hopes for an authentic Italian dinner. Instead of boiling the pasta in water, they emptied the dry spaghetti directly into the pot. The spaghetti didn’t take too kindly to being seared and caught on fire immediately. And because people who don’t understand how to make pasta also don’t know what to do with stovetop flames, the students had to call the fire department. Unsurprisingly, Italians have responded to the incident with a combination of embarrassment for the students and smug superiority, but chef Fabio Picchi offered the the young women four hours of Italian cooking lessons in one of his restaurants. “They will have lunch in our restaurant with two of my extraordinary cooks,” he said. “They will teach them the simple basics that are very good if done well. I think this can be useful to them, but also to us. Understanding is what is beautiful and necessary.” (Via Vice Munchies)
Toys locked away
Johanna Bateman writes: “My one-yearold granddaughter had great medical treatment at Starship for 36 hours, but I was gobsmacked when, at 8pm, I asked for some toys for her to play with and was told that the toys were locked away at 3pm and all weekend. The old Starship is cheerfully decorated, but the new wards are sterile and uninviting, with nothing appealing for children to do or look at. Surely something can be done to remedy the situation!”
So embarrassing
“Was sleeping over at a girlfriend’s house. In the middle of the night I needed to take a leak. So I got up and went to the loo and went back to bed. In the morning I wake up next to a slender middle-aged man. Confused, I look out the doorway and see her standing there signalling me out. I had slept the whole night alongside my girlfriend’s dad.”