Sideswipe: January 9: Cat makes error of judgment

Huge serve at tennis

"On Sunday, my family went to watch the finals of the women's tennis," writes a reader. "Part way through, we headed off to get some lunch and as we came through back to our seats, my daughter, with her hands full, inadvertently let the door slam. A smartly dressed elderly gentleman came up to my daughter and gave her a right bollocking for not ensuring the door closed softly. She was very embarrassed and while we understood his complaint, we were not courtside so couldn't really believe that her actions impeded the game at any stage. This gentleman then spent the rest of the game standing behind my daughter, spoiling her afternoon with his imposing presence. Not once did he tell off the multitude of others that were coming through and letting the door slam! He spoilt her day at the tennis ... maybe he should try opening the door for people trying to negotiate with their hands full?"

Time to get a grip on nudity

A Utah art teacher has been fired after parents complain about classical paintings containing nudity being showed to their children, aged 11 and 12. Mateo Rueda was fired after showing two classical paintings — the Impressionist-era portrait Iris Tree by Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani and the Rococo-style partial nude Odalisque by 18th-century artist Francois Boucher. One parent said it wasn't the content of the postcards that troubled them but the tone the teacher took with students who felt uncomfortable seeing them, telling them to "grow up and be mature about this". Maeda claims he actually said "when you grow up, you're going to find yourselves going to museums or to places where unavoidably there's going to be nudity". Police found the principal shredding postcards but said no charges would be laid against the teacher because the images didn't meet the definition of pornography.

Before the internet ... there were 900 numbers

1. During the 1980s, Nasa ran a 900 number that gave callers updates during space shuttle missions. For $2 for the first minute and 45c per additional minute, callers could listen in on mission status reports and any press conferences. The number was originally created for journalists but later became public, which made for a horrifying situation when thousands of callers heard the Challenger explosion in real time.

2. DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, aka Will Smith, had a 900 number, where they had callers listening to their daily two-minute messages about their wacky adventures. According to The New York Times, the duo were pulling in over 100,000 calls a week and made an annual income well into six figures off it. (Via Mental Floss)

Streeet art

Irish street artist Fin DAC has painted this mural — Kaitiaki (guardian) — in Christchurch on the front of the YMCA building on Hereford Road using Maori mythology and ornithology to highlight a 'warning' and 'protection' theme for the earthquake-torn city. (Via Street Art News; see more here)

Quick links

1. Six cyber threats to really worry about…
2. Podcasts are really great for the commute, here are the Atlantic's Top 50 from last year for you to rummage through…

Video Pick

A kayaker paddles slowly through the abandoned MV E Evangelia cargo ship off the coast of Romania, an eeriness much like a cave with the towering walls of this ship's hull…