NEWS OF THE DAY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 234, 3 October 1942, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

The Other Way Round A rather unusual sight was witnessed outside the drill hall recently when a man and his wife were observed saying good-bye preparatory to an entry to camp. It was not the husband who was In uniform, It was the wife. Aids to Science The American Red Cross recently sent to Great Britain 2000 frogs needed for experimental purposes at St. Mary's Medical School of the University of London, according to the monthly bulletin of the Red Cross Society. The frogs were Sacked in moss and transported by omber aeroplanes. Previously the American society had sent to the American Red Cross Harvard Hospital in England a number of live mice that had been inoculated with a virus. Labour for Waterfront Within 24 hours of publication last week of the first advertisement inserted by the Waterfront Controller asking applications for employment during the war on the Wellington waterfront, about 100 replies were received from men who are stated to have appeared to be perfectly fit to carry out the work. It is stated that at present about 130 in all are requlretf. This action was taken by the Waterfront Controller because it was reported that insufficient suitable men were coming forward to Join the Wellington branch of the Watersiders' Union. New Zealand Hitch-Hikers The art of hitch-hiking has been acquired by many New Zealanders since the war began. How it came in useful in a Journey from Toronto to New York, a distance of 500 miles, is told by Leading-Aircraftman A. R. Josey, of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, in a letter to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. H. P. Josey, of Glenfield Road, Birkenhead. Towards the end of July last Leading-Aircraftman JoHey and a friend set out on a hitch-hike trip from Toronto to New York. They were rather fortunate in being able to get plenty of lifts to Niagara, and after crossing the border and getting lost in Buffalo, on Lake Erie at the western end of New York State, they proceeded eastwards to New York itself. They were given lifts by the drivers of various vehicles and duly arrived in New York. The New Zealander describes the metropolis as marvellous and the sights there as something he will remember all his life. The Americana, he says, are among the best in ««• world as far as hospitality is concerned.

Never Too Old . . . The sight of an overseas sailor careering down the road in a child's trolley amused passers-by in a suburban street the other day. Some children were playing with the trolley when the sailor came along and invited himself to a ride. Delighted, the youngsters hopped out and watched him squeeze his manly form into the little cart, seize the steering wheel and shoot down the street. Grown-up or not, he hadn't lost the art, either! Timbuktu's Counterpart "What we want to know is where we can find this place called Waipukurau," was the first question asked by many Americans on their arrival in New Zealand. Repeated questions about Waipukurau led to an inquiry as to the reason for such interest in the Central Hawke's Bay centre, and the reply was somewhat amusing. "Well, buddy, the name Waipukurau is used in America in the same way as we find Timbuktu is used in this country, and that is why we all figure on going there before we leave this Dominion." I Enforcement of Speed Restriction Since the introduction of the 40 miles an hour speed limit for all motor vehicles in order to conserve petrol and tyres, action has been taken against 46 drivers, some of whom have been fined and the others will be dealt with in due course, for exceeding this limit, reported the Transport Department, Wellington, recently. Drivers of military vehicles stopped for speeding are reported to their commanding officer, who takes drastic action to prevent a recurrence. Traffic officers take a serious view of this offence, and it is unusual for a driver who has been stopped from driving to start again without a ticket. Unusual Badge of Office The badge of office of the president of the Aegean Society in Christchurch is probably the most unusual badge of its kind in New Zealand. The society consists of members of the Canterbury Infantry Battalion, New Zealand Expeditionary Force, who left the Dominion in the transEorts Athenic and Tahiti, and the adge was presented by one of the members who is believed to have "borrowed" it in the early days of the war. The badge was formerly the registered badge of the driver of a gharry (a horse-drawn vehicle) in Cairo, and consists of a blue enamel disc suspended from a metal neck chain. On one side of the disc are the word "driver" and the number 5039. The word and number are repeated in Arabic on the other side.