Sideswipe: April 12: Vlodomir takes time out to discuss air conditioning units on One News

Will they ever leave?

Over the past 55 years, living arrangements for Americans aged 25-34 years old have changed considerably. The biggest difference from 1967 to 2021 is the decrease in those people
who live with their spouse. Sure, more people are living with a partner without getting married but not enough to explain the plunge. The percentage of people in their late 20s and early 30s living with parents or relatives has also increased more than twofold. Other factors include the rising age of first marriage, which has been going on a long time, extended education (with long-term loans), and an economy that makes marriage appear out of reach. (Via Statistics_Data_Facts)

Crosswords cause marital disharmony

Gareth Dean writes: “Hearing about electronic games causing rising rates of divorce, you may be interested in knowing that a century ago it was crosswords accused of the same. In America, more than 10 million people spent half an hour each day working out the puzzles when they should be working, noting: ‘This loss to productive activity of far more time than is lost by labour strikes.’ And in the UK, headmasters scorned them as the ‘laziest occupation’ and an ‘unsociable habit’. One British wife took her husband to court for staying in bed until 11am doing crosswords. Public libraries fought a ‘war on crosswords’ by blotting out the games in their freely available newspapers and limiting access to dictionaries within reading rooms. The New York Times ran an article titled ‘Crossword mania breaks up homes’. They were blamed for insomnia, dementia and even a murder-suicide. How fortunate that our society rid itself of such a menace.”

A groom weeps after he finds out his new wife is a crossword addict.

Word flubs

A reader writes: “I have a Skoda car and the first time I took it to the dealers for a check-up I bounced up to the office full of young men where they asked me what model it was. Labia I replied. I could hear it was wrong as soon as I began to speak. I have a Fabia.”

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