Column 8 readers opened this instalment by suggesting AI chatbots be used for pure mischief. Jo Rainbow of Orange proposed asking ridiculous questions such as "Who put the Ram in Rama Lama Ding Dong?", "Could a hamster win MasterChef?" and "Who can take their undies off over their head?", then watching "the algorithms implode."
Carolyn Lockett of Coffs Harbour offered a warmer story, reporting that her granddaughter and dozens of other five-year-olds began Nippers on Sunday. After a flag race in which nine flags were shared among ten runners, one little boy reburied his flag in the sand so the slowest runner could grab it. "Human empathy!" she wrote. "The tech bros may have all the money, but this is something money can't buy."
Sport drew several contributions. Bernie Carberry of Connells Point was confused by a Channel Seven promotion for the "Rugba" League World Cup, claiming it could be watched "live and free on Seven or 7two", when he believed the rights were with Nine. David Baird of Burradoo recalled classic commentary lines, including Rex Mossop's "I'd like to recapitulate back to the beginning" and Rabbitohs caller Warren's "He's got a cramp, he's definitely lactating." Jeffrey Gabriel of Gladesville noted that "versing" would only be appropriate if the Kangaroos and Kiwis took part in slam poetry or a rap battle this Thursday night.
Elsewhere, Don Leayr of Albury suggested Donald Trump might be more deserving of a "Nobel Hairpiece Prize" than the Peace Prize. Dawn Glase of Moss Vale questioned Alice Bennett's advice in The Sun-Herald to test stale eggs by cracking them into a bowl, asking what happened to the floating test. And language lovers Brian Kidd of Mount Waverley and Peter Merrotsy of Port Kennedy championed "gruntled" as a cheerful opposite to "disgruntled", crediting P.G. Wodehouse.