Crash Pilot Tapes Scalp Back On

Like what you see? Subscribe to the full RSS feed.I don’t typically like posting back-to-back crash stories (see yesterday’s If You’re Not Yet Afraid of Flying …), but this is just too good. Via The Age: A young pilot who crashed in a New Zealand mountain range taped a chunk of his scalp back […]

Travelers Who Shouldn’t: Traveler Comments That Make You Say “Duh!”

John Frenaye over at TripSo.com has an amusing post on 25 “Stupid Traveler Comments” (along with the bemused agents’ unspoken responses). A few of my favorites: How much is a train to Jamaica? (We are sold out, but if you call Amtrak, they have space. Be sure to ask for a seat on the left side of […]

Earth By Night: The World’s Best Moonlit Activities

Marc Llewellyn of Australia’s The Age explores a variety of activities to explore by moonlight, including Climbing Volcanoes: You need to be fit or tenacious to climb some of the world’s most spectacular volcanoes, and arrive at the top just after dark or just before dawn. Among the world’s most dramatic and accessible volcanoes is Stromboli, on […]

If You’re Not Yet Afraid of Flying …

… this should put the fear of God in ya. Video of an airplane in Osaka getting struck by lightning.

What The World Will Look Like Without Man

This is a fascinating look into how the Earth would evolve and change once man is extinct. It’s eerily surreal.

Watching The World Go By: Realtime Stats via The World Clock

This is both frightening and fascinating to watch: The World Clock. See real time figures and stats on births, deaths, the temperature of the earth, number of species extinct, and a host of other interesting world data.

Magical Dissolving Laundry Paper

For the ultra-light, gearhead Flashpackers out there, you can never have enough cool (but useful) gadgets. Enter Magical Dissolving Laundry Paper (okay, I added the “Magical” bit): A must for travelers, our dissolving Laundry Paper is perfect for washing socks, undies, swimwear, etc. and goes through airport security in your carry-on without a hitch. Plus, […]

Must-Have WordPress Plugin: Better Comments Manager

On John Chow’s recommendation, I installed the WordPress Better Comments Manager plug-in. It’s fantastic! It allows you to reply to comments via WP’s admin panel, among other things. Very easy to use and a must-have for any of my fellow WP bloggers!

What No Reservations Can Teach Us About Life

From last night’s episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations in Cleveland: When you’re dead, it robs life of many pleasures. Harvey Pekar Brilliant!

World’s 10 Most Disappointing Tourist Spots

Virgin Travel Insurance recent surveyed 1,000 British tourists and ranked the world’s 10 most disappointing tourist spots based on their reponses. Via Telegraph.co.uk: The Eiffel Tower The Louvre (Mona Lisa) Times Square Las Ramblas, Spain Statue of Liberty Spanish Steps, Rome The White House The Pyramids, Egypt The Brandenburg Gate, Germany The Leaning Tower of Pisa I can only speak for myself, but I’ve visited Times […]

High-Rise Relics: Ghost Structures Haunt Bangkok (and Detroit, Michigan)

Tim Leffel points us to this WSJ article about the ghost skyscrapers of Bangkok. BANGKOK — One recent steamy afternoon, a shirtless man named Nop tossed out chunks of putrid meat for the dozen stray dogs that share his home, an open-air encampment inside the unfinished 47-story Sathorn Unique tower. Ten years ago, Sathorn Unique was destined […]

75% Off Sale On Mount Everest Expeditions! Call NOW!

Evidently, Mount Everest’s destruction by tourism can’t come fast enough for the Nepalese government. According to CNN: Nepal will slash climbing fees for Mount Everest in the off-season to lure mountaineers to the world’s tallest peak and boost tourism hit by years of a Maoist conflict. … the giant mountain remains virtually deserted in the […]

Backpacker Gifts: Best F*cking Trip Of My Life Photo Album

This rather classy photo album was a real hit last Christmas: Best F*cking Trip of My Life Photo Album. K absolutely loved this one.

Panoramic Travel Camera: Capture Your Travels In Full 360 Degree Realism

It’s just a concept for the time-being, but a pretty damn cool one at that. Via Yanko Design: The next time you wanna capture a good panoramic picture of your vacation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, put down that tripod and expensive digital camera. Use the Panoramic Digital Camera instead. Just make sure […]

Like Man vs. Wild’s Bear Grylls? Check Out Ben Saunders

Not unlike Bear Grylls, Brit Ben Saunders is a self-described “Adventurer, Athlete, and Motivational Speaker.” Unlike Bear, he’s got an uber-slick website and accompanying blog peppered with the humble, experienced writings one might expect from a person crazy and driven enough to ski to the North Pole - alone. His About page describes him thusly: […]

Top 10 Best Spots To Swim With Sharks

The Travel Channel has posted their 10 Best Spots to Swim with Sharks. Bummer that the closest one to me is San Diego - nearly 3,000 miles away. Is it a surprise that Shark Alley in South Africa made the list?

Top Gun Travel: $3K To Fly In Kenny Loggins’ Danger Zone

This brings to mind so many fantastic quotes from one of the greatest movies of all time that I’m hard pressed to pick a favorite. I’m speaking, of course, of Top Gun. Is there anything better than the pseudo-homosexual tension and rivalry of Iceman and Maverick in this eight-time Oscar-winning film? Incredible-Adventures.com makes possible […]

Extreme Slip’n Sliding: 535 Feet Of Deadly Plastic And Oil

InstaTravel points us to what is likely the world’s largest (and most dangerously stupid) Slip’n Slide (with pics): Something Awful’s forum member Bruiser has built a 535-foot long version of the slip’n slide. Lubed with ten gallons of mineral oil, the approximate cost $3,000 dollars after materials and labor. It is no doubt homemade, but a […]

Lonely Planet Travel Guides A La Carte: Less Filling, Same Great Taste

For those unfamiliar with French lexicon, “a la carte” loosely translates to: “without having to carry big a$$ guidebooks around with you”. Travel Rants Blog tips the cap to a new Lonely Planet service called Pick & Mix: Today I received an email from Lonely Planet informing me of their Pick & Mix service which let’s travellers […]

How To Curb Airplane Crashes: Just Paint Over Them

I gotta hand it to China: no one is as absolutely shameless when it comes to pulling out all the stops to protect their image as the Chinese. Via Mainichi Daily News (with before and after photos): China Airlines has painted over its name and logo on the wreckage of a passenger jet that exploded in flames […]

Thankfully, Most Travelers Are Not “Passive-Aggressive, Self-Loathing, Loser Fucktards”

If you happen to be reading this at work, my apologies for the PG-13 headline. Seriously though, you shouldn’t be reading this. Get back to work. The ever humorous gapingvoid.com blog had a post entitled “Why We’re All Blogging Less”. Reason number 4: Believe it or not, some of us have better things […]

Dear Travel Channel: Please Replace Andrew Zimmern With … Anyone Else

I want to like The Travel Channel’s Andrew Zimmern; I do. He has all the right avuncular qualities about him: he’s pudgy, he’s bald, he’s quirky. He’s got very pinchable cheeks. And he’s entertaining in a “Hey, look at my crazy uncle!” kind of way. Unfortunately that only takes one so […]

Gap Year Travel Advice In An American Newspaper?

Tsk tsk. I think not. I was pleasantly surprised however to find that Telegraph.co.uk published an article titled Gap year advice: relish the freedom. To my fellow Americans, can you imagine the NY Times publishing a “Top 10 Tips for Pre-College Students Traveling Around the World?”. Never going to happen. Bottom line […]

How The World Really Shapes Up (A Series of Maps)

Via this post: We all know what the world looks like. But a new series of extraordinary maps shows our planet in a very different light. Rather than defining each country by size, these computer-generated modified maps - or cartograms - redraw the globe with each country’s size proportionate to its strengths, or weaknesses, in a whole […]

Hurricane Flossie?

Hurricane “Flossie”? Am I the only one who thinks this is a pretty wuss name for a violent meteorological event? No wonder it’s fading fast.

Updated Update: Man vs. Wild Fraud/Scam

Okay I’m fairly certain this’ll be my last post on the Man vs. Wild fraud fiasco. Joe commented on my initial post and pointed us to this YouTube video: I don’t intend to stir the pot with this. I just found it interesting. I’m over it now. I’ve made my peace with it. […]

Your Odds Of Dying In A Shark Attack (And Other Accidental Death Stats)

I plan on diving as much as humanly possible while I’m away. Sometimes I even like to sit on my couch and play Scuba Steve in full dive gear while staring longingly at reruns of Globe Trekker: Sri Lanka & the Maldives. But I digress … Many travelers harbor irrational fears that affect their journeys and […]

Gorgeous Arctic Photography (via Time)

Check out this incredible photo essay entitled Life Beneath Antarctic Ice (via Time.com). My personal favorite here. I get giddy just thinking about the Antarctica leg of my trip.

Which Breakfast Cereal Mascot Would Make The Perfect Road-Trip Companion?

Over at The Sneeze, Steve asks, “If you were driving cross-country, and were forced to bring a breakfast cereal mascot - who would it be?” My favorites: Tony the Tiger - Bad idea. Irritatingly upbeat and loud. Likely dialogue: “This interstate is GRRREAT! Look at that corn field! It’s GREEAT! You have cupholders?? THEY’RE GRRREAT! You’re pulling over?! GRREAT!” “Get […]

Bye-Bye, Spanktravision: The Crusade Of A Former Porn Addict

Via MSNBC: SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - A Cincinnati-based conservative group led by a self-described former porn addict wants to purge hardcore pay-per-view movies from the nation’s hotel rooms, and it took its fight Thursday to the hometown of LodgeNet Entertainment Corp. Citizens for Community Values is pressuring LodgeNet — a publicly traded Sioux Falls company to stop […]

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