News

New Google Earth Program Maps Refugee Movement

Like what you see? Subscribe to the full RSS feed. © mknobil Google has joined hands with the UN High Commission for Refugees to create a new mapping system that will allow users of its Goggle Earth tool to track the movement of refuges across the planet. The Commission that estimates around 35 million people all […]

German Nudist Flight May be Grounded

A travel agency that had planned a charter flight for nudists from the town of Erfurt to the Baltic Sea destination of Usedom, has been forced to cancel its plans even before the clothes came off. Internet travel agency OssiUrlaub had scheduled the fabric-free flight in July 2007 and generated considerable public interest. According to […]

Japan’s Male Geisha Emerges

With Japanese women paying to enter clubs where beautiful young boys dress and act as bashful schoolboys to please them, it was just a matter of time before the male geisha emerged. A new trend in Japan has gender roles reversed as successful women pay suave young men to spend an evening with […]

Man Cries Wolf … er … Wombat After “Rape”

To be clear, this is not the alleged wombat rapist © Stygiangloom A New Zealand man who called local police to report that he had been raped by a wombat has been ordered to do 75 hours of community work for wasting police time. Arthur Ross Craddock, a 48-year-old orchard worker from the South Island Town of […]

Absolut Apologizes for Mexican Ad

Absolut Vodka has apologized for running an ad depicting the southwestern states of the US as part of Mexico as part of its ”In an Absolute World” campaign which depicts ideal situations. In the ad, the US Mexican border is outlined as it was before the US Mexican war of Independence in which the regions that […]

Beijing to Promote Condom Use at Hotels, Clubs and Construction Sites

The Chinese government is making further efforts to contain the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Health officials have proposed that condoms be made easily available at night clubs, hotels and … construction sites (huh?). According to the proposed regulation, hotels and resorts would be required to have condoms available in toilets, while “night clubs, bathing […]

Singapore Government Offers Course in Loveology

Alarmed by waning birth rates, Singapore’s government is offering its youth courses in seduction. Yes, you read that right. Students at two of the country’s polytechnics can now earn two credits if they choose a ‘love elective’. The seduction course covers love song analysis, sexuality, family relations, and involves activities like hand holding and watching mushy […]

Tanzanian President Condemns Albino Hunting

Tanzania’s albino population has in recent years lived in fear. They have been hunted by people who have bought into the claim by the country’s witch doctors that harvested albino body parts can bring people prosperity. Since March 20007, at least 19 Albinos have been hunted down. In one instance, a teacher […]

Thailand Clamps Down on Cosmetic Castrations

© batega Thailand’s famed lady boys or “katoeys” are an inescapable part of the capital Bangkok’s racy night life. Unlike in many other parts of the world, these katoeys who span the range from transvestites, to men who have undergone sex change surgery, are widely accepted in society. The numbers of young boys opting for […]

Aussies Are Undisputed Extreme Ironing World Champs

© ExtremeIroning.com A group of 72 Australians have been crowned Extreme Ironing champs after beating a Guinness record for ironing laundry under water. The feat was achieved when the 72 brave souls plunged into the murky waters off a pier in Melbourne. Extreme ironing, according to the Extreme Ironing Bureau, combines the “thrills of an outdoor […]

Alaska-Siberia Tunnel Rumor Gaining Traction

The rumors of an Alaska-Russia tunnel are growing stronger by the day. Among the gossip is that the Russian President is already in talks with Washington to finalize the project. The rumor mill was boosted recently when Roman Abramovich, a Russian billionaire and governor of the Chotoka region, shelled out $160 million to manufacture […]

Flybe Pays Passengers to Fly

We’re all familiar with cutthroat airline fare slashing, but this is ridiculous. Budget airline Flybe has admitted that it paid temps to fill up its flights from Norwich to Dublin. The move was a desperate attempt by the airline to obtain a 280,000 pound rebate in passenger fees from Norwich Airport. The rules state that […]

A New Way to View Travel News … Sort of

Since the relatively widespread adoption of RSS feeds provided by websites around the interwebs, I really can’t imagine getting my daily news fix - travel and otherwise - any other way. It’s like having a digital subscription to every website I love all in one, easy to access place. That said, a new kind of […]

Inflight Handgun Rules May Be to Blame for Pilot’s Gun Firing

The US airways pilot whose gun accidentally discharged just before landing might not really be to blame for the incident, according to an airline pilot association. The Airline Pilots Security Alliance says that the Transport Security Administration (TSA) has not adopted safety measures recommended by the Federal Air Marshal Service. Apparently, the pilot was following […]

The Great Eiffel Tower Hoax

The proposed Eiffel Tower expansion project that we reported on a while back has been exposed as a hoax. According to a tower spokesperson, the idea is “preposterous,” and the entire scheme is a hoax. The news reports said that there were plans to add an extension to the globally recognized landmark to allow people […]

Sadly, TravelChannel.com Will Not Be Acquiring Us After All

I feel very, very guilty. Okay … at least a little bit guilty. I felt guilty as soon as the first congratulations comment posted yesterday to the “news” that we’d been acquired by TravelChannel.com. In the past 24 hours, my e-mailbox has been flooded with a steady stream of congratulations and well […]

Frozen in Time: Improv Everywhere Effect Spreads

When a clip of the first Improv Everywhere freezing event in Grand Central Station was posted on you Tube, it caused an instant buzz. The sight of more than 200 people freezing in their tracks in the middle of otherwise frenetic Grand Central Station for a full five minutes was remarkable, and struck a […]

Japanese Grave Maker Develops High Tech Gravestone

It was just a matter of time before the dead got high tech, and Japan is unsurprisingly showing the way. A Japanese grave stone maker has developed grave stones with embedded bar codes in them. When visitors visit the gravesites of their dead relatives, they can take a picture of the tag with their cell […]

Finnish MP Proposes “Love Vacation” Law

© Mayr Here’s a law that would be hard to break. Finnish MP Tommy Tabermann has proposed a law that would enable couples to enjoy a week of “love vacation” time. The proposal, which has already been debated by Finish parliament, would allow couples to accrue love holiday time the same way they accrue summer […]

Sleeping Under the Stars in Finland’s Glass Igloos

Sleeping on ice beds in igloos in the freezing North is almost passé. The new trend is glass igloos in the heart of Lapland that allow guests to enjoy the beauty of snow storms and the spectacular Northern Lights without having to freeze their butts off. These glass igloos are available for rent at the […]

Olympic Athletes Unhappy with Beijing’s Squat Toilets

© boni_face Chinese Olympic authorities are scrambling to refit toilets after complaints that some Olympic venues had squat toilets instead of the sit down model favored by Westerners. Athletes, miffed at the prospect of having to squat to do their stuff, reportedly companied and refitting work is currently underway at some otherwise high-tech venues, like the Water […]

The Incredible Shrinking Dollar: Amsterdam Turning Away U.S. Currency

If you wanted a reality check about the actual state of the beleaguered U.S. dollar, you might want to head to Amsterdam where small currency exchange firms are turning away dollars. The US currency has fallen badly against the Euro with one Euro currently worth roughly $1.58. Tourists looking to exchange their dollars have to […]

Eiffel Tower to Receive an Extension?

Paris’ most famous landmark may receive an extension as part of its 120th birthday celebrations. A Paris-based architectural firm has won a contest to redesign the tower’s public access areas. The firm, Serero’s, winning design features an extension of the top floors of the tower, without the need for any permanent structural changes to the […]

Cosplish School Opens in Tokyo

To the long list of English language hybrids around the world, you can add a new dialect – Cosplish. It has its origins in Tokyo, and more specifically, in the slang used in cos-play, or costume play, which has fans of anime and manga comics dressing up and speaking like the animated characters. If you’d […]

Terrorizing Gnome Has Argentineans Running Scared

A group of Argentinean teenagers claim to have spotted a … ahem … gnome that “terrorized” them with his manic laugh and shuffling gait. Well, maybe not exactly manic laugh, although the creature in the video, does have a creepy, staggering walk. The teenagers who filmed the video in their hometown in the province of […]

Tibet: Not The Fratboy Destination It Once Was

Tibet has always been a lovely travel destination. Whether you’re an old woman or a fraternity boy completely enamored with the philosophy class you took senior year to graduate, its a popular place to find one’s self. Tibet has also been in a state of political turmoil against the Chinese “abusive step-parent” government for […]

Mass Transit Strike Hits Berlin

It pulses through the city, pushing people from the outer suburbs to the heart of Mitte, from home to work, to school, to concerts and exhibits, to friends’ houses, to sports events, to anywhere you might want to go. In the winter cold and wet, Berlin’s public transit network is a warm way across town. […]

Human Remains Found in Suitcase at Munich Airport

Evidently, it’s never a dull day when you’re an airport security officer. Officers at Munich airport were aghast when they uncovered a skull and bones in a suitcase belonging to two female passengers. The women were on a stopover on their way from Sao Paolo to Naples, and the reason for the morbid baggage was […]

Japan’s New Fetish Cafe Caters to Train Maniacs

If you have a thing for trains, railroads or nubile young railroad conductors, you might want to head Japanward, and check out the Little TGV bar in Akihabara, Japan (where else?). The bar, which opened February 21st, features waitresses dressed as railroad clerks, railroad themed decor, and is run by a fictitious railroad company called Shin […]

Princeton University Encouraging Incoming Students to Travel Abroad

© [Satbir] Remember when your father called you a touchy-feely Democrat for expressing a desire to go to Europe after high school? Hit back with an acceptance letter from an Ivy League school and then tell him that the first step to becoming a soulless, capitalist doctor/lawyer/cop/Indian Chief is “learning that helping people is not fun.” Princeton […]

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