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Embrace The Unexpected With Help From The Bureau of Unknown Destinations

The Splits ©Ian Sane A new New York travel agency is offering voyagers the chance to embrace the unexpected in their next travel experience. The Bureau of Unknown Destinations offers, temporary displacements to members of the public seeking to experiment with their migratory impulses… We have provided the opportunity for voyagers to set forth, free [...]

Bike Sharing Program Coming to NYC This Summer

Bikes ©mosselmaniac Perfect for the hordes of tourists during Manhattan summers, bike sharing finally comes to the city this summer. And for New York residents, no more worries of bike theft. The NYC DOT and Alta Bicycle Share have organized the program, along with private sponsorship. About 10,000 bikes in over 600 stations will be [...]

Human-Like Sculptures Cause Controversy Around the World

Mark Jenkins Installation / Pictoplasma 2011 ©MatiasR Artist Mark Jenkins has spent the last few years travelling the world and installing his controversial life-like sculptures. Civilians have been so shocked by his sculptures that they’ve called the ambulance and police to help what they thought were real struggling or dead people. Perhaps the most controversal [...]

Make Way for Cocktails and Skydiving in Singapore

iFly, you fly, we all fly © CNN.go.com If you have a few hours to kill in Singapore, take a trip to iFly–the city’s skydiving destination with a new bar, SkyLoft. That’s right–a wind tunnel for indoor simulated skydiving and an adjacent bar. While divers are not allowed in pre-drink, they are more than welcome [...]

Japanese Honor Old Sewing Needles in Festival

Sewing machine © alecs apple Many ceremonies are held around the world to commemorate loved ones, aging flags–but only one is dedicated to old sewing needles. Every year on February 8th, Japanese tailors lay their used needles to rest in “hari-kuyo”, a festival held in Buddhist temples. The old needles are stuck into pieces of [...]

And the World’s Sexiest Accent Belongs to….

¡hola! © ;cerise The folks at Lonely Planet compiled the most accurate data from Facebook last year, asking fans where the world’s sexiest accent comes from. Out of over 700 responses, the Spanish accent won with French being a close second. Regional dialects were accounted for, as were ‘outlier’ accents such as West-Flemish, Serbian, Chinese, [...]

The Fractal Patterns of Landscapes Devastated by Drought [Gallery]

Salt Lake, Iran © Bertil Videt The beauty of nature works in mysterious ways. It can sometimes present itself in the harshest of landscapes, for example. Drought is a killer of animals, crops and people, yet there is an undeniable aesthetic appeal to the images of parched terrains that we are about to explore. As [...]

Spanish Town Residents Win Lottery, Except for One Man

Better luck next year Costis © doncav The town of Sodeto, Spain became $950 million dollars richer after 70 households heard the news that they won the famed “El Gordo”, Christmas lottery. That is, except for one man. Sodeto residents and people from 17 nearby villages bought tickets with the same winning number from the [...]

Londoners Recycling With “Smart” Bins

Renew bins in London © architizer.com Throwing your next soda can into a recycling bin is a win-win for many Londoners, with the installation of new “Renew” bins. The bins display data from stock quotes to weather and transit details. Twenty-five are already in place around London. While the bins don’t come cheap, the developers have [...]

Lesser-Known Groundhog Day Celebrations

A surprised Mayor Bloomberg with Staten Island Chuck © latimes.com North America’s favorite seasonal weatherman, Punxsutawney Phil, has a bit of competition on Groundhog Day. Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania has been home to the largest and oldest celebration, dating back to the late 1800′s. But other groundhogs stretching from Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia to Lilburn, Georgia offer more “unique” celebrations. [...]

Finnish Flight Attendants Take Off to Bollywood

Finn Air ©Joi To celebration of India’s Republic Day, flight crew on the January 17th Finnair flight AY201 from Helsinki to Dehli donned Indian attire and danced down the airplane aisles to “Deewangi Deewangi” from the Bollywood blockbuster “Om Shanti Om.” The idea for the tribute came from Helena Kaartinen, who has worked for Finnair [...]

World’s Oldest Cheese For Sale In China

After 15 years, it really is time to cut the cheese ©funkyuk Claimed to be the world’s oldest edible cheese, an importer in Hong Kong is hoping to sell a 15-year old, extra mature Bitto, an Italian alpine cheese. Ivona Grgan, the importer in possession of the Bitto, believes the Chinese love good food, particularly “relics”. [...]

Fearing the Zombie Apocalypse? Prepare Yourself With a Survival Course in Portland

Zombie parade, Toronto © Eric.Parker If you’ve found yourself watching too many episodes of “The Walking Dead” and fearing the zombie apocalypse, the folks at Trackers PDX have the solution for you. This March, the outdoor education specialists are offering a 2-day survival course in Portland, Oregon. It’s billed as the “ultimate guide to survival [...]

“Tartan Butler” Assisting Tourists With Ancestral Quests

Tartan kilt © ericjowett Based out of the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh, the “Tartan Butler” is a newly appointed concierge helping visitors discover their Scottish heritage. Andy Fraser, otherwise known as the Butler, is a long time fan of Scottish and clan history. Fraser’s interest in genealogy began with the research of his own Scottish ancestors, [...]

Celebrity Sleepovers

sleeping bags ©karina y From the guy who brought us 101 Other Things to Do in Amsterdam, comedian Mark Malkoff is showing cheapskate vagabond-types everywhere how to couch surf Hollywood style. It only makes sense that in a city of overrun with overpriced hotel accommodations and celebrities the cheapest way to get a good night’s [...]

German Prostitutes Taxed Via “Sex Meters”

Vintage parking meters © scottamus Last August, the city of Bonn started taxing the city’s prostitutes with street meters. Over the last six months, the city has reaped the benefits of the meters, collecting around $20,000 in taxes. A spokesman for the German Association of Cities and Municipalities, told The New York Times he expects other German [...]

The Museum of Celebrity Leftovers

leftovers ©jenny downing On the coastal city of Kingsand, England there is a seafront cafe that has garnered a reputation for more than its locally sourced seafood and vegetarian fare. The Old Boatstore, a cafe owned by Michael and Francesca Bennett has been visited by a few celebrities, including Libertines co-frontman Pete Doherty and royal [...]

A Chilling Winter Tour of London’s Dark Side

People make a big deal about Halloween but for me winter is the right time for ghost stories and the macabre, particularly in a city like London. When the wind whistles through the city streets and there’s mist on the lake in St James’s Park – when it’s dark at three o’clock in the evening [...]

Kazakhstan Subway System Opens After 23 Years

Station stop in Kazakhstan © architizer.com Last month, Kazakhstan’s first ever subway system opened after 23 years of playing the waiting game. Construction started in 1988, but the project came to a halt after the fall of the USSR. Twenty-three years later, construction started again. The subway’s aesthetics are almost a throwback to a golden [...]

Video of Planes Landing in Strong Crosswinds Goes Viral

Landing © ianmunroe Warning; if you are a nervous flyer, you probably shouldn’t click through on the link and watch this video. A video taken of airplanes landing (or attempting to land) at Dusseldorf International Airport with winds of 35 knots, and gusts of up to 55 knots is creating quite a stir online. The [...]

Manhattan Hotel Offering Exclusive Fashion Week Package

NYC Spring 2012 Fashion Week © huffingtonpost.com With about two weeks until the start of New York Fashion Week, the Carlyle Hotel is catering to fashionista travelers everywhere with an exclusive three day package. Among the highlights–invitations and backstage access to select fashion shows, lunch and cocktails with two noted designers, and dinner at the [...]

Website Streaming City “Soundtracks”

Vintage radio © CubaGallery Find yourself pining for the familiar soundtrack of your city while you’re out of town? Do you often miss the sound of a city you once called home? One website is making it possible to enjoy the authentic audio stylings of New York, Montreal, Chicago, and San Francisco. You Are Listening [...]

Run the 2012 NYC Beerathon

Beers in the Sun ©adactio So it might not be as famous as the ING New York City Marathon, but the athletes that compete in the annual New York City Beerathon are just as determined. For those who prefer a beer-run to an ordinary run, the NYC Beerathon offers a 26 bar course with 26 [...]

America’s Healthiest Cities to Visit [gallery]

Fruits & veggies © karimian If eating healthy and getting cardio in on your vacation is a priority, consider the cities on “Food & Wine” magazine’s gallery of healthy American cities. From Portland, Oregon to Washington, D.C. the cities on the list are noted for walkability, a wide range of outdoor activities (biking, hiking, swimming), [...]

Finding Best in Show at the World Orchid Conference

Orchids © SentaCS Every year, thousands of breeders from all over the world compete in the Olympics of orchid competitions–the World Orchid Conference. The Conference offers a glimpse of the world of orchid breeding, and the unique cultivars specifically bred for world competition. Most of the 50,000 orchids from 5,000 varieties on display at the [...]

Ancient Popcorn Found in Peru

Fresh corn © jstr91 Ancient corncobs and husks were discovered recently at the Paredones and Huaca Prieta archaeological sites on Peru’s northern coast. Dolores Piperno, curator of New World archaeology at the National Museum of Natural History, believes the corncobs show evidence of the many ways the Peruvians cooked the corn, including popped, as the snack [...]

Failed Inventions Museum Opens in Austria

Vintage Toys, Mint Museum of Toys, Singapore ©yeowatzup It is said that necessity is the mother of invention, and when Austrian Fritz Gall failed to invent anything of importance, he decided to create a museum dedicated just to failed inventions. Gall’s Museum of Nonsense is located in his hometown of Herrnbaumgarten, Austria about an hour [...]

Tour the Real “Downton Abbey”

The cast of “Downton Abbey” © guardian.co.uk Fans of Masterpiece Classics’ “Downton Abbey”, a PBS series detailing the lives of the Crawley family in Yorkshire, England, will delight in the news that they can now visit the Abbey…to the tune of $12,000. Visitors will tour Highclere Castle (the Abbey’s setting in Newbury, England), the gardens, [...]

Cupid’s Arrow Strikes Panda Pair at French Zoo

Pandas Huan Huan and Yuan Zi © Reuters A few days into their new home at the ZooParc de Beauval in the Loire Valley, pandas Huan Huan and Yuan Zi, are creating quite a stir. The pair is already showing interest in each other and giving hope to zookeepers that cubs could be in their future. [...]

15 Greatest Hats of the World [Gallery]

Hats galore © Doug88888 Besides keeping our heads warm and dry, many hats have cultural significance. Some might not be commonly known–ever seen a rogatywka? If you’ve traveled to Poland, there is a good chance you have. Of the 15 in CNNGo.com’s list, nearly every continent was represented–aside from Antarctica. It’s only time before arctic couture [...]

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