Travel Blog
The Hummus War: Lebanon Takes on Israel
by Joanna Kakissis | 10.10.08 | 10:47 AM ET
Fadi Abboud of the Lebanese Industrialists Association says the popular chickpea dip as well as dishes such as falafel, baba ghannouj and tabbouleh belong to Lebanon, not Israel. So his organization is planning to sue the Israelis for food copyright infringement, modeling their case after Greece’s successful branding of feta cheese. Will it work?
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Yahoo! BuzzWorld Hum Travel Movie Club: ‘The Art of Travel’
by Eli Ellison, Eva Holland | 10.09.08 | 5:53 PM ET
Memories and the Metro
by Eva Holland | 10.09.08 | 4:43 PM ET
Several well-known writers and reporters describe the most memorable subway systems they’ve encountered on their travels—and how each one represents the city it serves.
Hawaii Tourism Hit by ‘Perfect Storm’
by Michael Yessis | 10.09.08 | 4:03 PM ET
The economic downturn has hit Hawaii hard, but that’s not all. Hawaii tourism chief Rex Johnson resigned yesterday after “exchanging racist and sexist jokes by e-mail on his state computer,” according to the Honolulu Advertiser.
Related on World Hum:
* Hawaii: Too ‘Foreign’ and ‘Exotic’ for a Presidential Vacation?
Video: Baz Luhrmann’s New Australia Tourism Commercial
by Jim Benning | 10.09.08 | 1:31 PM ET
Tourism Australia’s new advertising campaign includes a TV commercial directed by Baz Luhrmann. It features career-obsessed city-dwellers who find renewal during a visit to Australia, and it apparently echoes themes in Luhrmann’s forthcoming movie, “Australia,” starring Nicole Kidman. Here’s the ad, which is bound to go down easier than the country’s controversial “Where the bloody hell are you?” campaign:
The Critics: ‘Anthropology for Dummies’
by Jim Benning | 10.09.08 | 1:07 PM ET
Before you rush out to buy this book to prepare for, say, a year living with a remote tribe in the Peruvian Amazon, consider Barbara J. King’s review of it on Bookslut. “Learning about Anthropology from Anthropology for Dummies,” she writes, “is like learning about other cultures by becoming a contestant on TV’s The Amazing Race.” Wait. You mean that’s not a good idea, either?
Related on World Hum:
* ‘The Amazing Race’: A Good Travel Show?
Canada: ‘Liberal, Secular, Not as Cold as You Think!’
by Eva Holland | 10.09.08 | 12:50 PM ET
Ever wondered what a late-night Canadian government infomercial aimed at recruiting disaffected American liberals might look like? Slate V takes a good shot at it:
The History of ‘Main Street’
by Jim Benning | 10.09.08 | 12:13 PM ET
Linguist Geoff Numberg traces the roots of the phrase used so often these days to describe the effects of the country’s financial woes on everyday citizens. Among its influential early uses: as the title of a 1920 Sinclair Lewis novel.
2008 Nobel Prize in Literature Goes to ‘Avid Traveller’
by Jim Benning | 10.09.08 | 10:56 AM ET
French author Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio will soon be swimming in Swedish Krona. He won the 2008 Nobel Prize in literature today, lauded for being an “author of new departures, poetic adventure and sensual ecstasy, explorer of a humanity beyond and below the reigning civilisation.” The Telegraph describes him as an “avid traveller” who loves the work of two other great travelers, Robert Louis Stevenson and Joseph Conrad. His overseas experiences altered the way he saw the world. Notes the paper:
Everest Skydivers Take the Plunge
by Eva Holland | 10.09.08 | 10:30 AM ET
A couple weeks back we noted that the first-ever skydivers at Mount Everest were due to drop. Well, they’re a little behind schedule, but three people finally took the plunge—and made history.
Travel Headline of the Day: ‘NASA Set to Approve Japanese Fleet of Origami Space Shuttles’
by Michael Yessis | 10.08.08 | 5:47 PM ET
The shuttles are apparently made from chemically-treated sugar cane fiber paper, and are designed to fly from space to the earth. Really. The experiment, which may take place next year, could offer insight into the next generation of spacecraft design. Video below.
‘Uppitiness is Not Well Tolerated Among Egyptians’
by Michael Yessis | 10.08.08 | 5:39 PM ET
“Call me paranoid,” writes Gigi Douban in The Morning News, “but I think the grocery store clerk was sending a message loud and clear, horse-head-in-the-bed-style.” The alleged uppity crime? Sprinkling a little English with Arabic when ordering groceries in Cairo.
Dialogue in the Dark: ‘It’s a Psychological Lift’
by Valerie Conners | 10.08.08 | 1:12 PM ET
A new sensory exhibit has debuted in Atlanta, offering visitors a chance to spend one hour in the dark, navigating through familiar scenarios—walking in a park, crossing a busy street, ordering drinks in a café—with the aid of a vision-impaired guide.
Everest Plane Crash Kills 18 Tourists
by Valerie Conners | 10.08.08 | 12:21 PM ET
A passenger plane crashed on landing at Tenzing-Hillary airport in Nepal’s Everest region, killing 18 people on board, including 12 German tourists and two Australians. The plane’s pilot is the only survivor. We’ve previously noted the dramatic landings at the airport, which is located on a steeply angled hillside.
Related on World Hum:
* Introducing Tenzing Hillary Airport
Something’s Rotten in the Kingdom of Wallachia
by Valerie Conners | 10.08.08 | 11:22 AM ET
Fictitious Wallachia Kingdom, a popular tourist venture in the Czech Republic’s Wallachia region, is having a bit of a political coup crisis. Turns out the “king”—who happens to be a trained clown—is suing the “foreign minister” for rights to rule the land. The case has made its way into the actual Czech court system. Yes, this is a supremely weird story. But what do I think is the strangest part?
