Travel Blog
Chinese Noodles Predate Marco Polo
by Jim Benning | 10.13.05 | 12:23 PM ET
It’s not often that explorer (and travel writer) Marco Polo makes the news these days, so we couldn’t pass up the chance to mention it here. It seems that Mr. Polo was not responsible for introducing the noodle to China, as some historians have contended. In northwestern China, scientists have discovered a container with 4,000-year-old, delicate yellow noodles. (And you thought the leftover macaroni in your fridge was stale.)
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Yahoo! BuzzTracking Travel Inspired by Literature
by Michael Yessis | 10.12.05 | 12:58 PM ET
The Airbus A380: ‘The Mother Load’
by Jim Benning | 10.12.05 | 12:17 PM ET
Last April, the Airbus A380—the world’s largest airliner that can shuttle a whopping 550-plus passengers—took its maiden flight. P. J. O’Rourke, for one, was not happy with the public’s response. “What a poor, dull response to a miracle of engineering,” he writes in a feature about the new jet in the November issue of The Atlantic Monthly. “The A380 is a Lourdes apparition at the departure ramp. Consider just two of its marvels: Its takeoff weight is 1.235 million pounds. And it takes off…However, the only expressions of awe over the A380’s specifications that I’ve heard have been awful predictions of the crowding inside.” Those fears, he writes, “tend to be somewhat exaggerated.”
Developers Announce Plan for Sexual Theme Park
by Michael Yessis | 10.12.05 | 11:56 AM ET
Its home will be in London, near Piccadilly Circus. “Backers say the London Academy of Sex and Relationships, due to open next spring, will not be a sleazy sex museum, but an educational multimedia attraction that will teach visitors to become better lovers and provide valuable information about disease and sexual problems,” according to an AP report.
Sites for Solo Women Travelers
by Jim Benning | 10.11.05 | 5:34 PM ET
USA Today just published an overview of Web sites aimed at solo women travelers, noting: “Most of the sites were founded by women for women, and many seek to create a safe environment that allows women to form bonds of friendship while seeing the world.” Among the sites featured: Tango Diva, Sacred Journeys and Adventurous Wench.
Experts: Hep A and B Vaccines Good for Life
by Jim Benning | 10.11.05 | 3:24 PM ET
There’s good news for those of us who’ve suffered through a series of shots to prevent Hepatitis A and B: A panel of experts recently concluded that the vaccines should be good for life. Reports Reuters: “A single course of hepatitis A and B vaccine is enough to protect most healthy travelers from contracting these infections, and current evidence suggests this protection is lifelong, a team of travel medicine experts concludes.”
Getting Married? Forget Registering for a Toaster. How About Airline Tickets?
by Jim Benning | 10.11.05 | 3:06 PM ET
We generally aren’t in the business of hyping press releases, but this one is too good to pass up: Continental Airlines claims to be the first airline to offer a gift registry, allowing customers to receive gift contributions toward the purchase of an airline ticket. A release on Yahoo.com has more details. It’s hard to believe it has taken so long for an airline to offer such a thing. I can only imagine more airlines will follow suit.
NIA Study Debunks National Stereotypes
by Michael Yessis | 10.10.05 | 11:14 AM ET
Canadians are not overly submissive. Americans are not hyper assertive. Indians are not unconventional. And Czechs are not antagonistic and disagreeable. So says a fascinating study by scientists at the National Institute on Aging, a division of the National Institutes of Health, published in the October 7 issue of the Science (subscription only). According to the NIA news release, Antonio Terracciano and Robert R. McCrae asked 3,989 raters to describe the “typical” member of their own culture.
Investigating International Sex Tourism, Part Three
by Michael Yessis | 10.10.05 | 10:11 AM ET
Update: Lorrie Heasley, ‘The Fockers’ and the United States Constitution
by Michael Yessis | 10.09.05 | 6:08 PM ET
Michelle O’Donnell puts Tuesday’s T-shirt incident aboard Southwest Airlines flight 219 into legal context in today’s New York Times, asking some constitutional law experts about the rights of passengers to wear “offensive” attire and the rights of airlines to kick passengers off their planes.
Commie Chic in China
by Jim Benning | 10.07.05 | 10:35 PM ET
PBS’ NewsHour with Jim Lehrer is airing a seven-part series on the rise of China as an economic power, and Friday’s installment was terrific: an exploration of the cult of Mao that lives on in the country today. “How does the totalitarian communist icon fit with the capitalist wealth-fest that the People’s Republic of China has become?” correspondent Paul Solman asked. Looking for answers, he visited The Red Capital Club, a Beijing restaurant that recreates a 1950s Communist Party hangout, complete with a party limo parked in front.
Jon Stewart on the Al-Qaeda Plot to Win an Emmy Award and Hijack a Plane
by Jim Benning | 10.07.05 | 3:49 PM ET
The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman last night, and he spoke candidly about the Emmy award he won recently in Los Angeles: “It’s 20 pounds of pure steel and has two spikes on it and they let you get on the plane with it. So you just walk up and down the aisle saying, ‘Couldn’t get your nail clippers on, could you?’” Stewart added, “I believe Al-Qaeda is working on producing a great television show so they may win an Emmy and then take over a plane.” Replied Letterman: “It’s chilling.”
“Rounding the Horn” on Book TV This Weekend
by Jim Benning | 10.07.05 | 3:39 PM ET
C-SPAN2’s Book TV usually doesn’t feature much in the way of travel writing, but one program this weekend comes close. The channel will broadcast a Men’s Book Club of New York City discussion of Dallas Murphy’s “Rounding the Horn.” The book chronicles the history of Cape Horn and the historic voyages around it. According to the network’s Web site, “The author explains to book club members that he sailed to Cape Horn from Argentina and details the various dangers he faced along the way.”
Rick Steves on Radio and iTunes
by Jim Benning | 10.07.05 | 10:12 AM ET
I didn’t know Rick Steves had a new weekly radio show until I clicked onto iTunes. There, on the podcast page, complete podcasts of Steves’ hour-long shows are available for free downloading—26 in all. Topics range from the expected—travel in France, Italy and Ireland—to discussions about Argentina, Cuba and Ecuador. I listened to most of the show about Cuba, which featured an interview with author Christopher Baker, and was impressed.
Southwest Airlines Boots Passenger for ‘Fockers’ Shirt
by Jim Benning | 10.06.05 | 11:32 AM ET
We all know the days when flying was considered glamorous and jet travelers dressed to the nines are long gone. But just how long gone? On Tuesday, passenger Lorrie Heasley was booted off a Southwest Airlines flight in Reno after passengers complained about her T-shirt. It featured pictures of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Condoleezza Rice and carried a slightly different version of the film title, “Meet the Fockers.”
