A Guy Named Hemingway Wins Key West's Hemingway Lookalike Contest
Posted on 07/26/2016, 8:45 AM
A guy named Hemingway won the annual "Papa" Hemingway Lookalike Contest in Key West, Florida, over the weekend. White-bearded 65-year-old Dave Hemingway—who is in no way related to the famous author—had entered the contest six previous times but never won it until now. Held at former Hemingway hangout Sloppy Joe's Bar, the event is a highlight of the Hemingway Days festival, held yearly to ho...
Fans in Uproar Over Closing of Disney's Tower of Terror
Posted on 07/26/2016, 8:30 AM
The gut-wrenching Tower of Terror elevator drop at Disney California Adventure in Anaheim will let fall its last batch of thrill seekers in early January of next year—and fans are none too pleased. When Disney announced plans to turn the tower into a Guardians of the Galaxy attraction, reaction on social media was swift and overwhelmingly negative. Many have accused the park of selling out i...
Former Attorney General Hired by Airbnb to Help Draft Anti-Discrimination Policy
Posted on 07/26/2016, 8:00 AM
Former United States Attorney General Eric Holder has been hired as an advisor by Airbnb to help devise the company's new anti-discrimination policy. In December, a Harvard study (pdf) found that it was harder for people with African-American-sounding names than others to rent rooms through Airbnb's home-sharing service. Since then, the company has faced repeated accusations from African-Amer...
Luggage Clip Lets You Pull Your Suitcase Hands-Free
Posted on 07/25/2016, 8:45 AM
If you're tired of dragging your rolling suitcase around by hand and don't mind looking slightly ridiculous, a new doohickey called My Hitch is perfect for you. It's a plastic clip that you attach to the back belt loop of your pants, then attach to your suitcase, so that you can pull it around behind you, leaving your hands free while you walk. My Hitch works best with luggage under 25 poun...
World's Tallest Moving Observation Tower Set to Open on English Coast
Posted on 07/25/2016, 8:30 AM
On August 4, the English seaside resort town of Brighton will open to the public the world's tallest moving observation tower. Dreamed up by the team behind the London Eye Ferris wheel, the British Airways i360 features a glass-enclosed viewing pod that glides up and down the tower, offering those inside (up to 200 at a time) views of the coast from a height of more than 450 feet. In addi...
Floating Hotels Drift into France and Japan
Posted on 07/25/2016, 8:15 AM
Looks like floating hotels could become the latest trend in travel. The hip Hôtel Off Paris Seine is already bobbing in that river near the Pont Charles de Gaulle. And now an amusement park in Japan's Nagasaki Prefecture has announced plans for a floating hotel that can be towed by boat. Located in an up-and-coming industrial neighborhood of Paris, the two-story Hôtel Off features a stylish, ...
Glamping in the Heart of New York City—For $2,000 a Night
Posted on 07/22/2016, 8:45 AM
The W New York hotel is offering guests a chance to go camping in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. The hotel's Extreme Wow Glamping Suite is a colorful, 12-foot yurt decked out with rattan chairs, lanterns, and a faux fire pit. And here's the best part: it's set up on an outdoor terrace on the building's 17th floor, where you can take in excellent views of the Manhattan skyline. Rates start...
Irish Island Welcomes Americans Fleeing Trump
Posted on 07/22/2016, 8:30 AM
If this week's Republican National Convention has you worried about the future of the country, the tiny Irish island of Inishturk would like to offer refuge. Located about 9 miles off the coast of County Mayo, Inishturk will welcome, officials say, those Americans considering leaving the U.S. if Donald Trump is elected president. The island could certainly use the population boost—it currentl...
Southwest Airlines Continues to Grapple with Effects of Computer Glitch
Posted on 07/22/2016, 8:15 AM
Southwest Airlines and its passengers continue to grapple with the effects of a computer glitch on Wednesday that has canceled and delayed more than 1,000 flights. The carrier says that a failed router is to blame for crashing the company's computer system for 12 hours on Wednesday—an incident expected to have consequences lasting into the end of the week. Southwest says it's currently updati...
Japanese Airline to Make Jet Look Like "Star Wars" Droid
Posted on 07/21/2016, 8:30 AM
Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) is going to paint one of its Boeing 777 jets to look like the Star Wars character C-3PO. That will make it the fourth Star Wars-themed plane in the company's fleet. The others are painted to look like C-3PO's fellow droids R2-D2 and BB-8. Those two characters each have their own planes and a third has both of their likenessess—all before ANA got around to C-3P...
