Short hops — March 4, 2007 — Switzerland invades Liechtenstein, China mandates prophylactics, Guinness tourism, and more

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Great moments in border crossings: Switzerland accidentally invades Liechtenstein
Neutral? Not anymore! 170 Swiss soldiers wandered one mile into Liechtenstein territory when they got lost during military exercises. Getting lost isn’t limited to tourists anymore. Maybe they should have invested in the deluxe Swiss Army Knife with the compass.

Putting the “condom” back into “condominium”?
Hotels and restaurants in the Chinese province of Zhejiang are now required to make condoms available for sale (or for free) or face hefty fines. Sounds like they need to follow the lead of hotels that spice up their minibars with alternative offerings…

Converting public spaces to still-life photos: TouristRemover
There are times when you want to take a photo without the presence of human beings, and the TouristRemover application seems like a handy tool. But don’t overdo it! If you do this to all of your travel photos, you’ll be left with boring, sterile images that look like you’ve been touring the site of a neutron bomb explosion.

coyote-rocket.png

Coyote cleared for takeoff, runway 27 left
Two planes trying to land at Chicago O’Hare Airport had to abort because of coyotes on the runways. (Coyotes are perhaps one of the ten plagues that will strike airports. Are locusts next?) In fact, the FAA’s statistics show that, from 1990 to 2005, airplanes in the United States struck a total of 66,392 animals, mostly birds. More “exotic” species include 652 white-tailed deer, 198 coyotes, 14 alligators, 11 cats, and 3 moose.

guinness-poster.jpgWill travel for Guinness
Guinness is test-marketing a new beer: Guinness Red. If you’re in the UK, you’ll be able to try it locally. If you’re elsewhere, you’ll need to travel a bit if you want a taste. The list of pubs that will feature the new brew can be found here. (The site requires you to state an age and residency. If you’re not in the UK, lie. If you don’t say you live in the UK, you can’t read their site.) Reports from the field are welcomed here. Please let it be better than “New Coke.”

Behind that luggage scanner stands a human being doing
Gary Leff points to a great, in-depth piece in CondeNast Traveler, in which one of their writers, Barbara S. Peterson, applied for (and got) a job at the TSA. For two months, she worked at the agency, and her (LONG) report, is a great read.

2 Responses to “Short hops — March 4, 2007 — Switzerland invades Liechtenstein, China mandates prophylactics, Guinness tourism, and more”

  1. Lee Harrison says:

    Talking of Guiness, There is a Limited Edition of MARMITE with GUINNESS avaialable and apparently reaching high sums on e-bay.
    Marmite- You either Love it or Hate it, With Guiness the mind Boggles

  2. Tim's Ramblings says:

    Working at the TSA - An Inside Look…

    While reading through some various business travel blogs (in this case Upgrade: Travel Better) I ran across a link to an article about a peek behind the scenes as a screener at the airport.
    Inside Job: My Life as an Airport Screener by Barbara Peterson…

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