Take a Big Whiff...

...of air. Now you can breath in (for like, half a minute) air from your favorite places around the world. Czech photographer, Kirill Rudenko, has begun selling canned air. My first impression of this is that he's not that great a photographer and this is a desperate attempt to avoid foreclosure on his house. My second impression, is that people will buy anything.

Each $10, 3 and a half inch can is packed with12.7 ounces of air from different areas of popular cities: New York, Paris, Riga (Latvia), Singapore, Berlin, and Prague. He claims the air "relieves stress, cures homesickness, and helps fighting nostalgia." I think he means "helps to fight nostalgia." He's Czech, I'll let it slide.

New York air contains the following formula:

• 20% Empire State Building
• 10% Grand Central Terminal
• 10% Chrysler Building
• 20% Statue of Liberty
• 10% Little Italy, Chinatown (guess they're so close together they smell the same?)
• 10% Brooklyn Bridge
• 10% Time Square
• 10% Central Park

It also comes with the disclaimer that it may contain traces of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, or Staten Island. 

Just for fun...here are the rest of the formulas.

Paris: - May contain traces of liberte, egalite, and fraternite

• 20% The Louvre
• 20% Notre Dame
• 25% The Eiffel Tower
• 15% Musee d'Orsay
• 10% Champs-Elysees
• 10% Sacre Coeur

Prague:

• 20% Wenceslas Square
• 20% Charles Bridge
• 25% Old Town Square
• 15% Prague Castle
• 10% Lesser Town
• 10% Zlata Street

Berlin: - May contain traces of Americans, British, French, Russians, and Curry Wurst (a German sausage dish)...also, I hope they mean the figurative smell of those nationalities...not actual 'traces'

• 25% Brandenburg Gate
• 10% Potsdamer Platz
• 10% Kurfurstendamm
• 20% Reichstag
• 15% Tiergarten
• 10% Charlottenburg
• 10% Checkpoint Charlie

Singapore: - Warning, do not open in public places, the offense carries a punishment of imprisonment for a term which may extend to 6 months, or with a fine extended to $25,000, or with both. (Joking, as I can find nothing to substantiate this claim)

• 25% Botanic Gardens
• 10% Chinatown
• 10% Little India
• 20% Central Business District
• 15% The Singapore Flyer
• 10% Merlion
• 10% Marina Bay Sands SkyPark

Riga: May contain traces of Russki (Russians), Ze Germans and Swedes (lol)

• 20% Old Riga
• 10% House of Blackheads
• 10% Central Market
• 20% Jurmala
• 10% Sun Stone
• 10% Livs Square
• 10% Freedom Monument
• 10% Laima Clock

And for more fun, here's my own formula for New York air:

• 10% car fumes
• 15% rotting garbage
• 5% hot dogs
• 5% pretzels
• 20% sewer
• 25% subway tunnel
• 20% Central Park (cleanish air)

If you want to make the Prague city air yours...you can buy it here. No promises that all the air from all the different cities didn't just come from Rudenko's back yard. You know....if I was sure it came from the correct cities, all these canned airs would make a stupid, yet somehow cute, little tower in my travel themed dining room.

Under the Summer Rain

Summer rain showers are supposed to cool everything off. Well, assuming you aren't in the south and humidity isn't at 89%. Generally though, a nice afternoon shower is a welcome event during high temperatures. But, we also have to assume you aren't in Needles, Colorado.

This small town set a world record on August 13th for having the hottest rainfall, at 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Now at sea level, water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit. For every 500 foot gain in elevation boiling point drops one degree. Needles has an elevation of 495 feet, so water boils there at roughly 211 degrees (I'm getting scientific now), a negligible difference in temperature.All that to illustrate that although the rain sounds incredibly hot, it wasn't even close to the feel of boiling water. I still wouldn't have been found standing around outside.

The record temperature of rain prior to this week was 109 degrees, first held by Marrakech, Morocco on July 10th, 2010 and then taken by Mecca, Saudia Arabia on June 5th, 2012.

Top Theme Parks

In a list of the world's top ten theme parks, Disney lays claim to all but two spots. The bottom two spots. I didn't even know about some of these Disney parks, but apparently thousands and thousands of other people did. Check out the list.

Magic Kingdom

1. Magic Kingdom, Disney World - Orlando, Florida
When Disney World is mentioned what most people are actually envisioning is Magic Kingdom, with it's star piece, Cinderella's Castle. This park annually brings in over 17 million visitors.

2. Disneyland - Anaheim, California
Although smaller than it's counterpart in Florida, Disneyland is the original Disney theme park, opening in 1955. Even at 57 years old Disneyland brings in over 16 million visitors a year.


3. Tokyo Disneyland - Tokyo, Japan
The top Disney park outside of the US, Tokyo Disneyland pulled in just under 14 million visitors last year despite being shut down for a full month in the wake of the tsunami.

4. Tokyo Disney Sea - Tokyo, Japan
This is one of the parks I didn't even know existed. The park is made up of seven themed areas, all depicting some of the world's most scenic ports of call. This park was also closed for a month in 2011, but attracted nearly 13 million visitors.

5. Disneyland Paris - Paris, France
Disneyland Paris celebrates its twentieth anniversary this year, and is doing it up with style. It's annual visitor count of just under 12 million will likely jump this year due to festivities.

Epcot

6. Epcot, Disney World - Orlando, Florida
10.8 million  yearly visitors put Epcot at #6. 2012 will see the re-opening of a new and improved Test Track, that will stand beside Soarin' and Mission:SPACE as major crowd drawers.

Expedition Everest
Animal Kingdom

7. Animal Kingdom, Disney World - Orlando, Florida
This park holds 250 species that account for 1,700 animals and brings in 9, 783,000 annual visitors.

Tower of Terror
Hollywood Studios

8. Hollywood Studios, Disney World - Orlando, Florida
This is Hollywood Studio's second year at #8, holding steady thanks to attractions like The Tower of Terror and Rock 'n' Rollar Coaster. 9.6 million people visit each year.

9. Universal Studios Japan - Osaka, Japan
Tenth anniversary celebrations in 2011 helped bring this park up onto the list with 8.5 million visitors last year. Attendance is sure to skyrocket again in 2014 when The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opens.

Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Islands of Adventure

10. Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios - Orlando, Florida
The biggest draw of this park is sure to be the first Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which opened in 2010. And an expansion is already planned. On the list for the first time with 7.6 million visitors, this park doesn't want to lose its spot.

The World at the Olympics

The Summer Olympics in London, England has brought together 204 countries/territories from around the world.

Of the over 10,000 athletes, here's the top five countries based on number of participants.
Great Britain - 541
United States - 530
Russia - 436
Australia - 410
Germany - 392

The bottom five countries based on number of participants:
Bhutan - 2
British Virgin Islands - 2
Gambia - 2
Equatorial Guinea - 2
Dominica - 2

And finally, countries/territories participating that I've never heard of:
Belarus
Tunisia
Azerbaijan
Senegal
Gabon
Moldova
Tajikistan
Kyrgyzstan
Eritrea
Mauritius
Myanmar
Mozambique
Seychelles
Djibouti
Burundi
Vanuatu
Burkina Faso
Lesotho
Tuvalu
Kiribati
Brunei
Timor-Leste

Other random facts:
London is the only city to ever host the Olympics 3 times - 1908, 1948, and 2012
It is estimated there will be 350,000 foreign visitors per day in London during the Olympics
Rio de Janeiro will host the 2016 Olympics
The Olympic rings represent the five regions of the world - Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceana and at least one of the five colors are represented in every flag in the world.


For a full list of participating countries click here.

Numbers in the above lists were gathered through Wikipedia.

Worst Names in the US

Findmypast.com, a genealogy site, recently conducted a pole to rank some of the worst town names in the US. They polled respondents from the US, England, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South African. Below is the ranking, with one being decidedly the worst. Sorry if you happen to live in any of these towns...

1. Toad Suck, Arkansas
2. Climax, Georgia
3. Boring, Oregon
4. Hooker, Oklahoma
5. Assawoman, Maryland
6. Belchertown, Massachusetts
7. Roachtown, Illinois
8. Loveladies, New Jersey
9. Squabbletown, California
10. Monkey's Eyebrow, Kentucky

I, personally, think that Monkey's Eyebrow should have come in first place, followed by Toad Suck. The number one spot taker got it's name from an old saying of the town's people. Boaters on the Arkansas River would stop at a local bar where they would "suck on the bottle 'til they swelled up like toads." Hence, Toad Suck. Good going Arkansas.

At any rate, I'm glad I don't have to send mail to anyone in these towns.

Famous Songs About Travel

I'll write down the playlist, you go spend $1.27 per song to create the ultimate road trip soundtrack.

Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd (1974)
Take Me Home, Country Roads - John Denver (1971)
Leaving on a Jet Plane - Peter, Paul, & Mary (1967)
Born to be Wild - Steppenwolf (1968)
Africa - Toto (1982)
Life is a Highway - Tom Cochrane (1991)
On the Road Again - Willie Nelson (1980)
Hotel California - The Eagles (1976)
Down Under - Men at Work (1982)
New York, New York - Frank Sinatra (1979)
Viva Las Vegas - Elvis (1964)
Walking in Memphis - Marc Cohn (1991)
(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66 - Nat King Cole (1946)
It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere - Alan Jackson (2003)
Miami - Will Smith (1998)
Kokomo - The Beach Boys (1988)
Toes - Zac Brown Band (2008)
Shut Up and Drive - Rihanna (2007)
Here I Go Again - Whitesnake (1982)
Highway to Hell - AC/DC (1979)
I Get Around - The Beach Boys (1964)
Hit the Road Jack - Ray Charles (1961)
Love Shack - B-52s (1989)
The Boys of Summer - Don Henley (1984)
Cruel Summer - Bananarama (1983)
No Sleep Til Brooklyn - The Beastie Boys (1986)
Should I Stay or Should I Go - The Clash (1981)
Wide Open Spaces - Dixie Chicks (1998)
Devil Went Down to Georgia - Charlie Daniels (1979)

Well, there are millions more...but this is all the work I'm gonna do for you. You'll have to go out and find the rest. Or, you could post a comment with your favorite travel song!