8 Productive Things To Do On Your Next Layover

by Libby Zay on

The next time you have a layover, don’t waste hours on end playing Candy Crush. There are plenty more productive things you can do with your time. In fact, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport now has a kiosk where you can learn CPR. How’s that for useful?

If you’re not passing through DFW, here are some other ideas for constructive ways to pass the time:

  1. Learn a New Language: You won’t master Spanish while waiting for the next flight to Panama, but thanks to a slew of language-learning apps, you can at least practice.
  2. Get Some Exercise: This doesn’t mean you need to roll out a yoga mat in public. Use the break from the cramped airline seat to walk around the terminal or do some simple stretches.
  3. Get a Haircut: You might think it’s cool to look like a homeless person after your backpacking trip through Southeast Asia, but you’re probably the only one. Take advantage of the barbershops and salons that can now be found in many airports.
  4. Reorganize Your Bag: Now that you’re not throwing things in your bag in a packing frenzy, figure out how to reorganize and make it easier to find everything you brought. Now you’ll have room for souvenirs!
  5. Write, Read or Plan: Send a postcard to a friend. Rework that future award-winning travel narrative. Read all those parts of your guidebook you skipped before (unless you hate your guidebook, that is). Plan your next move. Do your taxes. Whatever you choose, just do something.
  6. Get a Drink: If you don’t agree this is “productive,” buy me a beer and we’ll talk.
  7. Write an Airline Review: This one’s for those unplanned layovers. Use that time to let the airline — and everyone else on the Internet — know about your missed connection.
  8. Call Your Mom: Seriously. You should do this more often.

Scientists Explain Veggies Suffer Jet Lag, Too

by Libby Zay on

Humans aren’t the only ones whose internal clocks get all out of whack when they fly. It looks like vegetables also feel the effects of jet lag, which happens when our light and dark cycles are thrown off. Toward the end of this factoid-filled video from Mashable there’s a longer explanation, plus a silly skit about a jet-lagged eggplant. And here’s a report from NPR that explains how scientists are using this knowledge to coax vegetables into producing more beneficial compounds.

Toying with the idea of conducting an experiment of your own? Make sure you follow the rules of the Transportation Security Administration, or any other international agency, before bringing any food on board a plane or across borders. Carrot circadian clocks aside, here are some tips from Gadling readers that might help you ward off jet lag on your next trip.

How Do Dogs Find Explosives At Airports?

by Libby Zay on

Behind every bomb-sniffing dog at the airport is hours and hours of repetition and reward. For many, their training starts with a canine kindergarten and continues until they graduate from an elite academy run by MSA Security. Around 160 teams work with these dogs, usually in tandem with the same handler for eight or nine years, until the dog is retired. Smithsonian magazine looks into what goes into training these dogs and how, exactly, dogs detect bombs. Here’s an excerpt:

Merry and Zane Roberts, MSA’s lead canine trainer, work their way along the line of luggage pieces, checking for the chemical vapors-or “volatiles”-that come off their undersides and metal frames. Strictly speaking, the dog doesn’t smell the bomb. It deconstructs an odor into its components, picking out just the culprit chemicals it has been trained to detect. Roberts likes to use the spaghetti sauce analogy. “When you walk into a kitchen where someone is cooking spaghetti sauce, your nose says aha, spaghetti sauce. A dog’s nose doesn’t say that. Instinctively, it says tomatoes, garlic, rosemary, onion, oregano.” It’s the handler who says tomato sauce, or, as it happens, bomb.

Thanks, Smithsonian magazine. I will never smell spaghetti sauce the same way again.

[via Gizmodo]

Attempted Child Snatching Is An Amusement Park Safety Reminder

by Libby Zay on

Talk about getting too close for comfort. It turns out a man who was repeatedly getting within reach of a 2-year-old boy at an amusement park in Ohio may have been attempting to snatch the toddler. After he was arrested, police found toys and movies of children in his truck. Then, they came to find out he was secretly recording children all day with a hidden video camera in his sunglasses.

When it comes to kidnapping, amusement parks terrifyingly provide an environment ripe for the picking. But the truth is, there’s a much bigger chance families can get separated in crowded and chaotic parks. To avoid a potential horror story, consider these tips next time you spend a day at the park:

  • Establish A Meeting Place: Before you even set foot in the park, map out where you should meet if someone gets separated or in the event of another emergency.
  • Point Out Park Employees: Make sure your child understands what a uniformed park employee looks like. This way, if you do get separated, your child can find someone to help.
  • Have “The Talk”: Tell your kids about the importance of staying close. This doesn’t mean you need to barrage Junior with stories of kidnappings, but it couldn’t hurt to let them know how much you’d miss them if something happened.
  • Stay Alert: Everyone, including children, should should stay aware of their surroundings. This will not only help you stay together, but can keep kids away from running into obstacles like trash cans, barriers or other people.
  • Choose Bright Clothing: There’s no missing your child if he or she is wearing Dayglo orange (unless everyone else is, too).
  • Get Your Kid a Tattoo: Not a real one, silly. Companies now make temporary “safety” tattoos that allow you to put your telephone number on your child — and it won’t wash off in the wave pool like a marker does. This could also be good if your child has an allergy or medical condition.
  • Stick Together: Above all, don’t let your kids get lost in the crowd. This means staying by their side at every moment — from the concession stands to the restrooms.

Will Instagram’s New Embed Function Change Travel Blogging?

by Libby Zay on


Instagram just announced users now have the ability to embed photos and videos, a move that has the potential to change the face of travel blogging. Now, even novices will be able to bypass fancy editing software and the hassle of YouTube or Vimeo uploads. Short clips can be composed, edited, uploaded and pasted to websites in a matter of minutes — while simultaneously being shared across Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Seriously, it’s a shameless self-promoting traveler blogger’s dream come true.

Watch what a potential Instagram travel vlog (that’s a video blog, in case you didn’t know) could look like above, where McLean Robbins shows off a ghost town in Jerome, Arizona.

Of course, the downside is it’s highly likely there will be a lot more “cheating” by posting filtered photos online. And there will probably be more cliché photos — toes in a sandy beach, latte art, etc. — popping up on blogs. You win some, you lose some.

And by the way, follow us on Instagram for a constant feed of travel inspiration (how’s that for a shameless plug?).