See Disneyland During Its Opening Year (VIDEO)

by Libby Zay on


The Disney History Institute has pulled together a bunch of home movie scraps to compile a video of Disneyland in 1955, the park’s opening year. Besides an overview of what Disneyland was like to an average guest back in the day, the film also shows some rarely seen elements, like the lingerie shop on Main Street (it only lasted six months at the park) and a a short-lived ride called Canal Boats of the World (so unpopular there was only one clip of it in operation). There’s also a glimpse of workers putting the finishing touches on the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship, which was only half painted to create a TV promo before the park opened. Viewers might also notice the absence of costumed characters, which didn’t come around until much later. Instead, entertainment through the 1950s included acts like an organ grinder and his monkey, which can be spotted in the film.

[via BoingBoing]

Video: New York Dogs And Their Thoughts

by Elizabeth Seward on

New York dogs are one of my favorite things about New York, seriously. Sure, plenty of other New York things come before the dogs of New York for me, but the dogs do make the list. And even though I love dogs of all nationalities, so to speak, New Yorker dogs are especially … diverse. Much like New Yorker humans, the dogs of this city are often pampered, neurotic, resourceful and/or everything in between. Dog parks are a great place to see New Yorkers let their notorious guards down and this video, created by ANIMAL, is also a great place to see New Yorkers let their guards down. When faced with the question “What do you think your dog is thinking,” these New Yorkers and their dogs took the opportunity to self-express (and project).

[Thanks, ANIMAL]

Smartphone Technology Getting Closer To What Travelers Want

by Chris Owen on

As smartphone technology continues to advance, travelers are being offered more connectivity choices. Making calls, sending text, voice or video messages and surfing the Internet is becoming commonplace almost anywhere on the planet. Now, pricing is coming in line too as service providers realize what it is we want when traveling.

“Our mission is for all travelers to have the freedom to use their mobile devices the same way as at home when traveling abroad, without having to worry about chokingly high mobile bills,” says Joacim Boivie, CEO and Founder, HolidayPhone, a leading solutions provider of roaming free mobile Internet, voice and text services for international travelers in a Breaking Travel News report.

Like Boingo, the worldwide connectivity company with over 700,000 Wi-Fi hot spots in over 100 countries, HolidayPhone also enables connection. Unlike Boingo, which automatically communicates then connects with local hot spots on your behalf, enabling connection using only an installed app, the HolidayPhone method is a twist on the SIM card pay-as-you-go trick that has travelers buying cards for each country they visit.Providing an easy, inexpensive way to call and access mobile Internet while abroad without roaming fees, HolidayPhone’s travel SIM cards are prepaid and sent in advance. Before departure, U.S. users forward calls to a provided U.S. landline number. On the plane, they insert the HolidayPhone SIM card in their smartphone. Landing at the destination, their phone is ready to use, at local rates.

Here is more on how HolidayPhone works:

A World Health Map

by Elizabeth Seward on

Odra Noel is a scientific artist who has just created and released a piece she called “The Map of Health.” The map provides a visual representation of diseases affecting regions of the world. What’s more is that she uses depictions of affected body parts by each disease for each disease. The USA, which struggles with obesity and obesity-related diseases, is speckled with fat tissue. And with HIV being a leading cause of death in many countries of Africa, the continent is covered in images of blood cells. It’s an interesting and insightful map, one that might lend some thought or conversation about the people we meet when we travel and what kinds of illnesses they deal with regularly.

Thanks, Laughing Squid.

Prehistoric Bones Big Draw To Small Indiana Town

by Libby Zay on

The small town of Corydon in southern Indiana may soon get an influx of tourists thanks to a new attraction. Just discovered a few years ago, much of what is now Indiana Caverns was inaccessible to the public because all entrances were on private land. But a new passage not only opens up the underground caverns to the public, it gives visitors access to a curious pile of bones. Discoverers thought pioneers had thrown cow bones into the cave, but later came to find out the bones date back to the Ice Age. They come from a variety of species, including birds, snakes, bears, beavers, bison and more. Now, visitors can take an underground boat tour through the caverns for a chance to see the 12,000- to 15,000-year-old bones. The attraction just opened a few weeks ago, but it already tops TripAdvisor’s list of things to do in Corydon.

[via WHAS11.com]