British backpackers spreading sexually transmitted diseases

by Sean McLachlan on

“No sex please, we’re British.”

That old joke has been proven wrong by a new medical study that found British backpackers in Australia are picking up more than just short-term partners; they’re picking up infections that they spread around Australia and back home.

A survey of 1,008 backpackers at youth hostels in Sydney and Cairns revealed that 24 percent of British backpackers had unprotected sex with multiple partners, meaning 24 percent of British backpackers are total idiots. About half of those interviewed reported inconsistent condom use. The report found that even those who arrived with a partner were getting in on the act, with almost 20 percent them hopping into bed with someone else.

Australia receives an influx of almost 700,000 Britons a year, many of them backpackers, and while the study did not specifically check for Sexually Transmitted Diseases (called Sexually Transmitted Infections by those randy Brits) it doesn’t take a medical expert to put two and two together. In fact, the UK government last year reported that chlamydia, genital herpes, and genital warts are at an all-time high, with the 16-24 age group being the most affected.

Please, guys, wrap your John Thomas. And ladies, make the guys wrap their John Thomas. If you’re British, why not use a Big Ben condom like the one shown here? It’s a great way to inject some of your national culture into the local population.

Gadlinks for Friday 10.16.09

by Brenda Yun on


Another Friday is upon us here at Gadling, and after that balloon kid fiasco yesterday, which also happened to be Blog Action Day, I think we need a good few days of rest. So cuddle up with these cool weekend reads and enjoy what I hope will be a drama-free weekend!

‘Til Monday, have a great weekend!

More Gadlinks HERE.

Tragedy in the Grand Tetons is a warning to stay on firm footing

by Jamie Rhein on

Even with the best of plans, tragedies happen. A mountain side is too steep, the terrain too rugged, one turns left instead of right, and a person can take a tumble. That’s what happened on Tuesday when two hikers veered slightly off-course on Teewinot Mountain in the Grand Teton National Park. One of them slipped and tumbled 300-feet. The tumble killed him.

According to Kurt Repanshek’s post in the National Park Traveler, the two men, Eliot Kalmbach and Jon Winiasz, both in their early twenties, hadn’t planned to do any major climbing so they weren’t wearing helmets or carrying climbing gear. They had talked to park rangers to find out where they should hike before they headed out a couple days before the accident and were following the rangers’ suggestions except that they mistakenly headed across a steeper section of Teewinot after a night of camping at Lupine Meadows. That’s where Kalmbach fell.

Fortunately, Winaisz was able to reach Kalmbach to use his cell phone to call for help. Kalmbach, however was already not breathing and didn’t have a pulse. Thankfully, the rescue of both men took less than three hours. Winaisz was lifted out within two.

This story reminds me of a similar one that happened years ago when one of my husband’s close friends fell to his death in Glacier National Park. My husband worked with this friend at the park’s Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier and remembers exactly what it was like waiting for the body to be recovered. His friend’s death is something he recalls as being one of the worst events of his life.

I can’t imagine what Winiasz is going through after what sounds like a blissful adventure with a friend turned into a trip that he’ll never forget for such a horrible reason. How very sad.

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Going on a trip? Stop and get a flu shot at the airport

by Katie Hammel on

Luggage? Check. Passport? Check. Flu shot? If you’ve yet to get yours, you can take care of the task on the way to your next flight at clinics set up in several airports around the US.

Among the nearly 20 airports that will be offering flu shots beginning within the next few weeks are Atlanta, Boston Logan, O’Hare, Denver, Honolulu, LAX, JFK, and San Francisco. Costs range from $20 to $35, which is about what you’d pay at most clinics, unless your insurance covers it. Hours vary by location, but all are open from at least 8am to 4pm on weekdays. Currently, airport locations are only offering the regular seasonal flu vaccine. The H1N1 flu vaccine may be offered at these locations when it becomes available.

I’ll confess: I have never gotten a flu shot. I try my best to avoid being poked with a needle so the thought of actually requesting it seems counter-intuitive. I know I should get it though. 200,000 people were hospitalized for the flu last year, and travelers like myself who spend a lot of time breathing recycled air in the close quarters of planes may be at an increased risk. There’s also this little thing you may have heard of, called the H1N1 “swine” flu, which the CDC expects will reach pandemic proportions. It just makes sense to get the vaccine. And now getting a flu shot won’t even require a special trip to my doctor. I’m out of excuses. I may have to muster up some courage at the airport bar first, but it looks like my next vacation will start off with a flu shot.

Check out full details on airport clinic hours and costs here.

Is airplane air toxic?

by Jamie Rhein on

There’s a recent CNN article about a flight attendant who became ill after working a flight back in 2007. Her illness is alarming.

First, she felt as though she were coming down with a cold; then her nasal discharge was a neon green — the color of antifreeze! Since then, she claims to have suffered chronic migraine headaches, tingling in her feet, loss of balance and vision problems.

These health problems did not happen without warning. Right before her ailments started, the attendant noticed a “misty haze type of smoke” in the cabin of the American Airlines MD-82 plane. The haze occurred right after the plane landed and was heading to the gate.

The flight attendant’s visit to a neurologist confirmed she had been exposed to toxins. Because her condition is so bad, and she blames the airplane’s design for the toxins, she’s suing Boeing, the maker of the vessel. According to the lawsuit, the “bleed air” had been contaminated.


Bleed air is recirculated cabin air that’s mixed with the air pulled into the engines during a flight. The air that goes through the engine is cooled and compressed before being used in the cabin. The danger of bleed air being contaminated is small, however: according to the CNN article that presents a detailed account of the attendant’s story, one study has found that airplanes can have a fume leak 0.05% of the time. What causes a fume leak is unclear, but one idea is a leaky seal.

Currently, there aren’t conclusions about what caused this particular attendant’s sickness. She had flown for 17 years without any problems. Her case is not the only one where an attendant has become sick allegedly because of airplane air. Some pilots have also reported becoming ill, as have passengers.

The article also points out that because people’s immune systems differ, not everyone will be affected by toxins in the same way; many people may not be affected at all. It is also good to know that there are more studies being conducted to find out more about toxins in airplanes and what should and can be done to minimize the threat. The idea of being afflicted with neon green nasal discharge is not appealing.