Research toilets before nature calls

by Mike Barish on

Gadling is nothing if not a clearinghouse for great information in the name of public service. To that end, and in the spirit of our Catching the Travel Bug series, I am pleased to share with you the wealth of knowledge that is SitOrSquat. This delightful website has carved its own niche on the internet as the preeminent place for user-reviews of public restrooms.

Simply plug in a city name and using the power of Google maps and the assistance of user-generated and uploaded content, you’ll be able to check out reviews and photos of restrooms in parks, restaurants and bars. The only limitation is how often users actually upload content to the site.

For example, from time to time I like to grab a Jameson on the rocks at Welcome to the Johnsons, a dive bar on the Lower East Side of NYC that is themed like an old 1970s living room. It’s dirty, cheap and loud. Just the way I like my bars (and my women). But, it may not be the best place to get into a fight with that afternoon’s burrito. Not sure if you can handle it? Well, check out their toilet ahead of time.

So the next time you’re hitting the ground in an unfamiliar city or neighborhood, be sure to grab a guidebook, a Zagat guide and peruse SitOrSquat. You and your underpants will be glad that you did.

First dating website for business travelers

by Mike Barish on

Fresh off the PRNewswire, Gadling has received word that the good people at Eros Partners, LLC have launched the “first dating website focused on business travelers.” Of course, the word “dating” is used loosely here as the site, along with Eros Partners’ other ventures, is geared more towards casual encounters than long-term relationships. But, hey, business travel is lonely so you might as well get your johnson some action while you’re on the road securing the Johnson account. Am I right?!

The new site, Travelingencounters.com, allows users to create a profile in their home city and then calendar up to four business trips. Once calendared, the user’s profile shows up in searches for the other cities, as well. According to the press release, “a member’s private profile focuses on intimate topics such as health, grooming and their views on adult subjects.” I have a sneaking suspicion that the “adult subjects” are not a reference to opinions on how to diversify your 401(k) investments.

Eros Partners is the same company that brings you a wide array of adult sites, including one that allows users to rate their experiences with “escorts” more than one that focuses on casual or discreet relationships. So keep that in mind before you browse too much in the office. But what you do on your private time on business trips is your…well, business. As for me? I’ll stick to my hotel’s wide array of pay-per-view movies and free lotions.

SkyMall Monday: SkyRest Travel Pillow

by Mike Barish on

I suppose it’s about time that I used my SkyMall Monday bully pulpit to review a product that is directly related to travel. Sure, you could use the Double Umbrella on a trip to London, but what about when you’re en route to your destination? How will you arrive there well-rested and prepared to make the most of your time away from your empty, passionless life? Well, you’ll rest easy on your flight if you have the SkyRest Travel Pillow.

You could certainly purchase an airline pillow covered in lice and chlamydia or carry along one of those horseshoe shaped neck pillows that scream, “I’m a loser.” But studies have shown that the human body’s natural sleeping position is seated upright while the head and neck are tilted forward at a 68.4 degree angle. What studies? Hey, look over there!

Available only in dark seafoam green, the SkyRest Travel Pillow is inconspicuous and allows you to sleep while your fellow travelers are none the wiser. And it’s inflatable, so you know you’ll sleep like a baby once you have exhausted yourself filling it with air. Considering that it’s 14″ wide, 12″ deep, 11″ tall in the front and 17″ tall in the back, you’ll most likely have it inflated in time for the person next to you to take her first bathroom break. At which time I’m sure you’ll easily be able to move it out of the way for her.

And the best part? Since it rests on your lap, when the person in front of you reclines his seat, the pillow will be pushed back into you. It’s like getting a face massage in a fancy spa…but for free!

Just look at what the product description has to say about this fantastic product:

Why not join our many thousands of satisfied customers and enjoy the benefits of this uniquely different and very flexible travel pillow.

Yes, people who use this product like to be influenced by peer pressure and abhor proper punctuation. And while I have never actually seen any of these satisfied customers in person, I am sure that this person wishes that she had purchased the SkyRest Travel pillow before her flight. Don’t make the same mistake she did!

Check out all of the previous SkyMall Monday posts HERE.

Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern partners up with Pepto-Bismol

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Now this is a match made in heaven.

Travel Channel host Andrew Zimmern, whose show Bizarre Foods has made him famous for his love of unusual, stomach-churning fare, has agreed to endorse the famed indigestion-reliever, Pepto-Bismol. (Was Imodium AD’s offer too low, Andrew?)

Zimmern’s new Taste Adventure Guides, which provide the low-down on the culinary scene in several US cities, are featured on the CherryPepto website— which, I know, you already have bookmarked.

Zimmern’s guides might be helpful on your next trip around the US, especially if you’re interested in sampling some one-of-a-kind food, but if you head over there to check them out, be ready for a very pink website.

Britons Bring Bowel Bacteria Onto Buses

by Mike Barish on

I’ve never been much of a germaphobe. I don’t carry Purell with me. I don’t wash my hands obsessively. And I don’t walk around with a mask on. But then I come across a story like this one on the BBC News website and I start to question whether I should live in a bubble. A recent recent study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (is there a better location for the study of tropical medicine?) has discovered that more than one in four commuters in the UK has bacteria associated with fecal matter on their hands.

Dr. Val Curtis, director of the Hygiene Center at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said, “If any of these people had been suffering from a diarrhoeal disease, the potential for it to be passed around would be greatly increased by their failure to wash their hands after going to the toilet.” That, quite frankly, is more than I need from my daily commute. I’m just looking to get from Point A to Point B. Point D(iarrhea) is not part of my plan.

I ride the New York City subways to work everyday and I will admit that I avoid holding onto the bars/poles in the trains as much as possible. If I have to hold on, I typically wrap my arm around the pole so as to keep my hands clean. But sometimes you just have to grab on. However, I’m fairly certain that I don’t have fecal matter all over my hands. Because I wash them after I use the toilet. It’s everyone else who is apparently wiping their asses barehanded and then touching everything.

So, as we approach cold and flu season, perhaps it’s time to remind ourselves to wash our hands often. And use toilet paper instead of just our hands. It’s a great big world out there but it’s the tiny bacteria that will kill you. Or at least ravage your GI tract. Be sure to wave at me when I pass by in my bubble.