Latest accident at Six Flags is another safety reminder

by Jamie Rhein on

Perhaps it’s the word amusement that helps make amusement park accidents seem so devastating. The latest accident I heard about on the news tonight is too awful to imagine and is a reminder to go over safety lessons with teens over and over and over again.

As a parent of a teen, I know that the diatribe of safety lessons may not actually keep my daughter that much safer, but what else is a parent to do? Children get past the point where we hold their hands as they go from one ride to the next.

When they are little, we snap photos as they go in circles on rides that only go in a slow circle. Police cars, motorcycles, boats, fire engines–all with fake wheels and steering wheels that follow each other around and around. We wave at our children and they wave back, thrilled each time they come closer to us and then move further away until they stop and they are with us once more.

Then, the children who were once content to be at an amusement park with us–their parents, are chomping to go off on their own and we let them. We tell them the warnings. We tell them what not to do. We say, “Be careful.”

Mostly they do.

But when they don’t, it can become a nightmare.

Saturday a young man didn’t heed the warnings and set off over fences of the restricted area of the Batman roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia in Atlanta to retrieve a baseball cap. That’s one of the theories of what he was doing there where the ride could hit him.

The force was so great that he was decapitated. [see CBS News article.]

I have never told my daughter to not jump a fence at an amusement park. It’s one more item for my list. Maybe it will do some good.

Here is a page from the Web Site Safer Parks that details risk factors for various types of rides to help you and yours be safer this summer if you are heading to an amusement park.

Also, here’s a post Justin wrote in June last year about other ride accidents that points out the importance of safety.

Terrorist themed restaurant in Lebanon

by Abha Malpani on

Who said terrorism and violence couldn’t be laughed at, or to that matter, even eaten!? Fast food restaurant “Buns and Guns” in Beirut allows you to do both.

In a space decorated as if a military post (with weapons, ammunition and camouflage netting hanging from the ceiling), this eatery serves “rocket propelled grenade” (chicken on a skewer), “terrorist bread” and other dishes called Kalashnikov, Dragunov, Viper and B52.

This concept is unique and the owner says that it’s successful as people laugh before they ask any questions. I guess the second meaning of “buns” is out of context for people who speak English as a second language, so with that in mind, the name is smart and the motto is even smarter: “A sandwich can kill you”. The image is the menu. Apparently, people eat to the sound of guns rather than elevator music — perhaps the only disturbing element of the diner.

When I lived in Dubai, I worked with and encountered many Lebanese people and one thing that stood out about most of them was their great sense of humor. When such a war torn country can take a serious issue and knock some giggles into it tastefully (in this case, literally!), it’s refreshing.

Dubai plans “Tower in Motion”

by Abha Malpani on

Nothing phases me in Dubai anymore. Anything and everything is possible in this city, so when I read news like this: “Dubai plans self-powered skyscraper with individually rotating floors,” I’m quite numb.

Opening para: “A $350 million tower to be known as the Dynamic Architecture building is to be constructed in Dubai. The 68-story tower will feature floors that can be individually rotated via voice commands.”

So each floor of this building will rotate individually to create a building that constantly changes shape. (I’ve stopped asking “why” when it comes to such projects.) Also, it will use wind-turbines to generate electricity for itself and another 5 buildings its size — that’s actually pretty neat, not to mention green.

Construction will start this month and word is that a similar project is in plan for Moscow as well.

China renaming menu items to make them less bizarre

by Iva Skoch on

Sometimes not knowing the language of the country you are visiting is a good thing.

How else could you possibly justify ordering a local dish called “Husband and wife’s lung slice” or possibly “Chicken without sexual life” in Mandarin? This way, you simply believe something must have gone awfully wrong with the translation.

Chances are, it is an accurate translation.

China is known for a wide variety of the most bizarre food names. Some of them are so bizarre, in fact, they make foreigners turn elsewhere. So, with the Olympics a few short weeks away, China is not taking any chances and giving its cuisine a linguistic makeover, CNN reports.

It is proposing that restaurants change the names of exotic, but bizarrely named, delicacies to make them more delectable for the estimated 50,000 visitors arriving in August for the Summer Games. The government has put down more than 2,000 proposed names in a 170-page book that it has offered to Beijing hotels.

The appetizer “Husband and wife’s lung slice” is taking on the more appetizing “Beef and ox tripe in chili sauce.” “Chicken without sexual life” has been transformed into “Steamed pullet.”

The Chinese say the names of their dishes focus more on appearance than taste or smell. But Westerners are more accustomed to names that describe the ingredients and how they are cooked — such as pot roast.
OK, I get that. I’m all about appearance. But, honestly, how do you focus on appearance and come out with a name like “Chicken without sexual life,” that’s beyond me.

[Thanks, Noelle, for the tip.]

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Tours where you get to be Indiana Jones

by Abha Malpani on

As if traveling to a new country wasn’t adventurous enough, a Spain based company called “Viajes Con Imaginación” (Vacations With Imagination) has started offering trips to Egypt where they not only organize your entire itinerary, but they also plan strange things and make them happen to you. For example: robberies, kidnappings, ghosts coming to haunt you at night — it’s all part of the package — “Indiana Jones Style” they say. Check out their promo video of what you may encounter on your tour. Of course, exactly what will happen is a surprise.

They also offer a 3-day trip to London where under the “Jack the Ripper” theme, you get to be part of a mysterious investigation while you see the city.

Please tell me that I’m not the only one who doesn’t find this cool. Why would I want (and pay for!) an actor pretending to be a robber, jump on me and steal my money while I am enjoying the Pyramids? Besides, even if it sounds like fun, it’s NOT REAL — how could you take it seriously!?