Caught on tape: Basketball shot made from a theme park ride

by Leigh Caldwell on

Do you remember those Hampton Inn Hilton Honors Points commercials from a couple of years back with the amazing basketball shots? Teen boys banked shots off roofs and stairways or used a tennis racket to shoot them into the goal. The ads were all followed by the tagline “Want an easier way to score points?”

It turns out those were real teens, shooting real videos at their homes in Alabama, and uploading them to YouTube, where they were discovered for the ads.

And now the boys, who call their YouTube channel The Legendary Shots, have turned their attention to theme parks. Their latest video shows one of the them making a shot from the Stratos-Fear ride at Alabama Adventure theme park in Bessemer.

In the video information on YouTube, The Legendary Shots crew thanks Alabama Adventure staff for making the Stratos-Fear video, and a second ferris wheel video, possible.

Can a basketball/theme park commercial be far behind?

Photo of the Day (8.15.10)

by Jeremy Kressmann on
Hats off to Flickr user Flavio@Flickr (on and off during August), whose great eye and quick fingers caught this moment of billboard silliness in Israel. A giant advertising display isn’t typically cause for its own photo, but Flavio proves how to make it work. When you’re out taking photos on your next trip, don’t think of your camera’s subject in isolation. Instead, think of how that simple building or billboard could “interact” with the people in the frame to create a great story for the audience.

Have any humorous photos from your own travels? Why not share them with us by adding them our Gadling group on Flickr? We might just pick one of yours as our Photo of the Day.

Daily Pampering: Swarovski crystal-encrusted Hello Kitty bottled water

by Laurel Miller on

Remember when you were in third grade, and instead of working on your multiplication tables you furtively traded Hello Kitty puffy stickers for bubble gum-scented Hello Kitty erasers? No? Well, if you missed out on that iconic elementary school experience, fear not, because the Sanrio empire has expanded its line of high-end adult goods in commemoration of the megalocephalic cat’s 35th anniversary.

The folks at Sanrio have just released Swarovski crystal-encrusted bottles of Hello Kitty luxury water. At a mere $100 a pop, this is one indulgence water aficionados of all ages won’t want to miss. Produced by Japanese “jewelry water” company Fillico, the contents come from a natural spring at the base of Kobe’s Mt. Rokko.

The appearance of the water vessels will also strike a nostalgic chord with Boomers and Gen-X’ers who recall the cone-shaped pump hairsprays of the ’70’s and early ’80’s. The waters come in five different colors (or flavors, depending upon which vague marketing blurb you happen to read): red, for “friendship”; pink for “cute”; yellow for “heartful,” green for “wish,” and lavender, for “sweet.” You can even have them engraved, for that personal touch. The top of each bottle is capped with a crystal crown, with a color-corresponding crystal bow around the neck. Even the Hello Kitty moniker sports a wee little crystal bow on her head.

We still have some Hello Kitty puffy stickers lying around if anyone wants to trade us for one of these crystal bottles. Anyone?

Want more? Get your dose of daily pampering right here.

Confused whale nearly sinks whale-watching boat

by Jeremy Kressmann on

The goal of a whale watching trip is self-explanatory: you’re hoping to get up close and personal with some whales. But that isn’t always a good thing. Sometimes whale watchers get more than they bargained for – like when a confused whale leaps out of the water and falls directly onto your boat. That’s exactly what happened to Paloma Werner on a recent whale watching trip near Cape Town, South Africa.

Ms. Werner and her partner Ralph Mothes were in the midst of a pleasant whale watching cruise, floating alongside a nearby Right Whale for nearly an hour. Suddenly the whale surfaced dangerously close to their boat, its huge bulk breaching the surface, and leapt directly onto their small yacht, cracking the ship’s mast before sliding back into the water. Though the whale caused over $10,000 in damages to the ship, it remained seaworthy, and the crippled whale watching vessel used its small engine to taxi back to shore. Ms. Werner and Mr. Mothes were startled but unharmed by the incident.

Is it possible the normally gentle whale had malicious intent? It sounds like it was simply having a bad day. As Paloma speculated in interview following the incident, it’s possible the beast simply made a navigation error. Whatever the reason, Ms. Werner refuses to blame her watery assailant for her misfortune. As she told her interviewers, “I still like whales.”

[Photo credit: Shayan (USA)/Flickr]

Women more likely to cheat on vacation than men, says new study

by Laurel Miller on

Blame it on the sun. According to new research from British “married dating site” IlicitEncounters, over a third of (already cheating) spouses can’t keep it in their pants while on vacation solo or with friends. In fact, six percent of the sneaky devils strayed while on holiday with their spouse. The real news, however, is that married women vacationing with friends are more likely to break their vows than men. “Sunshine is a real aphrodisiac.” says Sara Hartley, representative at IllicitEncounters.com. “We have always seen an increase in activity on the site during the summer months.”

Global warming apparently makes for booming business. IllicitEncounters was established in 2003, and expects have half a million memberships by the end of this month. Their study indicated that 63% of the 800 men and 800 women surveyed also said they would prefer to vacation with their mistress or…mister than their spouse, and that male cheaters were more likely to take their lovers on holiday than their wives. The Maldives tops the list for clandestine canoodling; the study found that the majority of its subjects chose the sultry islands over any other destination for an assignation.

Says Jenny*, 34, an IlicitEncounters member from Shropshire, “I had only been married for four years, and although things were less exciting at home, I never expected that I would cheat on holiday. A group of single friends and I went to Spain last August…on the last night, I met an ex-pat Londoner at a local bar, and we got drunk together. I just didn’t wish to deny myself the excitement; it all happened very quickly, but it was so exhilarating to feel that freedom again. I have no intention of telling my spouse; I joined the site straight afterwards and have had several extramarital affairs here at home.”

While one wishes the self-indulgent Jenny had at least hooked up with someone other than a fellow countryman, look on the bright side, guys: as long as your wife isn’t also emulating that mortifying karaoke scene from Sex and the City 2, maybe it’s not so bad.

*Name has been changed

[Photo credit: Flickr user chriswsn]