A time-honored tradition of NBA in-arena entertainment is getting incredibly frustrated at whatever fan fails at a game or challenge. Whether it be a halfcourt shot that doesn’t even come close to making it to the basket or someone making a terrible guess at trivia, part of the allure of the Jumbotron games is the belief that, if you were ever put in that position you would succeed and win the prize.
On Monday night in Philadelphia, we got an all time Jumbotron Hall of Shame moment during a casino-sponsored game of blackjack, where the fan simply was trying to beat the Sixers mascot, Franklin, serving as the dealer for a prize. What transpires during this game is something absolutely awe-inspiringly dumb.
First off, hitting 17 against a 7 is decidedly not a “by the book” move, but he is somehow rewarded for that with a 3, which is the second-best possible outcome. When I first saw this video, I assumed that was going to be the crazy part, but he then hits a 20 to the dismay of the arena host, the entire crowd, and even Franklin appears to be judging him as he slams a jack down on the table to give the fan 30, which is an incredibly difficult total to get to in a game of blackjack.
I have seen a lot of things at a blackjack table that have baffled (and infuriated) me. I’ve seen someone split 10s four times. I’ve seen people stay on 14 against a face card. But never in my life have I seen someone hit 20. It is such a terrible decision that I’m almost impressed by it.
It’s a safe bet that Voltaire, the nom de plume of French Enlightenment writer, historian, philosopher, and wit François-Marie Arouet, has rarely if ever trended on Twitter. But on Monday, thanks to an obscure Republican who pals around with Marjorie Taylor Greene, Jim Jordan, and Lauren Boebert, he did, and for reasons unbefitting of the genius who wrote Candide.
Over the weekend, Kentucky representative Thomas Massie decided to become the umpteenth member of his party to go after the nation’s top immunologist, who somehow managed to keep his job through the final stretch of the Trump presidency while still doing his job. “You mustn’t question Fauci, for he is science,” Massie sarcastically tweeted above a quote, allegedly from Voltaire: “To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.”
Problem is, Voltaire never said that. But a neo-Nazi who was arrested for child pornography did.
As per expert CNN fact checker Daniel Dale, “there is no record” of Voltaire writing or uttering those words. Still, it’s a popular quote among certain types, even though it’s commonly attributed to Kevin Alfred Strom, said child porn-having neo-Nazi, who said the following in a 1993 broadcast: “To determine the true rulers of any society, all you must do is ask yourself this question: Who is it that I am not permitted to criticize?” Strom was, in fact, referring to Jewish people. (Dr. Fauci, incidentally, is Jewish.)
Massie’s far from the first person to fall for this misquote. In 2015, an Australian senator misattributed the quote to Voltaire and, after receiving pushback like Massie is now, deleted all of his tweets.
As of this writing, Massie’s tweet remains live.
Speaking of, in August Massie was condemned after tweeting out an image that compared vaccine cards to Nazis tattooing numbers on concentration camp prisoners. He deleted that one.
In the meantime, perhaps Voltaire’s Candide (or one of his many history books) will become yet another work of great literature to hit the sales charts, much like Art Spiegelman’s Maus.
Rosalía decided to share the album artwork for her upcoming record with the world today, and in the process, she’s sharing quite a bit. The Spanish singer/songwriter and rising mainstream pop star is pretty much naked on the cover, with her hands and some scribbles and spray paint strategically covering certain areas. On her head, she sports a massive black helmet and teased out hair that blends it all into what looks like one big headpiece. With the contrast of her naked body, the result is quite striking.
She shared the image to Instagram today, along with a caption in her native Spanish and in English. “Madre miiiiia aquí tenéis la portada de MOTOMAMI y este viernes adivina k nuevo tema se vieneee,” she began, including a string of heart and fire emojis before offering the translation as well: “Omg here you have the cover of MOTOMAMI and guess what new song is coming this Fridayyyy.”
Lately there’s been some quiet parts loud said loud — very loud. Over the weekend, former president Donald Trump — who effectively told his supporters to go nuts if he’s ever prosecuted for his alleged crimes while vowing to pardon Jan. 6 rioters — straight-up admitted he wanted his ex-veep Mike Pence to “overturn the election.” Now his good buddies at Russian state TV let slip that they helped get him in the White House.
Vladimir Putin and cronies are big mad at America right now, all because they’re threatened major sanctions should they invade Ukraine. (Ditto Don Jr.) As per The Daily Beast, Olga Skabeeva, the host of the show 60 Minutes (likely not an official spin-off of the American show of the same name), came out blazing over what she called “the mother of all sanctions.” But though Skabeeva, an infamous Putinite, was peeved at Biden, she remained hopeful for the future.
“The city on a hill is again being taken over by the Trumpists. Donald already declared that he will become the 47th president of America and will figure things out with Russia and Putin,” Skabeeva said. “Donald, we’re waiting for you and are ready to elect you again.”
The “again” rather jumped out, as did the idea that a far-flung nation was “ready to elect” an American president. Of course, it’s not the first time a Russian TV host has let slip — or simply boasted — that they may have played a part in electing the 45th president. After the publication of the Mueller report in 2019, Skabeeva’s husband and co-host Evgeny Popov told The Daily Beast, “Soon, we will help you elect Trump once again. Just like the last time. Get ready!” (Well, at least that time they were wrong.)
On Monday’s episode, Skabeeva also played translated clips of Trump bashing Democrats and praising Putin. She also repeated one of his insults aimed at Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, namely when he called her “crazier than a bed bug.” When a guest on Skabeeva’s show said that was “insulting to bed bugs,” Skabeeva responded, “Nancy Pelosi is a bed bug. Could you say he’s wrong? You can immediately see that he is our guy. Donald, please come back.”
There are few things more satisfying than knowing you left a party before things turned sour. You came, had a good time and had the sense to hit the exit before a fight broke out, the cops showed up or a bunch of people got into a drunken debate about politics.
There’s one rule my wife and I have: When the couple throwing the party starts to fight, that’s when you grab your things and go.
When you’re younger, it’s a bit harder to recognize the telltale signs that a party is about to go sideways. But when people age and have seen a thing or two, they start to develop a Spidey sense for the moment when it’s time to hit the exit before all hell breaks loose. They also know how long to stay before they’ve become an unwanted house guest.
It’s one thing to know how to leave before things get lame. But it’s seriously important to identify situations that could lead to physical violence or sexual assaults.
Reddit user u/mharris1405 must have gone to a rager over the weekend, because on Sunday, they posted a great question to the online forum,“What are some signs you need to leave the party?” The Reddit community responded with some funny and practical advice on when they know it’s time to hit the exit.
Here are 18 of the best responses.
1. A party rots from the host down
“When the host is the cause of any form of drama,” – Nova_Phoenix
2. When the drunks are the only folks left
“When all the fun people have left and it’s just the last of the fucked up people hanging out,” – ParsnipBusy.
3. Don’t be the last person standing
“When it suddenly goes from 30 people to you and 2 randoms,” – hoot69
4. When things turn sloppy
“When people start getting obnoxious. If you see drunk or high people breaking shit, or screaming, interrupting others’ conversation, that’s when you can see that the party is going to get worse,” – ToastedMaple
5. “Who invited these dudes?”
“When a group of 5-10 unknown men arrives, which weren’t invited,” – Katsudonisyummy
6. When the antisocial crew arrives
“If a group of guys come in and don’t greet anybody, they just stand around looking around, someone is about to be jumped or shot. Leave.” – CGY-SS
7. When the night has peaked
“There usually comes a point in the night, usually around 2-3am, where everyone’s drunkenness wanes from energised to a bit sloppy. A lot of people start sitting down in increasingly insular circles, and drinks just stop going down so well. A lot of people will just hang around because it was fun earlier and they don’t want the night to end, but you start to really compromise on tomorrow’s happiness by drawing out the night.” – Tosslebugmy
8. When it devolves into a sausage fest
“When you’re a young female and suddenly realize the male-female ratio is more than 12-1 and the crowd is taking on a shark-like circling motion with a lot of side-eye. The actual nice guy I was chatting with suddenly said, ‘You need to leave’ and I jumped to my feet and bailed like the place was on fire. I suspect the nice guy covered my exit. See, there are nice guys and scary ones and fools like I was,” – Melina26
9. When your phone is more fun
“You’re starting to be on your phone WAY too much,” – Pillsbury Toasters
10. Guns? No thanks
“I once walked into a party and saw a bunch of guns just laying around and I grandpa Simpson’d myself right back out the door,” – popcornkernels
11. Leave before you get pulled in
“When you realize you’re just standing there watching the shit show. There’s a time limit to that. No need to become part of the show. Get out while you can,” – toriaehi
12. When you’re the third wheel
“Everybody is hooking up except you and you’re sitting next to a couple making out on a couch,” – OliveaSea
13. When the cops arrive
“I have a rule. No matter how good a time I am having, even if I have done nothing wrong, when cops show up, I leave then,” – Latvian_Pete
14. When your friends have left
“When you feel as though you’re ‘on the outside looking in,'” – Back2Bach
15. Trust your gut
“I saw no one mentions this so here I go. When your 6th sense or danger sense is screaming at you. You know that feeling when you suddenly feel unsafe, where there is no reason to be so? That is basically your unconscious mind screaming at you, because you unconsciously noticed something wrong, but cant put your finger on what. For those who have not had this yet, the most easily identifiable signs are, cold running down your neck, sudden extreme vigilance, the hair all over your body stands, and in general you feel like death itself is breathing down your neck.
If you have this (gut) feeling, flee. I am not kidding. Run like the wind. This saved me from some hairy situations. As for an example that would be, something along the lines of seeing someone spike a drink at the edge of your vision, you personally did not notice it, but deep down you realized what is what so your body warns you about it. Even if this gut feeling is only correct 1 out of 10 times, you will thank it when it does,” – TehBuckets
16. The rule of two
“Never be the drunkest person in a room. If you are at a party and can’t identify 2 people more intoxicated than you, find a safe ride home or quit drinking for awhile,” – YeaahProlly
17. Terrible DJ
“When the music just sucks,” – JuliusTaka
18. Again, trust your gut
“When you can tell there is an emotionally unbalanced person there who you have a feeling will be a problem, you may consider leaving if it escalates. Whether it be starting a fight, or you can tell they are going to cause a problem later in the night or you feel uncomfortable around them always trust your gut. The same goes with a person you just feel is ‘off’ around. You are there to have a good time, not be anxious,” – foofighterfoos
The internet, for all its many wondrous things, can also be a cesspool of body-shaming, both outright and insidious. We see this most persistently perhaps with celebrities, who take on the role of dissection subjects regarding their weight. Whether being deemed “too thin” or “too fat,” comments about a public figure’s weight seems acceptable to some, simply because they signed up to be in the spotlight. But our better judgment knows this is not the case.
Nicola Coughlan, who plays the plot pivotal role of Penelope Featherington on the hit Netflix show “Bridgerton,” is no stranger to being inundated with this type of harmful, completely unnecessary feedback from fans.
So much so, that she recently posted her own truly heartfelt plea to her Instagram, asking for people to stop commenting on her body. Though we’ve seen multiple celebrities justifiably speak out against this, it’s hard not to be moved by her words in a whole new way.
Coughlan began her post with both civility and directness. “Hello! So just a thing- if you have an opinion about my body please, please don’t share it with me.”
This was apparently after receiving messages every single day following her breakout role.
“Most people are being nice and not trying to be offensive but I am just one real life human being and it’s really hard to take the weight of thousands of opinions on how you look being sent directly to you every day.”
Her approach reminds us of the very real people we are often damaging through projections of outdated beauty standards and downright unfounded opinions.
“Yellowjackets” star Melanie Lynskey had also recently been invaded by an influx of supposedly well-intentioned spectators since the hugely successful Showtime series premiered.
“Most egregious are the ‘I care about her health!!’ people,” Lynskey tweeted. “You don’t see me on my Peleton! You don’t see me running through the park with my child. Skinny does not always equal healthy.”
And of course, she’s not wrong. Despite our general assumptions, being thin is no real indication of a person’s health. And in some cases, it can reveal a risk for certain diseases. Even the formerly gold standard of measuring a healthy weight, the BMI, aka body mass index, is considered flawed today by experts.
Clearly, the only weight needing to be shed is our truly unhealthy relationship with outdated body expectations.
Coughlan knows that being a public figure often invites a public examination. “If you have an opinion about me that’s ok, I understand I’m on TV and that people will have things to think and say,” she wrote, with the caveat, “but I beg you not to send it to me directly.”
Certainly, Coughlan shouldn’t have to resort to begging. But here we are. And maybe this is how the message needs to be heard. When it’s so easy to leave thoughtless or downright toxic messages on social media, we need to be reminded how it affects the hearts of real people on the receiving end. Empathy online is just as important as it is IRL.
That’s what makes her plea a masterclass in grace. She speaks out without anger or accusation, though she could. Instead she comes from a place of compassion.
Coughlan ended her post by saying, “anyways here’s a pic of me in my hotel in NY about to go to SNL, it’s unrelated to this post but delighted with my hair in it.”
Even in a battle for boundaries, Coughlan’s never one to refrain from having a sense of humor (she did also star in the hilarious “Derry Girls”, after all). And, she wasn’t wrong about the hair.
Reading Coughlan’s post, I can’t help but wonder, if she was able to treat perfect strangers with so much respect and kindness, can we not return the favor?
If you weren’t around in the late ’90s, congrats! You missed out on a lot of iconic pop culture moments, including the ups and downs of grunge king and beach queen Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson. But what exactly happened there?
The two have inspired the mini-series Pam & Tommy which begins streaming this week on Hulu. Anderson was at the height of her Baywatch career, while Lee was the drummer of Motley Crue. The duo met on New Year’s Eve 1994, getting engaged just four days later, then had a beach wedding on February 19th. Anderson’s own mother didn’t know the two had gotten married until she found out in People.
Despite their short-lived romance (the duo were divorced by 1998) they had a famously chaotic marriage, which included their honeymoon notorious sex tape, which was considered to be one of the first major sex tape scandals in Hollywood. Lee also allegedly assaulted Anderson, and spent nearly 6 months in jail. Despite the turmoil, the two still have multiple children together, so there’s one happy ending there.
Clearly, there is enough here for a while 8-episode arch of the Anderson-Lee marriage, which is exactly why is headed to Hulu on February 3rd. The series will chronicle their whirlwind romance, featuring Lily James as Anderson and Sebastian Stan as Lee. Other stars include Nick Offerman, Seth Rogan, Taylor Schilling, and Jason Mantzoukas, who has famously been cast as Tommy’s penis
Has this ever happened to you? You create a fun word game for you and your partner to play. It becomes a social media phenomenon and you wind up selling it to a major newspaper to the tune of seven figures. It’s an all-too-common story and now it’s happened to Josh Wardle, inventor of the game sensation that almost bears his name, Wordle.
As per The New York Times, the Gray Lady itself has scooped up the game, which Wardle initially created for his partner. After it proved popular with friends and relatives as well, he made it public in October of last year. It only took a couple months to take the internet by storm. By the beginning of 2022, it was all over Twitter, thanks to a function that allows players to share how they fared, representing by an array of green, yellow, and gray blocks that may look indecipherable and alien to non-players.
The game play is simple: Players have six chances to guess a five-letter word. The game tells you which letters you got correct: yellow if it’s one of the letters but in the right space, green if it’s the right letter and in the right space. (It’s nothing but gray letters if all five are wrong.)
Wordle’s sale adds to NYT’s ever-growing database of word games, some of which are collected on its crossword app, which also features the also popular game Spelling Bee, where players try to make words out of seven letters (one of which must be in every word). The paper is hoping to amass some 10 million subscribers by 2025.
Will Wordle remain free? For now it will, meaning it won’t go behind the publication’s massive paywall, which also protects its crossword and other word games. Since Wardle made Wordle public, it went from 90 daily users to 300,000 in mid-November to millions nowadays. It’s not even four months old and already it’s inspired scores of copycats.
Because Wordle stats sharing has become a staple of social media — some may call it a scourge — it was inevitable that news of its sale earned some strong reactions on Twitter.
The New York Times just bought Wordle. Now I’ve heard of “I’d like to buy a vowel,” but this is ridiculous! latina milf compilation
— reply didn’t get courtesy faved so i went psycho (@boring_as_heck) January 31, 2022
I’m glad the wordle guy got paid for making something really nice. But I’m sad the thing that I like is, once again, being ingested by a massive media company.
Travel is one of the greatest joys you can experience. It provides new opportunities to learn, discover new places, immerse oneself in diverse cultures, and have a downright good time. Sometimes, however, the incredible perks of traveling the world go hand-in-hand with immense stress. Between delayed flights, lost or stolen items, and under-researched destinations, embarking on journies to destinations near and far isn’t always as glamorous as it appears on Instagram.
While it’s the job of travel influencers to curate creative, colorful feeds that make you want to book a flight with every new post, they also know first-hand the highs and lows that come with travel. To help ensure your next vacation runs smoothly, we spoke with 14 influencers about their worst travel mistakes and what they learned from them.
From forgotten passports and airport breakdowns to overplanning and under preparing, they’re sharing their biggest travel flubs below — so you don’t make them, too.
EDITOR’S PICK: STEVE BRAMUCCI (@steve_bramucci) — PUT TOO MUCH FAITH IN THE “FRIEND DEAL”
Steve Bramucci
Buying a car when traveling through East Africa is the best thing I’ve ever done as a traveler. Full stop. It gave me the freedom to pull over wherever I wanted — to buy fruit along the side of the road, camp in National Parks, pick up hitchhikers, and to really study animals while on safari (rather than racing past them just to check boxes on a generic form, like package tours do). Having a car as I roamed from Uganda down to Mozambique was the difference between being a “traveler” and a “tourist.”
I ate at the guide canteen in National Parks and gave rides to Masai warriors traveling across Kenya. I was the master of my domain — and had to make some pretty tough calls (like fording a rising, croc-filled river in my Nissan Patrol). It was, in a word, awesome.
So that’s the upside. 10/10 — would recommend people get their own vehicle for a big East African adventure.
Now here’s the f*ck up in all this: I bought that car from a man who my sister was pals with and recommended. But this man didn’t really know me and the car he sold me was less a “friend deal” than I was led to believe. I certainly could have gotten a similar, if not better car for less cash by just shopping for myself. Worse yet, after my sister refuted his dating advances while I was traveling, he promised to buy the car back. And because I thought he was a friend, I trusted him to pay me.
Big mistake. He took the car and the cash.
In the end, I got scammed out of roughly six grand. It also meant I was driving a car that was in bad shape, which led to me popping 22 tires in the span of three months. (That’s a lot, even for the corrugated roads of East Africa.) Some of the car troubles I had actually led to really cool experiences — like spending the night with a family of Masai, who fed me and helped me rethread the car’s drive shaft with a simple file. Others exposed me to real danger, like when I was knocked out cold in the middle of the Masai Mara by a faulty jack while changing yet another blown tire.
So would I change it? Looking back now, I’m glad it all happened the way it did. But for a 25-year-old travel writer who still had 8 months on the road ahead of me — yeah, I wanted that six grand back. To the point where I pondered flying back to Uganda just to chase it down.
Lesson: Keep your critical thinking intact while traveling. I don’t mean “be skeptical,” though some would argue that you should be. I actually think that assuming the best of people is one of the joys of travel. I just mean don’t shut your brain down completely, simply because you think you’re getting the “friend rate.”
ASHLEE MAJOR MOSS (@ashleemajormoss) — MISSED HER FLIGHT AND HER CRUSH
The biggest travel mistake I ever made was the first time I ever tried to travel solo. I was going to meet some of my friends in Marbella. I think I was 17, and I was really excited. I had booked this flight last minute to go meet them, and everyone was so excited to see me. Actually, a guy that I really liked at the time was there with my friends and had gone there in secret to surprise me.
I bought this ticket with Easy Jet, and I got to the terminal in Gatwick and I got in the queue. The queue was quite long, as this was a few years back when the airport was just bumpin’ and busy. I was in the queue for a solid 20 minutes and never realized that I was on the north side of the terminal, but my flight was going out of the south side of the terminal. So I got to the front of the line and said, “here’s my ticket.” They looked at my luggage and said, “no, you’re on the wrong side of the terminal. It’s going to take at least 15 minutes to get there even if you run. You need to have checked in by now.”
They wouldn’t call ahead to the other team, so I literally ran there. When I got there, I was on death’s door. I was gasping for air. I finally got to the desk, and they said to me, “no, you cannot check-in for your flight.” I was absolutely devastated and didn’t know what to do. I was begging them to let me on and burst into tears. They were being strict on check-in times and wouldn’t budge. I was absolutely bawling my eyes out. My crush got to the destination and got ears that I wasn’t there. We never ended up together in the end, and I completely missed my flight and never went to Marbella.
Ever since then, I have gotten to the airport about three and a half hours early just because I never ever want to risk that again.
My biggest travel mistake of all time would be trying to see it all. Each destination has so much to offer that it is tempting to visit as many sights as possible. However, creating content and gathering information for various platforms take time, and it is simply not feasible to overfill the itinerary.
During my recent trip to Agra, I wanted to see the Taj Mahal from various viewpoints and explore a few off-beat landmarks in the city. I ended up having such a big list of places that it meant my friend and I couldn’t stay for long in any of them. Because of this, I realized that it is better to be at one location to your heart’s desire than try to see everything and not enjoy any. There will always be more places to check out!
This isn’t necessarily a single mistake, but it is something I regret doing. I had always heard from fellow traveler friends about how convenient TSA PreCheck is, but I procrastinated applying for it simply because of not knowing exactly where to start. I know, I know — all it really takes is a simple Google search.
Anyway, getting TSA PreCheck turned out to be so easy. You can literally do it at Staples.
I finally signed up for TSA PreCheck last year because of all the 2021 travel experiences I had lined up. Let me tell you, it is life-changing. There are no lines, no scrambling with your luggage to quickly remove your electronics, and no need to take your shoes off. The best part is that it only costs $85 and lasts five full years. That’s only $17 per year to skip the security lines (AKA, airport hell) and get to every flight with plenty of time to spare.
It’s made all the difference for me when it comes to traveling.
NATHAN FLUELLEN (@worldwidenate) — SKIPPING HIS RESEARCH ABOUT PANAMA TRAVEL
My biggest travel mistake or fail would be going to Panama without doing enough research to realize that there isn’t a lot of tourism infrastructure in place and that there aren’t desirable tourist spots near Panama City. It’s so industrial because of the Panama Canal, so the ideal thing is to fly into Panama and maybe do a day or two in Panama City. Then, book a flight to the outskirts.
Even for those flights, you have to transfer to another airport. So preparation is cucial.
Lesson: Traveling to Panama isn’t just a quick trip of flying to Central America in two to three hours and you’re in paradise where you can just go off and explore. You have to plan to travel to Panama City, take time to connect for a layover in Panama City, or plan to purchase an additional flight to go off to the more remote, picturesque places that have the white sand beaches and the little islands. Going to Panama takes time, and it may take you a full day to get to your final destination.
Not knowing that and spending too much time in the industrial areas was definitely one of my biggest mistakes.
From missed flights and visa issues to horrible accommodation, stolen wallets, and passports left in cabs, I’ve definitely made my fair share of mistakes when it comes to travel. Speaking of left passports — a few years ago I was backpacking solo through Southeast Asia when suddenly I realized I left my passport in the back of a cab I took to the train station earlier that morning to travel from South Vietnam to North Vietnam.
In an obvious panic, I decided to reach out to the hostel I had been staying at and who originally called the cab for me earlier that day. They were luckily able to get ahold of the nice cab driver! He was so sweet and even shipped my passport across Vietnam to my next accommodation. Call it good luck, good karma, or just amazing people- my lesson was definitely learned. Always treat people with kindness wherever you go, you never know when you might need some kindness in your life! Oh, and you should definitely travel to Vietnam!
My biggest travel mistake, I think was when I booked my flight back on the wrong date. I booked to Lisbon and back to Germany. It was in January. I wanted to stay there only for a couple of days and was driving to the airport for my flight back to Germany. On the check-in, I realized that I booked back the wrong date.
The flight on my ticket was for one month later and not the date that day. So I needed to book a new flight ticket for the next day. I learned from it to make sure now every time to double-check when I book something.
LISA-GAYE SHAKESPEARE (@shakespeareagency) — OVERLOOKED VISA REQUIREMENTS
I forgot to check the visa requirements! This happened a few years ago when I was supposed to visit Brazil. I was all packed and ready to go. Arrived at the airport to check-in for my flight and when the agent asked for my visa, I swore I turned blue. My stomach was wrenched in knots and I felt like throwing up. How could I forget to apply for a visa?!? Biggggg mistake!
Needless to say, I never got on the flight. So now before I travel, I make sure to research visa requirements for that specific country because I will never make that mistake again.
A mistake I’ve made and continue to make is trying to bring my pepper spray to the airport or to the events I’ve gone to on my trips. I swear I’ve bought five-plus pepper spray bottles this past year because I keep forgetting to take them out of my bag! Hoping in 2022 I won’t need to buy more than one or will remember to use other self-defense options to keep myself safe while traveling. It is SO important for women, especially those traveling solo, to be aware of their surroundings and take measures to protect themselves.
As an alternative to pepper spray, the Birdie Personal Safety Alarm is great since it’s not a dangerous item and you can take it on the plane. A great keychain set for somebody who wants to try out different things is this Safety Keychain. For packing in checked luggage, pepper spray and stun guns are allowed. You just can’t take them in a carry-on.
EMILY HART (@emilyventures) — ASSUMING THINGS WILL BE EASY
In the last few years, I’ve visited 55 of the 63 Major US National Parks solo, and have truly learned so much. I feel so capable and confident and dare I say — an expert — in so many aspects of this type of travel. But there is still one mistake that I just can’t help but make — I assume things will be easy.
Now, this sounds like a really fun and positive mistake to make – and it is – sometimes. I generally assume that I will figure everything out when or before I need to, and that everything will just be… intuitive.
Of course, this is real life, and the reality is that things aren’t always intuitive – especially when it comes to huge swaths of somewhat unobstructed outdoor space. I honestly generally don’t plan as much as I should, just assuming that there will be sign, right? A map? Some random pocket of cell service?
And often none of these things are true. I wonder to myself again, why do I always think this will be intuitive? Promise myself I will do things differently next time. But inevitably, the cycle starts again.
NICOLETTA DARITA DE LA BROWN (@vida.magica.love) — NOT ENJOYING THE HOTEL
My biggest travel mistake has become my biggest travel tip. In the past when I would travel, I would forget to plan enough time for me to enjoy my hotel. I always love booking beautiful hotels. I love a luxe hotel. I love something with a lot of amenities. I love something that feels special. I love something boutique and unique.
For example, one of my favorite hotels in Manhattan is The Ludlow in the Lower East Side because I love bathtubs. They have this room that has a balcony, so I feel very Parisian when I’m in it, and then there’s this gorgeous soaking bathtub in a window. You’re basically looking over Manhattan in this insane, breathtaking bathtub.
So back in the past, I would book a hotel then overschedule my trip and only come into the room to pass out. I’d miss out on something like a bathtub. So my biggest mistake was not spending enough time in my hotel rooms. Now, I plan more time or book an extra day for myself just to enjoy my room. I have a whole dedicate to enjoying my hotel for myself…I spent time researching and finding the best place to stay, so I want to enjoy it.
So I feel like one of the biggest mistakes I’ve made in the past is not making time to enjoy the luxurious places that I booked and not spending enough time enjoying the amenities of these spaces. However, the biggest mistake that I think often people make is forgetting to say, “thank you.” Say thank you to those who are caring for us, to everyone who’s cleaning the room, checking you in, carrying the bags, opening the elevator, or serving food. Just saying thank you is one of the things that has led me to have amazing stays and feeling like I was connected to people who were helping me have an amazing experience.
Not saying thank you is the biggest mistake someone can make.
In July 2021, my friend and I did an unforgettable vacation on Staniel Cay, which is an island within the Exuma Cays of the Bahamas. We automatically assumed that we would just fly into Exuma International Airport on Great Exuma Island and booked a Basic Economy flight without doing the research beforehand.
Since we had to get from Great Exuma Island to our resort on Staniel Cay, we needed to figure out a way to get from one island to the other. It wasn’t until the staff at our resort told us that there wasn’t a simple ferry that took visitors from island to island in the Exumas that we realized we didn’t do our research beforehand.
The number one way to get to Staniel Cay is by taking a flight straight to Fort Lauderdale in South Florida and then taking Maker’s Air to Staniel Cay. Since my friend and I booked Basic Economy to Great Exuma Island, we couldn’t change our flights due to our plane ticket status, so we still had to figure out a way to get over to Staniel Cay.
What we ended up doing was hopping on a boat tour that took us from Great Exuma Island to Staniel Cay Marina at the Yacht Club. The same company also took us back! It ended up working out for us and we enjoyed a fun experience out of it, even though it did take away some time from us in Staniel Cay, which was the highlight of the trip. This is a reminder that no matter what trip you decide to take, always do your research beforehand.
Last summer I was basking in my post-vaccination glow and was eager to hit the road and do some domestic travel after over a year in isolation. This gave me way too much time to think, so when the opportunity to visit Oceanside, California with my girlfriend came my way (probably the only coastal city in California I hadn’t visited) I jumped at the chance and set about learning everything I could about the town.
The history, the food spots most beloved by locals, the bars, the vibrant surf scene — I had a full and strict itinerary planned with a checklist of activities including photoshoots using expensive analog film from a camera I had no real working knowledge of using (but I sure read a lot about it!).
When I arrived in Oceanside everything fell apart. The clouds were constant, the must-visit bars were closed, I missed my surfing lesson and as the day went on the checklist was looking more like a series of boxes than a list of checks. So I made the best decision I could make. I threw the itinerary away and stopped trying to make my plans work.
It’s smart to approach your travels with a plan, but ultimately flexibility is your greatest asset on the road, you need to be willing and ready to throw that itinerary away and just go with the flow. Once I stopped trying to make the perfect vacation happen, I started having fun. Sometimes the pressure of making your vacation ideal turns your vacation into work and that’s the last thing you want. Allow yourself to escape into your surroundings and you’ll always have a better and more memorable trip.
ZACH JOHNSTON (@ztpwhiskey) — SEEKING OUT DANGER FOR “COOL POINTS”
Zach Johnston
Let me clarify “danger” here. I’m not talking about parasailing or bungee jumping off a tower or camping out in bear country (well, maybe that last one a little). I’m talking about pursuing warzone travel. I went through a phase where my travel addiction (a very real thing) pushed me to tempt death. I was Jim Morrison daring the universe to kill me because I was so deep in my addiction and so arrogant that I thought I was invincible. I went deep into Northwest Pakistan and hung out with the Taliban. I jauntily strolled the Smuggler’s Bazaar in Peshawar. I took long walks through Kabul at night. I trekked all the way into Badakhshan in the extremely remote northeast corner of Afghanistan, bribing armed-to-the-teeth checkpoint guards the whole way with fresh $100 bills. Then there was Eastern Congo, where my hubris actually landed me in a secret police jail cell for half a day. Luckily, I had enough crisp $100s on me to bribe my way out of that one too.
Getting shot at was a thrill. Hell, having to carry a weapon while traveling was one too. Hanging out and getting high on opium at the front in Afghanistan as American bombs dropped nearby was something that gave me this false sense of “cool.” It wasn’t. I was just being an asshole. And the only reason I’m here now is that I got incredibly lucky (a lot of times).
To be clear, traveling to Afghanistan, Pakistan, or Congo (and others) wasn’t a mistake. What I did there was a mistake. I pushed boundaries for no other reason than to have a story no one else on earth would have when — if — I got home. I put myself and others in danger so I can tell a story now. That is my greatest travel and life regret because I don’t tell those stories. They’re too embarrassing and shameful looking back on them now.
Remember 2017? It was one of those glorious pre-pandemic years, where you’d never heard of wearing a mask and time still passed in a normal way. It was also a year when Ed Sheeran scored a No. 1 hit, as he’s wont to do, writing the song “Perfect” about his then-girlfriend, now wife and mother of his child, Cherry Seaborn. Now, Ed’s been married for almost three years and his daughter, Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran, is going to be turning two this year. Life comes at you fast, huh? “Perfect” was such a big song that even Beyonce got involved with it, when Sheeran re-released the tune as a duet featuring her. Later, one of the best Italian opera singers in the world, Andrea Bocelli, also got involved and recorded his own version. the song was… literally perfect. And it was written by only one person — Sheeran himself.
Now, since that song went to the No. 1 spot back in 2017, no other song that was written by only one person has hit the same high-water mark since. Until today. Today, Encanto‘s inescapable hit “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” claimed the top of the chart. It became songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first No. 1 hit, and unseated Ed Sheeran in the process. Although, fun fact, though it might’ve only been written by one person, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” actually broke another record, too, and this one was for the most performers credited on a song on the Hot 100. That’s because, though Lin wrote it on his own, the song is performed ensembler as part of the Disney film it belongs in. Life is all about balance, you know? Check out the song above if you haven’t heard it yet.
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