Faroe Island’s mystery trips
By designing controlled surprise self-guided road trips within safe parameters, Visit Faroe Island isn’t just solving over-tourism, it’s introducing fun and spontaneity into the over-scheduled lives of visitors. Experts suggest that our neural activity jumps when we encounter unexpected events making the experience more memorable. The Faroe Tour designers say guests will rediscover the joy of not knowing what comes next during their holiday. Destination included dramatic fjords, remote villages, fish and chip picnics and ancient wooden roofed churches.
Trendwatching
Doodlemania
They’re everywhere in what’s become a high stakes, billion dollar industry. As a hybrid first generation rather than a pure-breed from an American kennel club recognized breed Golden Doodles are considered a multi-generation cross and as such, not considered an official breed. Nonetheless, the craze continues with popularity of “Doodle Dogs” sparking a booming, sometimes cut throat trade that is not always above board.
Bloomberg.com
The price of shade
Where trees grow, home values follow but the location matters. Researchers found that in the densely populated urban neighbourhoods where community members benefit from either shade when walking or aesthetics when driving, property values tended to increase by as much as 15%.
Arbour Day Foundation
Flying into hurricanes
While others flee the tiney Desertas Petrel, an agile pigeon sized seabird with long slender wings seeks out the most of powerful storms. Seeing tropical storms as opportunities to feed, they dart into the spinning air, waves and ocean swells. The method to their madness—the opportunity to follow the tail of the storm foraging on squid, octopus and cuttlefish that have been dragged up to the surface.
Source: BBC
Nine sky-high courses
Above the Costa-Rican cloud forest, San Lucas Treetop Dining experience is a magical forest secret. On elevated platforms accessed by a narrow wooden footbridge there are eight private glass dining cabins where food, nature and adventure combine. Each guest gets a special passport to guide them on their journey, an adventurous assortment of appetizers and dishes created by Chef Jose Daniel Hernandez that pay homage to the country’s different provinces.
Source: Sanlucas.cr
Crown jewel diamonds
The two largest cut diamonds in the world, which are Cullinan I (530.2 carats) and Cullinan II (317.4 carats), both cut from the historic Cullinan Diamond. Cullinan I is mounted in the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross, while Cullinan II is featured in the front of the Imperial State Crown. The original diamond, the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found was 530.2 carats, discovered in South Africa in 1905. It is also known as the Great Star of Africa.
Worth a visit
Mexico City, New Frida Kahlo Museum. Adjacent to the well know Casa Azul in Mexico city, the new Museo Casa Kahlo celebrates one of the most recognized and mythologized figures in art history. While Casa Azul, Frida’s long-term residence, focuses on her adult life, her work and her marriage to Diego Rivera, the museum will present a more personal narrative of her life.
Source: museocasakahlo.org
Shenzhen airport robots
China’s first robot food delivery service lets hungry travellers order meals from one of 11 restaurants throughout the airport. The “Bumblebee” robots autonomously plan their routes, use the elevators and pass through controls to bring the meals directly to the departure gate. Now that’s service!
Source: China Daily
Moon rice project
Astronauts on future missions won’t be surviving on freeze-dried meals and protein bars shipped from earth. Instead they’ll harvest rice from compact plants ten centimetres tall, engineered for life beyond Earth. The ‘Moon Rice’ project is developing the perfect crop for space habitation as astronauts will need fresh food rich in vitamins, antioxidants, and fibre to balance the negative health effects of the space.
Source: Universe Toda
World’s priciest cheese
Auctioned for $42,232, a Calabrese cheese that was made of cow’s milk earned the Guinness World Record. Weighing in at 5 pounds the award-winning Spanish cheese was aged for 10 months in a Los Mazos cave that was at almost 5,000 feet above sea level.
Source: UPI
Images: Erik Carter, Bloomberg. Shutterstock. San Lucas Treetop Dining Experience. trendwatching.com. NASA/ESA/Alexander Gerst.
