The Ultimate Slumber Party

alcatraz-52912_960_720The Daily Mail recently put together an awesome list of places where you can have a slumber party. And no, we don’t mean at your Aunt Sally’s house. These are amazing locations where you are actually allowed to sleep for the night. Here are a few:

If you love the idea of a night at the museum, you can actually enjoy it now. The Natural History Museum in London offers their Dino Snores event where you can sleep over and enjoy special events for guests.

If you love Chelsea football, then why not spend a night in their stadium? This is available for children aged 5-10 and the package includes a tour of the stadium including the dressing room, a chance to meet the Chelsea mascot and a chance to sleep in the Chelsea FC Museum.


If you’re not too faint of heart, you can enjoy a night on Alcatraz Island in what used to be a prison. In San Francisco, you can take a tour, enjoy dinner and then sleep in one of the D-Blocks! Interest in this activity is so high that they have a lottery process and applications are accepted each year from November 1-30 for dates the following year.

See the whole list here.

A Grape a Day Keeps the Eye Doctor Away

grapes-449678_960_720While many people enjoy grapes and probably think they are good for your health – it might be surprising to learn just how good for your health they actually are. Researchers at the University of Miami have found that they can actually reduce the risk of going blind later in life.

The researchers found that the fruit protects against a chemical process that is called oxidative stress, something that releases harmful molecules into the retina. As Professor Abigail Hackam of the University of Miami explained,

“Adding grapes to the diet actually preserved retinal health in the presence of oxidative stress in this study.”

The research was published in the journal Nutrition and was based on a study with mice who were either fed freeze-dried whole grape powder or a regular control diet. With the grape enriched diet, both retinal structure and function were preserved.

As the professor explained, “These results are very exciting and build on the growing evidence that suggests a very real benefit for grape consumption and eye health.”

Certainly, many studies have shown the benefits of eating grapes, but none have focused before on eyesight.

Get a Great Sleep…in the Air with Woollip

aeroplane-147495_640If you’re a frequent traveler, this might be the perfect product for you. A father and daughter from Paris have invented a travel pillow called Woollip that offers a more comfortable sleeping position for flying.

The idea of the device is that the passenger can lean on the seat-back tray and it will support their head and upper body as they lean forward. The idea for the pillow comes from the portable massage chair that many airports provide and that shopping malls often have.

Diana Levy, the 21 year old business school graduate, and her father Franck had the idea after sharing a long, uncomfortable flight. They worked on the concept for 18 months with many designers, pilots and physiotherapists to create the right prototype.

When it’s deflated, the device can be rolled into a small bag and it weighs as little as a smartphone. They are starting a Kickstarter Crowdfunding campaign on March 18, which is World Sleep Day, to raise money to get it started.

Can Coffee Fight Off Multiple Sclerosis?

cappuccino-593256_640A rather strange article recently published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry shows that large amounts of caffeine just might help you to prevent multiple sclerosis. Two studies were conducted. One from Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, looked at 1620 adults with MS and 2788 without the disease. The second study, conducted through Johns Hopkins University in Maryland and the University of California, Berkeley looked at 1159 people with MS in the US and 1172 healthy people.

Everyone was asked about their coffee consumption and how long they had been drinking coffee. The researchers then extrapolated out the coffee intake at and before the start of MS symptoms in those who developed the disease, compared with those who didn’t.

What they found was that the risk of MS was consistently higher among those who drank fewer cups of coffee every day – in both studies. This was even after taking into account other factors. In the Swedish study, they found that those who drank at least 900ml of coffee every day had a 28% to 30% lower risk of MS than did the non-coffee drinkers. In the American study, they found a 26% to 31% lower risk among those who drank more than 948ml daily at least five years prior to the start of symptoms.


As they concluded, “Lower odds of MS with increasing consumption of coffee were observed, regardless of whether coffee consumption at disease onset or five or 10 years prior to disease onset was considered. In accordance with studies in animal models of MS, high consumption of coffee may decrease the risk of developing MS.”

Certainly, more studies are necessary. But, as Dr. Emma Gray, head of clinical trials at the MS Society said, “While more studies are needed in this area, we welcome any research that offers new insights into risk factors for MS.”

A Refreshing Automotive Museum at The Academy of Art University

fair-1182112_960_720There are many automotive museums across America, but few of them have a university connected to them. The Academy of Art University has an Automobile Museum, and it’s worth checking out. The Academy of Art University Automobile Museum is at the Academy in San Francisco. It allows the viewer to catch a glimpse into the history of the art and design of the car. They have a huge selection of cars including Bugatti, Jaguar, Duesenberg, Cadillac, Alfa Romeo and others.

The museum is a non-profit location that allows those who love cars to relish in the enjoyment of viewing them. But what makes this location so unique is that it’s not just for car lovers – but for industrial designers and artists. The museum started because Richard A. Stephens, the former Academy of Art University President, always loved cars. Mr. Stephens wanted to offer automotive design at the Academy and he wanted to combine it with a unique ability for students to study beautifully designed cars and to appreciate the craftsmanship of others.

To this end, the industrial design program uses the museum to study design. Within the School of Industrial Design, they have recently created a new Associate of Arts degree in Automotive Restoration. Led by auto industry leader Tom Matana, they will be training the automobile restorers of the future.

Certainly, it’s not everyday that you see a museum on a college campus dedicated to the learning that the students are doing. And this is one auto museum worth checking out when you’re in San Francisco.

Leap Your Way Into Fun with Leap Day

frog-111179_960_720Today is Leap Day! And certainly you can’t just let that pass you by without doing something fun. Here are some ideas to make the day fun for your kids. If you’re an adult without kids – check out the sales that some of the stores are having and the fun green drinks that you’ll find in restaurants and bars.

Now, on to the kids…

Buy some plastic frogs and put them inside jello. If you use black jello, you can tell your kids are living in the swamp and they have to find each one. Yum!

Play leap frog because…well..why not?

Cut out two frogs from tissue paper. You have two teams and two straws. One kid on each team picks up the star and sucks in to it to catch the frog. They have to run to the other side of the room without dropping the frog and then run back to give it to the next player. First team to finish wins.


Make cupcakes and frost them with green frosting. Put out jellybeans and decorations to make frog faces. Eat and enjoy.

Have your older children write letters to themselves to open four years from now on Leap Day.

Make a frog puppet.

Have fun!