Bride for a Day…without the Groom

dress-349675_640What will tour companies think of next? A Japanese tour operator may have just taken the cake, offering women who dream of that magical wedding to have it – without the groom. Cerca Travel is offering this two-day bridal package for brides…on their own in the city of Kyoto in Japan. What do brides get for this package?

With prices starting at well over a thousand dollars, you can put on a traditional Japanese gown or a white wedding gown, have a bouquet arrangement and have pictures taken. While, as their website says, you are still “young and beautiful.” You’ll have your hair and makeup done and have your gown specially fitted.

The package also includes one night in a hotel (alone?), a mini photo album and USB stick and even a groom, should you decide to throw one in.


Now as a tourist that would certainly be an interesting way to see a new city!

 

Smurf Town Gets Flooded with Visitors

Picture from Wikimedia Commons of Juzcar, Spain by Jordi Hernandes
Picture from Wikimedia Commons of Juzcar, Spain by Jordi Hernandes

Talk about a random chain reaction. A tiny village in Spain painted all of its buildings blue when it was approached by Sony with the request. They were releasing The Smurfs in 3D movie and used the village of Juzcar, 13 miles from the town of Ronda, as part of their publicity stint.

Now, the village has received such a flow of tourists that they’ve agreed to keep their homes blue. And they are about to launch a Smurf theme park as well. They have attracted over 200,000 tourists with their blue color.

The Smurf Park will cost cost £36.9million to build but they are hoping to bring in at least £11 million a year to the area. The theme park would be the first of its kind in the world that focuses on the Smurfs.

Waiting to Dislike Things on Facebook?

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Have you ever read a Facebook post and wished you could write a sad face or a downward thumb button? Mark Zuckerberg is now considering this idea, but he probably won’t call it a dislike button.

While speaking at the firm’s offices in California recently, Zuckerberg said, “We need to figure out the right way to do it so [the button] ends up being a force for good, not a force for bad.’ He doesn’t want, he explains, the button to be used to demean people or to be cruel.

As he said, “I think giving people the power to express more emotions would be powerful, but we need to find out the right way to do it, so that it is a force for good and not bad, and demeaning the person out there.”

At the moment, people can send a dislike sticker with Facebook Messenger posts.

Facebook Chief Technology Officer Bret Taylor, who created the thumbs up button in 2009, explained “The main reason is that in the context of the social network, the negativity of that button has a lot of unfortunate consequences. If you want to dislike something, you should probably write a comment, because there’s probably a word for what you want to say.”

Buying for the Guy Who Has Everything

Christmas is fast approaching. Do you now what to get that husband or dad who has everything? Here are some great ideas.

Blue Food Just Might Help You Lose Weight

candy-406940_640Here’s a new one. If you just start eating all of your food under the glow of a blue light…you may find yourself losing weight. This odd information comes from a new study led by Han-Seok Seo of The University of Arkansas.

The fascinating part of this study is actually the difference between the reaction that men and women have. While the men who were given food illuminated by the blue light found the food suspicious and ate less, the women were not bothered by the light. Researchers explain that women use their sense of smell far more when assessing food, and therefore aren’t influenced by the color of the food.

As Han-Seok Seo said, “Since naturally blue colored foods are rare, humans may have a doubt as to whether (such foods) are safe to eat.” The study results can be found in the journal Appetite. The study involved 112 people who were all asked to eat the same meals under different colored lights.


In the post-eating questionnaires, participants registered a similar level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction irrespective of what they actually ate.

The results of the group’s study were published in the latest edition of the journal Appetite.

Drum Your Day Away….Because You Can

Are you dying to drum your day away but can’t afford to buy a drum set? Or don’t think it would be appropriate to have a drum set sitting in your office? Well now, you can drum away your day anywhere you want to. Cliphit has come to your rescue. They use sensitive clips that can attach to any object and produce a drum or cymbal sound when you strike the object.

And you can make a number of sounds this way. Cliphit has four slots to plug the clips into and each one will create a different drumming sound. Sound comes from the three-inch speaker that is on top of the battery-powered portable device.


The Cliphit comes from Korg, a Japanese manufacturer of electronic instruments. As a spokesperson said, “Cliphit is a new electric drum kit that’s ideal for drum practice at home or for casual playing. The clips with their internal sensor attach to anything – a magazine, desk, or almost any surface, transforming it into a snare, hi-hat, or cymbal. Cliphit will breathe new life into your drum practice and is a great way to enhance your experience and creativity.”