Here Are 2018’s Most Visited Cities in the World

Do you ever wonder where everyone is traveling? What countries have the most booming tourism industry?

Mastercard released its annual Global Destination Cities Index that measures travel to and within 162 cities throughout the world.

Visitor volume and spending are used to forecast the growth in visits to all of these cities around the globe.

Scroll through this list in descending order and you’ll discover the most visited cities in 2018 based on the projected number of international visitors.

20. Bali, Indonesia — 8.43 million international visitors.

Photo Credit: Flickr,Thomas Depenbusch (Depi)

19. Osaka, Japan — 8.78 million international visitors.

Photo Credit: Flickr,Pedro Szekely

18. Barcelona, Spain — 9.06 million international visitors.

Photo Credit: Max Pixel

17. Hong Kong — 9.11 million international visitors.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

16. Milan, Italy — 9.19 million international visitors.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

15. Palma de Mallorca, Spain — 9.3 million international visitors.

Photo Credit: pxhere

14. Pattaya, Thailand — 9.56 million international visitors.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

13. Mecca, Saudi Arabia — 9.73 million international visitors.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

12. Phuket, Thailand — 10.08 million international visitors.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

11. Seoul, South Korea — 10.13 million international visitors.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

10. Antalya, Turkey — 11.27 million international visitors.

Photo Credit: US Air Force

9. Tokyo, Japan — 12.12 million international visitors.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

8. Istanbul, Turkey — 12.8 million international visitors.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

7. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — 13.53 million international visitors.

Photo Credit: Flickr,Jorge Láscar

6. New York City, USA — 13.67 million international visitors.

Photo Credit: pxhere

5. Singapore — 14.47 million international visitors.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

4. Dubai, UAE — 16.66 million international visitors.

Photo Credit: pxhere

3. Paris, France — 17.95 million international visitors.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

2. London, UK — 20.42 million international visitors.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

1. Bangkok, Thailand — 21.98 million international visitors.

Photo Credit: Flickr,Roger W

Are any of these destinations on your travel list?

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October 16, 2018

The Ridiculously Long List of Things Women Must Do to Protect Themselves from Sexual Assault

Women have been mad for ages – but they are just now getting the courage to bring that simmering ire out of the proverbial closet where they’ve been told it belongs and into the public sphere where they can attempt, in no uncertain terms, to defend it.

Because even if our newest supreme court justice is one of the 2% of men accused erroneously of sexual assault, and even if our president stopped demeaning and silencing women for a couple of days, the truth of living life as a female hasn’t changed in decades.

1 in 5 of us will suffer some kind of sexual assault in our lifetime. In an attempt to be the 4 and not the 1, we learn all sorts of tricks from a young age. They’re given to us by the women in our lives, passed down like heirlooms, bits of knowledge that may or may not have served them in their moment of need, but that are better than nothing, dammit!

We park under lights if we’re going to be leaving somewhere at night. We tell someone where we’re going, who we’ll be with, and what time we’ll be home. We carry our car keys like weapons. We divert if it seems like someone is following us, and we never, ever get into our car without checking the backseat for a stranger. Headphones while jogging? Only if you’re asking for it, lady.

If any of these things seem paranoid to you, well, you’re probably male.

And that’s you, and if you’re interested in what other measures women take to avoid aggressive men on a daily basis, this viral Facebook post should be on your radar.

Drew McKenna posted this list from Jackson Katz, a prominent social researcher, with the following caption:

Men ask why women are so pissed off, even guys with wives and daughters. Jackson Katz, a prominent social researcher, illustrates why. He’s done it with hundreds of audiences:

“I draw a line down the middle of a chalkboard, sketching a male symbol on one side and a female symbol on the other.

Then I ask just the men: What steps do you guys take, on a daily basis, to prevent yourselves from being sexually assaulted? At first there is a kind of awkward silence as the men try to figure out if they’ve been asked a trick question. The silence gives way to a smattering of nervous laughter. Occasionally, a young a guy will raise his hand and say, ‘I stay out of prison.’ This is typically followed by another moment of laughter, before someone finally raises his hand and soberly states, ‘Nothing. I don’t think about it.’

Then I ask the women the same question. What steps do you take on a daily basis to prevent yourselves from being sexually assaulted? Women throughout the audience immediately start raising their hands. As the men sit in stunned silence, the women recount safety precautions they take as part of their daily routine.

Hold my keys as a potential weapon. Look in the back seat of the car before getting in. Carry a cell phone. Don’t go jogging at night. Lock all the windows when I sleep, even on hot summer nights. Be careful not to drink too much. Don’t put my drink down and come back to it; make sure I see it being poured. Own a big dog. Carry Mace or pepper spray. Have an unlisted phone number. Have a man’s voice on my answering machine. Park in well-lit areas. Don’t use parking garages. Don’t get on elevators with only one man, or with a group of men. Vary my route home from work. Watch what I wear. Don’t use highway rest areas. Use a home alarm system. Don’t wear headphones when jogging. Avoid forests or wooded areas, even in the daytime. Don’t take a first-floor apartment. Go out in groups. Own a firearm. Meet men on first dates in public places. Make sure to have a car or cab fare. Don’t make eye contact with men on the street. Make assertive eye contact with men on the street.”

― Jackson Katz, The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help.

(The first man to minor in women’s studies at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, holds a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a Ph.D. in cultural studies and education from UCLA.)

He followed it up with a visual that’s stark and should be revealing to the most skeptical among us:

Photo Credit: Facebook

Why do women do this, aside from the obvious answer of “to not get raped?” Well, here’s what I think – we do it because our mothers and aunts did it. Our grandmothers did it. We do it because our culture and society tells us that it’s a woman’s responsibility to not get raped, rather than a man’s responsibility to not rape.

Because if a sexual assault takes place, women know there’s a very good chance we’ll be blamed for it.

What were we wearing? Had we had a drink? Two? More? Did we dare to be alone in a secluded public place? Were we listening to a really great audiobook and forgot, for a minute or five, to check behind us on that running trail? Were we being too much of a bitch? Not being enough of a bitch?

Is it fair? No. But these are the questions we’ll be asked if we say something happened. If we go for help to the people who are supposed to provide it, they’ll want to know. Their eyes will be full of skepticism, and worse, they’ll convey sympathy but disinterest – nothing can be done, they’ll say. It’s her word against his.

So we are vigilant, knowing there’s a very real, statistical probability that it won’t matter in the end. Because we want to be able to tell ourselves, at least, that we didn’t deserve it. That we did everything we could.

Even if society will never believe us. Even if they never even bother to listen to us.

We’ll know we tried. And maybe that’s the real lesson handed down by generations before us, one that’s bitter and hard but nonetheless real – in the end, the only person who will hear the truth are the survivors.

So in all of the preparation, all of the fear and anxiety and double-checking and vigilance, we’re preparing for the day we have defend ourselves, if only while looking in a mirror.

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October 16, 2018

15+ Interactions Between Strangers That Will Give You The Warm Fuzzies

Photo Credit: Tumblr

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October 15, 2018

Check Out These 9 Different School Lunches From Around the World

Do you remember what school lonch was like when you were a kid? If you grew up in the United States, it probably wasn’t anything too remarkable.

But if things are so bad here, what does a healthy school lunch look like? Well, different people (and cultures) have different definitions, but these 9 photos might give us all a better idea.

#9. South Korea

Photo Credit: Sweetgreen for Schools

Fish soup, tofu over rice, kimchi and fresh veggies.

#8. Italy

Photo Credit: Sweetgreen in Schools

Local fish on a bed of arugula, pasta with tomato sauce, caprese salad, baguette and some grapes.

#7. Greece

Photo Credit: Sweetgreen for Schools

Baked chicken over orzo, stuffed grape leaves, tomato and cucumber salad, fresh oranges, and greek yogurt with pomegranate seeds.

#6. Spain

Photo Credit: Sweetgreen for Schools

Sautéed shrimp over brown rice and vegetables, gazpacho, fresh peppers, bread and an orange.

#5. Ukraine

Photo Credit: Sweetgreen for Schools

Mashed potatoes with sausage, borscht, cabbage and syrniki (a dessert pancake).

#4. France

Photo Credit: Sweetgreen for Schools

Steak, carrots, green beans, cheese and fresh fruit.

#3. Finland

Photo Credit: Sweetgreen for Schools

Pea soup, beet salad, carrot salad, bread and pannakkau (dessert pancake) with fresh berries.

#2. Brazil

Photo Credit: Sweetgreen for Schools

Pork with mixed veggies, black beans and rice, salad, bread and baked plantains.

#1. U.S.A.

Photo Credit: Sweetgreen for Schools

Fried ‘popcorn’ chicken, mashed potatoes, peas, fruit cup and a chocolate chip cookie.

I hope I inspired some of this week’s Bento Boxes, if nothing else!

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October 15, 2018

15 Photos That Are Sure to Make You Angry

Photo Credit: Reddit

15. Revolting

Photo Credit: Reddit

Are you upset? If so, I apologize.

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October 12, 2018

Fisherman Surprised to Find 10,000-Year-Old Irish Elk Skull on the Other End of His Fishing Line

That’s right – antlers and all.

Pulling non-fish items out of the water is a common occurence for fishermen. Sadly, most of them are some kind of refuse that’s been carelessly dumped, but he’s also caught snakes, turtles, and, once, even a seagull.

Photo Credit: Facebook

So I’m sure that fisherman buddies Raymond McElroy and Charlie Coyle weren’t surprised to find they’d hooked something other than their intended target in Ireland’s Lough Neagh, a lake near Ardboe – though they were clearly shocked to discover that what they’d snagged wasn’t a piece of driftwood, but a skull and antlers that measured over six feet across.

Photo Credit: Facebook

Coyle told The Irish Times, “I thought it was the devil himself. I was going to throw it back in. I didn’t know what to do with it.”

That may sound crazy, until you learn that the Irish elk (megaloceros giganteus), which has been extinct for over 10,500 years, once stood over 6.5 feet fall and tipped the scales at 1300 pounds. That’s a pretty monstrous skull to suddenly find yourself facing on an otherwise normal day.

The Irish elk actually roamed much of Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia but is often found in Ireland’s lakes and bogs because of their natural preservative qualities. In fact, the two didn’t dump their find only because McElroy recalled that a similarly-sized jawbone had been found in the same area in 2014. They decided to keep the skull, and presumably some scientist will be by to take it off their hands for some cash.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

In case you’re curious, the Irish elk died out largely because of environmental change, according to Mike Simms at the Ulster Museum, who noted for Belfast Live that “giant antlers aren’t great in the forest.” They’re part of a club of giant extinct mammals (called megafauna) that includes giant sloths, giant beavers, saber-toothed tigers, mastodons, and mammoths, though I’m quite sure that none of them applied, or is thrilled about their acceptance.

Lesson learned – don’t get angry the next time you hook something weird on your next fishing trip. You never know what you’ll unearth from a watery grave.

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October 12, 2018

8+ Misconceptions About Beer

There seem to be breweries popping up on almost every street corner these days, and for good reason. People love the suds!

Who doesn’t love a cold beer at the end of a hard day (or a particularly stressful week)? Basically all of us do – beer culture is immensely popular in the U.S. and around the world right now.

But there’s probably still a lot you don’t know about beer, so pay attention to these 10 common misconceptions about brewskis.

1. Beer bottles are all the same

Photo Credit: Unsplash,Rhett Wesley

Bottom line: the darker, the better. Clear and green bottles are the most susceptible to light, so they have the most problems. So, to be on the safe side, go with anything in a dark bottle.

Sorry, Rolling Rock drinkers…

2. You’ll get a gut from beer, but not from cocktails

A popular refrain of young men and women across the land…but not exactly true. Of course, beer is packed with calories, but Beaune says of this phenomenon: “Most glasses of wine are pretty high in alcohol and a lot of cocktails are way higher in calories. If you drink a margarita that’s one of the highest calorie things you can drink.”

I think she just shattered the dreams of gin and tonic drinkers everywhere.

3. Dark beers are always heavy

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Looking for a lighter beer, drink something that looks light. Looking for something heavier, drink a dark beer, right? Wrong. Hallie Beaune, the author of The Naked Pint: An Unadulterated Guide to Craft Beer, says,

“People naturally assume they are heavier. I think it’s that connection to Guinness, which promotes itself as creamy and almost like a meal, that’s the feeling they give in their commercials. For a lot of people that’s the first dark beer they’ve had so they assume they’re all similar when, really, dark beers are just dark because of the roast level of the malt that’s used in the beer.”

Bet you weren’t aware of that.

4. Drinking from the bottle is the best way to enjoy beer

Hallie Beaune says on this subject,

“Drinking beer from the bottle is another no-no, mostly because what you taste comes from your olfactory senses from your nose, so if you take a sip of something from that kind of bottle your nose isn’t participating at all. It’s too small for you to get a whiff of the beer. Just like if you were drinking red wine out of a wine bottle, you wouldn’t really be able to evaluate that wine.”

5. Beer can be stored anywhere

Photo Credit: Flickr,Ewan Munro

Wrong again. I’ve learned this lesson the hard way over and over again. The best option is to store beer in the refrigerator. The keys to success: dark and cold.

6. “Skunky” = No big deal

Skunky is not just a cute little term for beer that tastes a little bit off. Hallie Beaune says,

“Light can hurt beer—they call it lightstruck. The light interacts with the hops in beer (the four ingredients in beer are malt, water, hops and yeast), and it can actually have this chemical reaction that creates a smell that’s the same as a skunk gives off, which is why you hear about skunky beer.”

You know you’ve had this experience with a Heineken, am I right?

7. Beer needs to be served cold

Photo Credit: Unsplash,rawpixel

Many of us love our beer to be near freezing, straight out of the cooler, and sometimes even served in a frosted mug. Hey, I even enjoy mine with some ice floating in it. But we’ve been doing it all wrong for years! Beer is actually best served at 44 degrees Fahrenheit (except for a few brews that should be served only slightly chilled, like barrel-aged Stout).

The reason for the 44 degrees is because taste buds become dead when anything is served colder than that specific temperature, so it kind of defeats the purpose. So try to keep that Budweiser at 44 degrees for maximum enjoyment!

8. Canned beer means lesser quality

I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen quite a few really good beers in cans lately. The reason is that cans are a great way to protect the product. Canned beers used to have an aluminum taste, but Hallie Beaune says that most of today’s craft breweries use a water-based liner so the beer doesn’t actually touch the aluminum. But keep those cans nice and cold, because they heat up and cool down pretty fast.

9. The frosted mug myth

This ties in with the first item on this list. As I mentioned earlier, a lot of people love their beer served in a mug straight out of the freezer. But this will end up lessening the flavor of your beer. So just say no!

10. Guinness is always frothy

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Ahhhh, beautiful Guinness. The nectar of the Gods. Every pint looks like it is delivered straight from Heaven and set in front of you on the bar. But the creamy beer is served that way mostly because of the long, narrow taps that are used for stouts, which have more nitrogen than standard taps.

Bottoms up!

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October 10, 2018

Millennials Look Back on 15 Things They Miss from the ’90s

It’s almost impossible not to look back on the years you grew up as anything other than wonderful, and millennials who grew up in the 90s are going through that right now. If you’re one of them (or just love the 90s) then these 13+ people’s memories are probably going to spark more than a few of your own.

#15. When you got home

“I miss being safe from bullies when you got home. Like when I was in school I would get shit from someone, but once I got home that stopped. With the way we are all connected now through the internet and social media, I probably wouldn’t have escaped it like I used to be able to. I feel bad for kids that are bullied in school nowadays because they can’t escape the bullying by going home if they have any sort of presence on the internet.”

#14. The news wasn’t 24/7

“Stop watching the news. I stopped a couple of years ago and I’m happier. Most of it is irrelevant anyway. Think about it this way. What have you learned from the news in the past year that has directly affected your life? Of those things, what’s the likelyhood of you finding out about it through other means. If the answer is high, just stop watching.”

#13. I didn’t appreciate it enough

“I spent the 90s on college and grad school, mostly. I miss having a life where my job was just to think, learn and mature. I didn’t appreciate it enough.”

#12. Instant win

“Instant win contests.

You could buy a bottle of Coke, win another bottle of Coke and immediately turn around to get another one for free.

Now you have to go online, enter some code somewhere and it sucks.”

#11. Like I was at an Irish funeral

“When I would be sitting in my living room apartment and looking at my CD shelf and seeing my Pink Floyd Pulse disk blinking that beautiful red blink. I always wondered when the exact time and date it stopped was because I would have popped that disc in and proceed to drink like I was at an Irish funeral.”

#10. All you had to do

“All you had to do was just go outside. We always found something to do and had a blast. My kids never go outside unless they have a specific activity planned ahead.”

#9. Basic necessities

“Honestly, I miss life before the internet and cell phones/texting became basic necessities.”

#8. The highest virtue

“Vintage clothes were the epitome of cool. It’s still weird to me that now it’s cool to wear expensive clothes, much less ones with obvious labels.

Also related, the idea of “not selling out” as the highest virtue. The idea that the coolest people of the 2010s are influencers with sponsored posts couldn’t be more anti-90s.”

#7. Improvised WWF

“Improvised WWF (it was still the WWF back then) matches on my trampoline with buddies.

Also NOT having the internet for every little thing made stuff like Pokemon game glitches the stuff of legend.”

#6. Having all my hair

“The music. The sense the world was improving. Having all my hair.”

#5. A bit carried away

“Climbing trees, making dens in the woods, knocking on your friends door on a Saturday morning without phoning first, ‘are you playing out?’ Summer holidays spent in the half sunny alleys and fields behind the cul de sac. Asking my dad to record my tv shows onto vcr and him always getting the audio wrong from not turning the volume up on the cable box. Those little blue chocolate wafers my Nan had and the way she made toast. My parents watching Inspector Morse after I went to bed and how the radio was always on in the kitchen. The plum tree outside my bedroom window when it blossomed. School mornings getting colder and how my Mum got the car warmed up in the winter before we left. Our dog. My home. My self when I was young and the world was still magical.

Sorry I got a bit carried away.”

#4. Most of all

“8bit graphics, rainbow windbreakers, roller rinks still being cool, AOL, Nickelodeon. But most of all, just being a carefree kid.”

#3. A sense of innocence

“Amazing music, comfy clothes, cheap gasoline and a sense of innocence and optimism about the future.

Also being around my high school classmates seven hours a day, five days a week September through June could be a mixed blessing then, but I sure miss them now.”

#2. The good stuff

90s cartoons!

#1. Some sort of game

“Starting high school in 1990. Good music. Rap rock and even pop. Getting outside. Calling people on an actual house phone to set up the weekend. Meeting girls by actually meeting and talking to them in person. You actually had to have some sort of game to even get a number. We worked hard and played hard. People weren’t so sensitive.”

Let me know when they invent a time machine, okay?!

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October 10, 2018

These People Can’t Afford to Look Their Best for a Job Interview, So The New York Public Library Is Helping Them

Job searching is rarely fun, especially if you are struggling to make ends meet as is. It takes a lot of time, money, and energy to be prepared to job interviews…three things that are in short supply when you are unemployed.

The idea that perhaps the library could help with at least one of these things came to librarian Michelle Lee back in 2016, when she was teaching a free class about employment and resume writing to high school students. She tells The Washington Post that many of the kids admitted to not owning the professional attire required at all.

Photo Credit: Twitter

She pitched the idea for her “tiebrary” to the Riverside branch of the New York Public library and it was approved; they gave her funding to purchase 12 items – ties, handbags, and briefcases – from Amazon. Bloomingdales also stepped up and donated some ties and pocket squares.

Since patrons of the library already take advantage of their services to work on resumes and search for jobs online, it was natural for the library to segue into offering something extra that could give their patrons confidence walking into an interview.

Photo Credit: NYPL

The library makes it clear that the items aren’t reserved only for job interviews, too. They encourage patrons to check them out for weddings, auditions, graduations, proms, or any event that requires formal wear. According to the library’s website, the only prerequisite is “that the borrower has less than $15 worth of library fines. If they pass that test, then they’re free to check out their item for three weeks.”

Kimberly Spring, the network manager of the Riverside branch, reminds NPR, “You know, you look good, you feel good. You feel more confident when you’re going out.”

Photo Credit: NYPL

If you haven’t been to your local library lately, you might be surprised at what they’re now offering at check out. The Arlington County Library even has American Girl dolls available for borrowing, which can help out parents who can’t afford their significant price tags. The goal is, of course, to get people – and kids – into the library.

Julia Karell, the Arlington branch manager, tells The Washington Post that “this is a way to connect kids with books and with history.”

Photo Credit: NYPL

If you want more information on the “tiebrary” or want to donate, you can find more information here. Libraries are important parts of every community, so, if you get the chance, patronize and support yours.

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October 10, 2018

Stick These 7 Cool Facts in Your Thinking Cap

Photo Credit: did you know?

7. Now that is a fascinating fact!

Photo Credit: did you know?

Now go on and use these facts to impress some folks!

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