Random Acts of Canine Kindness

Cedric the Dog takes a well-deserved break after an ill-fated attempt to shut down a white supremacist rally in Lake Oahe, South Dakota.

You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog. – Harry S. Truman

The Bikini

Evidence of bikini-style women’s clothing has been found as early as 5600 BC, and the history of the bikini can be traced back to that era. Illustrations of women wearing bikini-like garments during competitive athletic events in the Roman era have been found in several locations, the most famous of which is at Villa Romana del Casale.

Although two-piece bathing suits were being used by women as early as the 1930s, the bikini is commonly dated to 1946, when partly due to material rationing after World War II. The French engineer Louis Réard introduced the modern bikini, modeled by Micheline Bernardini on July 5, 1946. The was borrowed from the Bikini Atoll, where post-war testing on the atomic bomb were taking place. Réard wanted to make his sensation as spectacular as an atomic blast.

The Art of Swimming

De Arte Natandi (‘The Art of Swimming’), by Sir Everard Digby, published in England in 1587 but written in Latin, was the first treatise on the topic published in Britain. Written in an age when many people could not swim and drowning was a regular cause of death, it features advice on different swimming techniques, detailed information on how to enter the water safely and advice on what kinds of water were safest to swim in.

People claimed that they regularly saw dead bodies being retrieved from the New River in London, which sparked an interest in the resuscitation of the apparently drowned. The Royal Humane Society was founded in 1774 to aid resuscitation of the near drowned, and still exists today.

Nation with Highest Level of Skin Cancer

Australia has the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. Each year more than 400,000 Australians are treated for all forms of skin cancer, including melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma. More than 12,000 Australians are diagnosed each year with invasive melanoma, which is the deadliest type of skin cancer.

Queensland researchers have launched the world’s largest ever genetic study of skin cancer and are calling on more than 20,000 Australians to take part.

QIMR Berghofer Senior Scientist Professor David Whiteman said the research team wanted to collect DNA samples from the 20,000 adults – including people with and without skin cancer, and with a range of skin types – to better understand the role genes play in the disease.

That Sinking Feeling: 10 Cities Could Disappear by 2100

Global temperatures and sea levels are rising. Low-lying coastal cities are already experiencing devastating floods and working to come up with creative solutions to combat rising tides.

Some cities are sinking due to increasing sea levels slowly encroaching on their coasts, while others are sinking because of excessive groundwater pumping that creates a change in pressure and volume that causes land to sink.

Here are 10 sinking cities that are in danger of disappearing.

Chloe McCardel: Swimmer Beats Men’s Channel Record and Quarantine

A swimmer has broken the men’s record for the number of cross-Channel crossings – and been assured her fears of falling foul of the UK-France quarantine rules are unfounded.

Australian Chloe McCardel took 10 hours and 40 minutes to complete her 35th Channel crossing, after setting off from Kent on Saturday evening.

The Currach: The Aran Islands

With a population of 831, Inishmore is the largest of the Aran Islands. If you have just a day, this is the island you must see. Its principal village is Kilronan where you’ll find tour guides, horsedrawn carriages and bicycle rentals waiting as soon as you get off your ferry. Before you depart on your tours, stop by the tourist office, which provides a good introduction and guided tour taking you back more than two thousand years in the life and times of the Aran Islands. The tourist office demonstrates the art of currach making – a traditional island boat made by stretching a fabric over a sparse skeleton of thin laths, then covered in tar. The currach has been used on the islands for thousands of years and is designed to battle the rough seas that face the open Atlantic Ocean. Aran fishermen would not learn to swim, since they knew they could never survive any sea that swamped a currach, and would sink without a struggle like a stone.

Known around the world as a ‘fisherman sweater,’ the Aran Islands are actually the birthplace of the sweater referred to as the ‘Aran Island Sweater.’ The sweater is usually made with undyed cream-colored “bainnin” sheep’s wool, and is even occasionally weaved with unwashed wool that still contains natural sheep lanolin, making it water-repellent. There is debate about when island residents first started making the sweaters, but the popular story is that each family had a sweater with a unique design, so that if a fisherman in the family drowned and was found later on the beach, the body could be identified. In other seafaring nations, sailors and fishermen wore a gold ring in their ear, and if washed up to shore in a foreign land, the gold ring would pay for the funeral.

Cliff Diving: Ka’anapali Beach

The history dates back nearly 250 years to the legend of the king of Maui — Kahekili II — who would demonstrate his bravery by diving 400 feet into the sea from a cliffside Black Rock. Kahekili would force his warriors to do the same; showing him that they were fearless, loyal, and bold. The very same iconic Black Rock still stands at Ka’anapali Beach. The feat is emulated once a day when a diver stands at the top of the rock, recites a Hawaiian chant, offers a torch and lei to the ocean, then leaps into the sea without making a splash. I was impressed how the Ka’anapali Beach Resorts embraced traditional Hawaiian history and culture. And, after a day of activities, there was no better way to enjoy cocktail hour while marveling at the man’s heroic dive.

6 Destinations with Sunscreen Bans

The U.S. Virgin Islands recently announced a ban on chemical sunscreens that are harmful to coral reefs, outlawing all imports and sales of sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate. The bill was signed into law in July 2019, and its terms will go into effect in March 2020.

Famous Hawaiian Quotations

Hawaii is not a state of mind, but a state of grace. — Paul Theroux

The loveliest fleet of islands that lies anchored in any ocean. — Mark Twain

Hawaii is paradise. It sounds cheesy to say it, but there’s music in the air there. — Bruno Mars

Hawaii is the only place I know where they lay flowers on you while you are alive. — Will Rogers

That greeting is Aloha – love, I love you, my love to you. Good day — what is it more than an impersonal remark about the weather? How do you do – it is personal in a merely casual interrogative sort of way. But Aloha! It is a positive affirmation of the warmth of one’s own heart-giving. My love to you! I love you! Aloha! — Jack London

Drowning

Drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional injury-related death, accounting for 7 percent of all injury-related deaths. This issue is truly a matter of life and death for children and adults around the world.

On the Beach at Fontana

by James Joyce

Wind whines and whines the shingle,
The crazy pierstakes groan;
A senile sea numbers each single
Slimesilvered stone.

From whining wind and colder
Grey sea I wrap him warm
And touch his trembling fineboned shoulder
And boyish arm.

Around us fear, descending
Darkness of fear above
And in my heart how deep unending
Ache of love!

Send Deb your favorite travel poems

Most Popular Beach Vacation Activities Worldwide

Walking: 70%
Swimming: 65%
Sunbathing: 53
Reading: 48%
Napping: 47%
People-watching: 45%
Listening to music:39%
Drinking alcohol: 39%
Getting a massage/spa treatment: 30%
Partying: 25%

— Statista Research Experts.

Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin: American author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, diplomat, Founding Father and swimmer. Franklin was an avid swimmer throughout his life and an early advocate for the benefits of the sport. As a result of this passion, he invented swim fins when he was just 11 years old; they are regarded as being his earliest invention. He wrote, the exercise of swimming is one of the most healthy and agreeable in the world. His advocacy for swimming was recognized by his induction into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1968.

Captain Webb: The First Person to Swim the English Channel

On August 24, 1875, Captain Matthew Webb of Great Britain becomes the first man to successfully swim the English Channel without assistance. After the feat, Webb became an international celebrity, admired for both his prowess in the water and his penchant for risk-taking.

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Earliest Snorkels were Hollow Reeds

The earliest free divers can be traced back to 3000 B.C. and they were the sponge farmers in a Greek island called Crete. The modern snorkel was developed later but the earliest snorkels were just hollow reeds.

Embracing Solitude & Other Beach Quotations

To go out with the setting sun on an empty beach is to truly embrace your solitude. — Jeanne Moreau

To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me — Isaac Newton

We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop. — Mother Teresa

Even castles made from sand fall to the ocean. — Jimi Hendrix

Coconuts Kill More People Than Sharks

“Coconuts kill around 150 people worldwide each year, which makes them about ten times more dangerous than sharks,” says Brent Escott, managing director of Club Direct.

The news follows reports from Queensland, Australia, that coconut trees are being uprooted by local councils fearful of being sued for damages by people injured by coconuts.

Scuba Diving

In 1942, during the German occupation of France, Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Émile Gagnan designed the first successful and safe open-circuit scuba, a twin hose system known as the Aqua-Lung. Their system combined an improved demand regulator with high-pressure air tanks. This was patented in 1945.

The Sea

The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides, and in its depths it has its pearls too. — Vincent Van Gogh.

The Dylan Thomas Trails and Wales Coast Path

Spread across South West Wales, the Wales Coast Path showcases quaint small towns, and the remarkable land and seascapes which inspired Dylan. The Gower Peninsula features the fishing village of Mumbles and the stunning beach of Rhossili, where Dylan would camp and often walk the Gower cliffs. Two of his best loved short stories, ‘Extraordinary Little Cough’ and ‘Who Do You Wish Was With Us?’ are set in ethereal Rhossili. If you’d like to hike further, the 870 mile long Wales Coast Path spans the length of the Welsh coastline.

Origin of Polynesians

There is no definitive answer to the origin of Polynesian people, though everyone seems to offer an opinion. Many believe the Polynesian cultures descended from a single proto-culture established in the South Pacific by migrant Malayo-Polynesian people, while others point to the Easter Islands. Everyone seems to agree that these ingenious explorers were ultra-sophisticated sailors, with a highly complex navigational system based on the observation of the stars, ocean swells and flight patterns of birds. Their primary vessel was a 50 to 60 feet long canoe, consisting of two hulls, connected by lashed crossbeams. A precursor to the modern catamaran, the sails were made of matting drove. Long steering paddles enabled the mariners to keep it sailing on course. The canoes could accommodate roughly two dozen people, food supplies, livestock, and planting materials, essential for the long expeditions and the eventual founding of new island colonies. Like athletes they would go into vigorous training prior to voyages, even conditioning their bodies to deal with less food and water. — EB

10 of the Most Popular Topless Beaches Around the World

The most popular topless beaches are nice and well-kept, and mainly found over North America, the Caribbean Sea and in Europe. But, as most of us can assume, being at a topless beach definitely isn’t for everybody. But here are the ten most exclusive topless beaches:

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Pearl Hunting & Diving

Pearl hunting, also known as pearling, is the activity of recovering pearls from wild molluscs, usually oysters or mussels, in the sea or fresh water. Pearl diving began in the 1850s on the northern and north-western coast of Australia, and started in the Torres Strait, off Far North Queensland in the 1870s.

Pearl hunting used to be prevalent in the Persian Gulf region and Japan. Pearl diving began in the 1850s on the northern and north-western coast of Australia, and started in the Torres Strait, off Far North Queensland in the 1870s.

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Predicting the Future of Travel in 2040

Allianz Partners’ Futurology Report Predicts Airline Passenger Numbers will Double, ‘Faces’ via Facial Pattern Recognition Systems Will Replace Passports and Boarding Passes

Courtesy Allianz Global Assistance

By the year 2040, international travel will be a faster, easier and more ecologically sustainable activity than ever before, according to a report commissioned by Allianz Partners to help prepare for the travel-related needs of their customers in the future. Allianz Partners is a world leader in B2B2C assistance and insurance solutions, delivering global protection and care, and offers dedicated travel insurance services through the Allianz Travel brand.

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In Robert Flaherty’s brilliant 1934 documentary film, Man of Aran, we see an Irish man smashing limestone rocks to bits, while his wife gathers seaweed from the shore below the island’s steep windswept cliffs. Meanwhile, their young son scavenges for animal manure and precious particles of dirt that have collected between the rocks, blown from the mainland. These four ingredients will be used to create the soil in order to grow potatoes – the family’s main source of subsistence. This is the Aran Islands; a landscape made almost entirely of solid limestone rock. It is a landscape that is so cruel and unforgiving that this poor Irish family must manufacture their very own soil in order to survive. When Flaherty first heard of these stoic people, he knew that their lives fit his theme of cultures fighting for their existence against extreme conditions, and that someday he would make a film about them. When I first viewed his masterful documentary, I knew that I too would someday set foot on the islands. Twenty-years later I finally did.

Back Story – Still Mysterious

Nestled on the western coast of Ireland in the middle of the Wild Atlantic Way, the Aran Islands consist of three separate islands: Inishmore, Inishmann and Inishere. Resting approximately seven miles from the mainland, history to tells us that the Aran Islands were untouched by humans for thousands of years. Virtually nothing is known about the first inhabitants, but it is believed the islands were largely covered by forests, which were cut down to use as fuel and building materials. Unfortunately, this left the soil unprotected and rapid erosion occurred. Analysis of the soil indicates that these early islanders’ solution to the problem was (as listed in first paragraph) to mix seaweed, sand, and animal manure to create soil. When not fishing or farming, early Celtic islanders constructed monumental stone forts at the islands’ most strategic points. Later, when Christianity came to Ireland, churches and monastic sites were built out of stone. The population peaked at around 2500 people before the Irish Famine destroyed the major staple crop of potatoes. Interestingly my life-long islander guide informed me that the Famine never touched the islands. The contrasting points-of-view is typical when in Ireland as one is never quite sure who to believe, but does add to the mysterious nature of the islands.

Today

The islands are easily accessible by ferry from Rossaveal (which is the port when coming from Connemara & Galway) and from Doolin, which is close to the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare. There is also a small flight service to the Aran Islands. Locals no longer create their own soil and reliable electricity has come to the Aran, but the islanders – the most rugged-looking people that I have ever encountered – are a hospitable group who are proud to share their history and culture with you. Tourism is now their largest form of income, and visitors come from all over the globe to experience this unique world of primitive forts, medieval churches and dramatic scenery. For centuries, islanders spoke only Gaelic, but today’s residents are fluent in both Irish and English, using Irish when speaking amongst themselves and English when interacting with visitors. Due to their isolated location at the very edge of Europe, the Aran Islands are naturally detached from the rest of the world and have maintained unique customs and ways of life for centuries.

With a population of around 900 people, Inishmore (Inis Mór – the Big Island) is the largest of the Aran Islands, approximately eight miles-long by two and a half-miles wide. If you have just a day, this is the island you must see. Its principal village is Kilronan where you’ll find tour guides, horse drawn carriages and bicycle rentals waiting as soon as you get off your ferry. The Aran Islands’ relatively flat landscape makes an ideal setting for walkers of all levels, while the 30-minute bike ride from the pier to Dún Aonghasa is one of the most popular cycling routes in all of Ireland. Before you depart on your tours, stop by Ionad Arann Heritage Centre, a three minute walk from the village of Kilronan, an excellent visitor’s center, which provides a good introduction and guided tour taking you back more than two thousand years in the life and times of the Aran Islands.

The center demonstrates the art of currach making – a traditional island boat made by stretching a fabric over a sparse skeleton of thin wooden/wicker laths, then covered in tar. The currach has been used on the islands for centuries and is designed to battle the rough seas that face the open Atlantic Ocean. Flaherty was fascinated to find that the Aran fishermen would not learn to swim, since they knew they could never survive any sea that swamped a currach, and would drown without a struggle. His filming of the dramatic shark-hunt – whose liver the islanders would boil to make lantern oil – was a centerpiece of his staged documentary.

The most impressive site on all of the islands is Dún Aonghasa (anglicized Dun Aengus), a 14 acre semi-circle stone fort positioned on the edge of a cliff that falls 300 ft. straight down into the ocean. It is enclosed by three massive stone walls, complete with a remarkable network of dagger-like limestones set vertically outside the walls to deter attackers. To this day, no one is quite sure of the origins of this mysterious stone fort. Excavation has revealed extensive evidence of human activity dating back over 2,500 years. And, yes, the views are stunning.

The most rock-like of all the islands, Inishere (Inis Óirr – The East Island) is also the smallest of the three islands with a population of 300 people, but there are still plenty of attractions to experience.  The three primary settlements are Baile an Chaisleáin (Castletown), Baile an Feirme (Farm-town) and Baile an Lorgain (Town of the shin-shaped hill). Monuments include the ruins of Saint Kevin’s Church and O’Brien’s Castle, a 15th century tower house that stands within a stone fort. An important Christian pilgrimage site is Tobar Éanna, the holy well of St. Enda, patron saint of the Aran Islands.

Inishmann (Inis Meáin – The Middle Island) is the least tourist-oriented of the Aran Islands, but is still an important stronghold of traditional Aran culture. Highlights include the ancient Kilcanonagh Church and the oval stone fort of Dun Chonchubhair.

What to Buy

The islands are the home of the iconic Aran sweater (known to many as simply ‘the Irish fisherman sweater’). An authentic Aran sweater is made with undyed cream-colored bainin sheeps wool, and is knitted with unwashed wool that still contains natural sheep lanolin, making it water-repellent. It consists of approximately 100,000 painstakingly constructed stitches, and can take the knitter up to sixty days to complete. There is debate about when island residents first started making the sweaters, but the popular story is that each family had a sweater with their own design. When a fisherman drowned and later his battered body washed-up on the shore, he could be identified by the stitch on the sweater. Once again, my guide told me that this was just another example of a romanticized myth. But as John Ford once said, when the legend becomes fact… always print the legend. After all, this is Ireland where myths and folklore only add to the charm and legacy of the Celtic people. The same textured knitting patterns are often used to make socks, hats, vests and even skirts and make wonderful gifts. Make sure that you ask the seller if the sweater was made on the island, for factory-made ones from Galway are starting to be sold at some of the shops. I even found one made in Cambodia.

How to Get There

Aer Lingus has direct flights from LAX to Dublin and Shannon airports. Rent a car, but remember that not only do you drive on the left side of the road, but almost all cars are manuals – so make sure you request an automatic if not you’re not comfortable shifting with your left hand.

Go here for more information on travel to the Aran Islands

Before you go, check out the new book: The Aran Islands: At the Edge of the World, researched and edited by Paul O’Sullivan.

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