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10 Things Travel Websites

How to Create a Haunted House, and Make Money Doing It

Haunted House Halloween Handbook Haunted House Halloween Handbook

Web Watch loves Halloween – more for the experience of visiting what could be used as a local movie set at elaborate haunted house attractions rather than the handing out of candy to neighborhood brats. Because those creative individuals who spend all year working on an immersive Halloween experience really deserve kudos for the effort they put into spending a month scaring the hell out of all their guests. One question that Web Watch wanted to figure out the answer to was HOW MUCH MONEY DO HAUNTED HOUSE ATTRACTIONS MAKE EACH YEAR? Is it a profitable business?  Using some rough math, Web Watch can guess that the following is a reasonable estimate on haunted house earnings:

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Travel TV Video Websites

Video Fun: Travelogue Parodies of PURE MICHIGAN tourism campaign

Backroads and Byways of Michigan

Video and filmmaker John Kerfoot knows funny when he sees it.

And when John first saw the PURE MICHIGAN ads that were put together to promote travel throughout the lovely state of Michigan (as voiced by Tim Allen), it was just a matter of time before John was able to put his own spoof videos together.

NOT SO PURE MICHIGAN is a collection of those parody spots, highlighting… or low-lighting, if you will… some of the not-so-pleasant sides of visiting Michigan’s tourist destinations.

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10 Things food Travel

Claim the FATTY 50 VICTORY in the Fifty Phenomenal Fattiest Foods Challenge


The Fattest Man in America
The Fattest Man in America

Deep-fried Oreo cookies and deep-fried Twinkies are not just a delight to be had at state fairs across the South.

No, unusual deep-fried foods have become a tasty treat that has spread – literally and figuratively – across the country like a delicious fungus, to be treasured.  (Mushrooms, by the way, are also a tasty fungus.  See how clever we are?  No?  Oh well, moving on…)

HEALTH.COM  has decided to embrace the fact that sometimes people want to eat food that tastes good, regardless of whether those foods are actually good for you or not.  So they went out and compiled this list of THE FATTEST FOODS IN THE COUNTRY, one menu item for each of the 50 states.

 No, we’re not passing judgement on anyone who wants to eat these meals.  Web Watch will be one of the first to join in with you, just to be able to say that we did it.  The question that we pose to you, our faithful Web Watch family – who will be the first amongst us to claim the FATTY 50 VICTORY – eating one of each of the following fat-filled items first?

Remember, photos – or it didn’t happen.  So step to it, Web Watch readers!  Hit the road, and chow down on one of these fifty phenomenally fatty foods:

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Travel

Hertz trial service makes returning rental car easier, gets travelers to airport terminal faster

I Love Hertz
I Love Hertz

Web Watch has been talking with a number number of people who have been traveling all over the country recently, and has heard about what HERTZ has been doing as a trial out at Denver International Airport (DEN) this summer. 

As cars are returned to the Hertz Car Return lot by people anxious to get their paperwork taken care of so they can hop onto the shuttle bus to take them to the airport terminal — random Hertz customers are selected to be given “white glove” service:  after being checked in by the helpful Hertz employee, an Aramark contractor then hops into the driver’s seat and drives you and your luggage directly to the terminal.

No need to schlep your baggage from the car return area onto the shuttle bus.

No need to wait for enough people to hop onto the shuttle to make it worthwhile to make that trip.

Depending on the time of day, this service – if rolled out into wide use in Denver or other airports – could save the average traveler 15-30 minutes.

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How To Travel Websites

How to accurately map the state of Michigan to your hand


World Map Wallpaper
World Map Wallpaper

We all know that your right hand (palm up) is the Internationally Known Map of the state of Michigan.

But everyone always points to the wrong part of the hand when saying where they are from, whether it be Detroit, Midland, Flint, Kohler, or Battle Creek.

Everyone is always a little bit off.

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10 Things News Travel

The Manliest City in America is…. Charlotte?


Pink Carolina Panthers Cap
Pink Carolina Panthers Cap

Charlotte, North Carolina – the “Queen City of the South” – has been named the MANLIEST CITY IN THE COUNTRY by Combos snacks.

We know.  Web Watch was shocked too.

This was the same city where the Carolina Panthers’ Fight Song was deemed too cheesy to be played after a touchdown.  No wonder the team struggled for a few years, even posting a 1-15 record one season.  What good is an NFL team without a Fight Song?

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News Travel

Sleeping with your co-worker is okay, as long as it’s for a legitimate business reason


Office Mate - Your Guide to Romance at the Office
Office Mate – Your Guide to Romance at the Office

And by “sleeping with a co-worker”, we mean “share a hotel room with while on a business trip”.

And this has happened to Web Watch more than once, as we’re sure it has happened to many others.

One occasion was due to a winter business trip that required a cross-country flight through a few major snow storms — resulting in delayed… then diverted flights into an overnight stay in a city with very few available hotel rooms.  Luckily, our travel department found an Embassy Suites with one room available – and it allowed for all parties involved to have their own bit of privacy until the next day’s flight.

Another was just a situation where there were more people than available rooms, and everyone in the group was bunked up with another.  Luckily, our hotel buddy decided to hook up with someone they had just met earlier that day, so Web Watch ended up having the entire room to ourselves all night.   I suppose that this one didn’t officially count as sharing a room, but it could have been, so we’ll count it.

In any case, both of these were perfectly good, legitimate business-oriented reasons for co-workers to share a hotel room.   And it ends up that Web Watch was just at the beginning of this new trend in business travel.

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Disney Travel Video

Meet David Rosdeitcher – The Zip Code Man


The Adventures of the ZipCodeMan
The Adventures of the Zip Code Man

David Rosdeitcher has an affinity for numbers, or just a really good memory. He is a street performer from Boulder, Colorado, and his act consists of asking the audience for their zip code.  He then proceeds to tell those people not only what city they’re from, but also about a restaurant or other local point of interest that’s located there.

He’s been called THE ZIP CODE MAN, THE MIGHTY ZIP CODE MAN, and MR ZIP CODE.

As a busker, he earns money based on the tips that people provide from the entertainment he offers.  His pitch line is “give me money, because I know where you live.”  It seems to be effective.