Throughout the week, our team shares articles they’ve stumbled upon that may interest our readers, even if they might not otherwise merit a full post. Here are some of the posts we found interesting this week: Social Media requirement for some visitors to the US, ideal cruise ship size, Dracula World, and a Sea Horse National Park.
Gary’s article takes a closer look at something that’s gotten a bit of virality lately. In short, visitors to the US from certain countries who intend to make use of the ESTA electronic visa will now need to complete that application with a mobile device, and will have to “Provide their social media from the last 5 years”. As Gary points out, that’s a sort of confusing instructional phrasing that may not require revealing specific messages and posts, but instead simply social media handles, though the specifics aren’t clarified, and that lack of clarity is disconcerting. If I saw this on a visa form, I know I’d feel a little confused (and a bit freaked out as well).
Revealed: The ideal cruise ship size, according to passengers
Cruise.co.uk surveyed 700 passengers and discovered that guests’ favorite option is a mid-size ship (with room for 1,001 to 2,500 guests). 41 percent selected this as their preferred ship size, while only 9 percent prefer the larger ships with 4,000+ guest capacities. This seems like kind of bad news for the Royal Caribbean’s new “Star of the Seas” with capacity for 8,000!
New theme park Dracula Land in planning
I know this theme park is still in (early) planning phases, but I really hope it comes to fruition so I can somehow experience the culmination of my love for the spooky, my love for roller coasters, and even my love of bats (with at least two bat-themed rides!) And what better place for a Dracula themed park than Romania, (Gherghita, Romania to be specific)? I know better than to get too excited, however, as this idea seems to exist so far only as a website with an investor pitch and concept art. Even so, it’s fun to browse and daydream. The park (if it successfully gets built) will include a water park / thermal spa component somewhat reminiscent of the Therme Bucharest, which Nick visited during his Million Mile Madness travels last year. It will also include a Metaverse component for virtual engagement. I hope the project meets its funding goals so I can visit in 2026/2027 for their target open date.
I’ve been lucky enough to spend quite a lot of time snorkeling, mostly in my early nomad days in Bali, Fiji, French Polynesia, the Cook Islands, Guam, Saipan, Mexico, Egypt, and, more recently, Malta. I’ve seen everything from sharks to moray eels, but one of my favorite sightings was the teeny tiny, unassuming sea horse I saw about a foot below my nose in Guam. The water was shallow, and it took a considerable amount of focus just to ensure my limbs were floating high enough above the thick floor of sea urchins and coral. A noticeable rhythm of waves made this effort even more difficult, and it was in this dizzying state of focus that I caught sight of the tiny sea horse, swaying in the water’s motion along with me. I had to look closely to distinguish the sea horse from the tiny sea plants it clung to, but we swayed together in the water long enough for me to see it clearly. A creature this small and capable of camouflage is quite lucky to see in the wild. But the Sweetings Pond in Eleuthera, a landlocked lagoon with underground connections to the ocean, has a startlingly large density of sea horses, making them much easier to spot. So prevalent are these creatures that this cove and the surrounding area have now become “Seahorse National Park”. But ensuring your own sea horse sighting will still be very difficult, as the only access will be via two 4-day expeditions led by the Relais & Châteaux property. For now, these expeditions are part fundraiser and part scientific expedition.
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And if the answer was “I don’t have any” (like me)? I could see that sounding like a lie in this day and age.
Or even better, “I run through a series of burner accounts to view memes on an as needed basis.”
wellp I’m not getting in.
I have had the same thought if I ever get asked this question going into another country. I wonder if it is too late to sign up for a Friendster account.
Wow social media history requirement seems like a complete violation of our 4th amendment.
That whole “rule of law” and living under a Constitution idea was nice while it lasted.
Hello fellow theme park enthusiast. I was surprised to see the words “Dracula World” in the email this morning. You should definitely check out Dark Universe at Universal Epic Universe if you haven’t (that’s a lot of universe).