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Heathrow celebrate Freddie Mercury

It’s not generally common for your former place of work to celebrate your birthday with a dance number, decades after you stopped working there. But London’s Heathrow Airport is pulling out all the stops to celebrate the late Freddie Mercury’s 75th birthday, and is doing so with a choreographed dance routine. Choreographed by Strictly Come Dancing and X Factor choreographer Lyndon Lloyd, the routine is filled with Mercury-esque dance moves and will be performed by baggage handlers at Heathrow’s Terminal 5. Mercury himself worked as a baggage handler at the airport during the time he spent living in Feltham, nearly 50 years ago.

Photo: Daily Mail

In probably the last thing passengers expected while passing through the airport, baggage handlers spontaneously bursted out in dance next to a bag collection point. Other celebratory measures include Queen songs on arrivals boards, and Queen memorabilia to be put on display next month. For some lucky passengers, the most exciting part may be that any flyer bearing the name Freddie, and departing from Terminal 5, will be given access to the British Airways first class lounge. These homages aren’t simply a nod to a former employee, but also to promote the upcoming movie Bohemian Rhapsody, a biographical film chronicling Mercury’s rise to fame, set for release on October 24th.

Photo: Daily Mail

Virinder Bansal, baggage service manager at Heathrow, told Daily Mail, “Freddie Mercury was a truly British icon and I am delighted to Break Free and celebrate his iconic life with my colleagues…we hope passengers at Terminal 5 enjoy our surprising and unique welcome to the UK.”

Photo: Daily Mail

H/T: Daily Mail

More like this: The 10 best airports in Europe to travel through

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Guide to slang from Maine

Like most Mainers, I grew up in a small, homogenous town. I didn’t know most terms on this list were unique until I moved away to college and had to constantly explain that I didn’t think something was evil or sinister when I said it was “wicked” or that when we partied in “the pit” in high school, it wasn’t actually a large hole that we all clambered down into. These words are as much a part of us as our love of seafood and summer nights around a campfire. So, if you’re ‘from away’, you’ll need to brush up on these if you have any hope of blending in. Here are 13 phrases to know before visiting Maine.

1. From away

One of the most widely used phrases you’ll find in Maine, referring to someone who wasn’t born and raised in Maine. For some, it’s more extreme than that and they’ll go back generations for a cut-off, but let’s keep it simple. People from away can be easily identified by their accent, lack of knowledge about where to pick the best fiddleheads, and inability to get all of the meat out of a lobster.

2. Ayuh!

An informal agreement that basically means ‘yes.’ Most commonly heard from the 40+ crowd in Downeast Maine. It’s also probably what you imagine when you try to concoct a stereotypical Maine accent.

3. Southern Maine

This is a tricky one dealing with sensitive regional designations. Southern Maine, or the Southern Coast, is the very bottom-most tip of Maine, south of Portland. If you’re from the northern part of the state (think north of Bangor), however, Southern Maine is everything south of where you are — essentially the majority of the state. This phrase is an excellent one to wield if you’re looking to blend in regionally — but beware of the wrath of a mid-coaster if you tell them that they live in Southern Maine.

4. The County

Speaking of regions, this is one that’s universally recognized. It is, of course, referring to Aroostook County, the ‘crown of Maine,’ and the largest county east of the Mississippi. It’s a place where the moose population is larger than the human one and it wouldn’t be strange to hear French being spoken at the local diner.

5. You can’t get there from here (he-ah).

First of all, every Mainer travels with a Delorme Maine Atlas and Gazetteer, so we can probably figure out a route. But our craggy coastline and endless forests do make it pretty difficult to get places quickly. So just do yourself a favor and pick up a Gazetteer, instead of receiving this incredulous response when asking for directions.

6. Wicked

Ah, the quintessential Mainer word. This is going to be thrown around more often than you can keep track as it can be used alone or as a modifier. Dollar shots in the Old Port? Wicked! The Black Bears’ goalie is on fire tonight? He made a wicked save! Probably a throwback to New England’s Puritan ways, it’s certainly one of the most pervasive terms in this collection.

7. Italian

Confusingly, this is normally not referring to someone from Italy. Rather, it’s the name for a very specific type of sandwich that you typically find in saran wrap at gas stations and bait shops. Imagine this, a white hoagie roll with ham, American cheese, thinly sliced onions, green peppers, tomatoes, black olives, sour pickles, and oil — add salt and pepper if you’re feeling deluxe. Pro tip — it’s best eaten in a canoe while fishing.

8. Steamers

Clams! Specifically, soft-shelled clams steamed in water (or white wine, butter, and shallots — you’re welcome). Delicious, meaty, and best fresh with an ocean view.

9. To bang a (insert direction here)

Now hold on, this is not going where you think it is. In Maine, “to bang a…” means to make a quick move, most likely in a vehicle. “Bang a left” or “bang a right,” and for advanced speakers, “bang a uey” (make a U-turn). It’s crucial terminology for when you’re about to miss the last exit to get gas for the next 60 miles.

10. Beater

Again, not what you think it is. This term refers to an old, barely running, but weirdly resilient vehicle. It could be a car, but it’s most likely a pick-up truck with a manual transmission. It probably hasn’t passed an inspection in years. Many Mainers learn how to drive in a beater, most likely on dirt roads.

11. Dinner vs. supper

Dinner, historically the larger meal of the day, is served at noon (aka lunch). Supper is served in the evening. Some believe that this may be derived from our French Canadian and Acadian Mainers who eat ‘souper’ in the evening, a lighter meal typically centered around soup. Whatever the case, it’s good to know in order to avoid any confusion.

12. Same difference

Instead of saying ‘no difference,’ Mainers prefer the oxymoron ‘same difference.’ That’s really all there is to it.

13. Champagne of Maine

Now here we have a double-whammy, the ‘Champagne of Maine.’ It’s also known as ‘fat-ass in a glass,’ and is a typical alcoholic beverage in Maine made of Allen’s Coffee Brandy and milk over ice. Allen’s is the best-selling liquor in the state and it doesn’t top the bestseller list anywhere else in the US. In fact, 85 percent of all Allen’s produced is sold in Maine, even though it’s not from Maine. So maybe it’s possible for something ‘from away’ to find a home here after all.


More like this: 15 differences between a normal friend and a Maine friend

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World's largest Viking ship on tour

If you want to see for yourself what it was like for Leif Erikson when he first crossed the Atlantic ocean around the year 1000, you’re in luck. The world’s largest Viking ship is lurking along the East Coast of the US, and if you catch it when it docks, you can even drink some Viking-inspired whisky aboard while you’re at it.

Affectionately called the Draken, the boat sailed from Norway to Connecticut in July. Since then, it’s sailed to ports in Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and Pennsylvania. But it’s not done yet. The Draken still has six more ports to sail to, including those in Baltimore, Virginia, North Carolina, and Washington DC.

Photo: Draken Harald Hårfagre/Facebook

The ship is named after the first king of Norway, Draken Harald Hårfagre, which translates to Dragon Harald Fairhair. It’s 115 feet long, 26 feet wide, and has a 79-foot-tall mast that supports an 850-square-foot silk sail. The Draken is the brainchild of Norwegian Sigurd Aase, and it was built using old Viking boat-building techniques with more than 10,000 iron nails, oak planks, plenty of tar, hemp rope, and silk.

Photo: Draken Harald Hårfagre/Facebook

Back in the day, seeing a Viking ship headed toward your port was bad news. It meant plunder, death, and destruction. With the Draken, it just means a whale of a good time. While the 32 crew members aren’t the type of Vikings who strike fear in the hearts of villagers, they sure do sail like it. They sleep under tents on the top deck and row the oars when the wind is light. The tar keeping the Draken watertight is everywhere. We’re not saying you’re going to get tarred and feathered on a quick visit, but there’s a good chance you’ll leave the boat with some tar somewhere on your body. Plan your visit right, though, and you’ll also leave with some whisky.

Highland Park, a Scotch whisky distillery based on the island of Orkney, is sponsoring the Draken’s trip and offering whisky tastings.

“Our founder Magnus Eunson was a direct descendant of the Vikings who settled on Orkney over 1,000 years ago, and today, our whisky continues to be crafted in the old way by a new generation of Vikings,” Martin Markvardsen, Highland Park’s brand ambassador, said.

Photo: Draken Harald Hårfagre/Facebook

If this all sounds like something you can’t miss — the boat, the history, the whisky, or even the tar — then you can check out when the Draken’s next stopovers are on the ship’s Expedition America East Coast Tour website.


More like this: 7 actually cool cruises that are nothing like the ones your parents take

The post The world’s largest Viking ship is touring the East Coast, and it looks insane appeared first on Matador Network.

Run with the bulls in Azores Islands

For a casual spectator, the scene at the marina in the Azorean village of São Mateus da Calheta looks like a typical summer evening on the water. Kids jump from the dock into the gas-slicked water, raising giant plumes of fuel-scented ocean. Boats crowd around the shore, passing beers and grilled meats. Boys and girls flirt in the summertime sunset while vendors sell ice cream, seafood, and drinks from food trucks lining the street.

Then a firework goes off, and all hell breaks loose.

From around a corner, a massive black bull comes charging down the dock, and the crowd leaps into the water to avoid its path. Boys jump atop the marina’s retaining walls, and what’s left of the crowd bum rushes the far end of the dock, screaming and laughing simultaneously.

The bull changes course, now charging the group of men that has snuck up behind it. It runs the other way down the concrete dock, scattering the men into the water. But they’re not safe there. Irritated by their taunts, the bull jumps off the dock into the water, swimming after them as best it can. It might drown were it not for the ropes around its neck, held by four men dressed in white shirts and hats called pastores.

They drag the bull up the boat ramp where children wait with red capes and soccer balls to taunt it some more. One chucks a ball and hits the bull square in the nose. It then pivots and charges the kid, who might be 10 years old. The boy scurries away, jumping back in the water.

Photo: Laura Grier

Terceira: An island that loves its bulls.

The scene along the water at Sao Mateus is called touradas a corda — or bull on a rope. It’s a sort of town vs. bull fight where the pastores each hold one rope as the beast is unleashed on the city streets. They’re the highlight of summer street festivals held in villages throughout Terceira in the Azores Islands. Kinda like your neighborhood BurgerFest, except at the end, a big angry bull goes charging down the street.

The island is big on its bulls since they literally defended the Portuguese island from a Spanish invasion during the 16th century. When King Philip sent the Pedro Valdes to Terceira for a diplomatic takeover, its crew was met by 600 angry bulls and subsequently wiped out. The event is immortalized by an unavoidable 33-foot-tall monument at the entrance to the historic city of Angra do Heroismo, which has bulls that are, shall we say, anatomically correct. This makes some visitors a little uncomfortable, but it also opens up endless possibilities for Instagram captions.

Up in the hills around the coastal villages, bulls and cows fill the landscape. Earlier in the day, we stop by a concrete bullpen by the side of the road where kids are climbing the wall to see what’s inside.

“What’re they looking at?” I ask one of their mothers, who like me is standing on a retaining wall across the street to view from a safe distance.

“They’re picking bulls for the fight tonight,” she tells me. “The meanest ones; they run them in the streets.”

The cowboys inside the pen cajole and corral the bulls into different sections, looking to see which ones try to leap over the wall at the child spectators. One charges straight at a fence, crashing into it as the kids in the street jump back.

“They’ll probably pick him,” the mom tells me.

Photo: Laura Grier

Get video or survive a bull rush? It’s a tough choice.

Back at the marina, the pastores are lining up to bring another bull out onto the streets. They’ll run three bulls tonight, each getting about half an hour to wreak as much havoc as it can before getting herded back into little red transport cages.

I approach a cage that’s ratting like it has a velociraptor that’s trying to escape.

“Bullshit!” Someone yells at me. I look over as one of the pastores — he looks about 21 and a little out of shape to be pulling a bull around — points to the ground. About six inches in front of me is a heaping pile of brown sludge, maybe 18 inches in diameter.

“Bullshit, right,” I say back to him.

He and his fellow pastores wrangle with the bull, each one getting a cord around it so they can exert some control. The ropes provide a bit of a barrier, but people still get hurt all the time.

“Usually, about one person a year dies,” my local guide tells me, as matter of factly as she’d tell me people get speeding tickets. “It’s how the guys prove their manhood.”

This is true. Aside from a couple of curious tourists, there are exactly zero women on the streets when bull number two is released. They all stand somewhat safely on the street above the marina, watching males from five to 50 do what stupid boys do.

After watching the bull lurch towards a lot of people but not actually hit anyone, I’m getting an unfounded sense of safety. I run to the front of the pack where a couple of teenagers in wetsuits are waving at the bull to run their way. Like any good American tourist, I immediately pull out my phone to get some video. Strangely, the locals don’t seem as concerned with documenting their bull run for social media.

Photo: Laura Grier

In the wet hot hysteria of a waterside bull running, my Instagram story isn’t opening as seamlessly as I’d hope. I stop and look down at the screen and try to reset it, then feel a mass of people rushing past. This seems like a good cue to pull my head out of my phone and see what all the fuss is about.

You don’t know terror until you look up and see nothing between you and a giant, charging bull. It’s not exactly the feeling of imminent death — more like the feeling that you’d better find your inner Usain Bolt or the night’s not ending well for you.

This would be the rational thought, anyway. The American tourist’s thought, however, is more like, “This video is gonna look BADASS!”

So naturally, I pull my phone up and try to get a good shot. My feet, however, realize this is an excellent way to end up in the 2018 Darwin Awards and start running. I manage to get up some speed and run past a few slower-moving locals to relative safety. You don’t have to be faster than the bull, after all. You just have to be faster than the slowest person.

Photo: Laura Grier

After getting as close as I care to, I opt to hang back and watch the local guys show their machismo by taunting the big, black beast. The bull eventually gets tired and allows itself to be wrangled back into its cage. For today, anyway, nobody gets gored.

“He gets a few weeks off after this,” my guide tells me while enjoying an ice cream cone from a street above the marina. “The stress is a lot; since he was brave they let him rest.”

Seems fair.

The street fair carries on. Boys, emboldened by their encounter with the bull, approach the girls sitting on the walls as a sort of summertime courtship. The pastores take a well-deserved break while I head to a food truck for a beer.

Photo: Laura Grier

Pamplona it was not, but running through the streets of a small Azorean village with a monstrous bull is still a fierce rush of adrenaline. Though it might not be America’s idea of summer fun — and like all bull-related activities, it’ll likely become controversial if it gains popularity with tourists — it’s a tradition you won’t find anywhere else in the Azores, and one you need to experience on the island. Just maybe leave your camera with someone a safe distance away.


More like this: In the Azores Islands, you can drink tea straight from a volcano

The post You can run with the bulls every week in the Azores Islands appeared first on Matador Network.

Italian islands you haven't heard of

When people think of Italian islands, glamorous isles like Capri just off the Amalfi Coast may come to mind. Then there are the very sizable Sardinia and Sicily. While all of Italy’s islands are stunning, we’re especially fond of the little gems that are mostly unknown outside of Italy.

Literally dozens of isles dot the seas off Italy’s coasts, and each has its own appeal. Some might be perfect for climbing or snorkeling while others are as chic as Capri — but far less crowded. Here are our favorite Italian islands that you’ve probably never heard of.

1. Ponza

Photo: Jack Aiello/Shutterstock

Ponza, located off the west coast of central Italy, gets plenty of summer vacationers from Rome. Despite filling up with so many Italians in warmer months, Ponza sees few foreigners. Its two main towns are the port of Ponza, with its various pastel-hued buildings, and La Pianna, a village on a ridge high above the water.

You can reach beaches near the port on foot, walking under ancient Roman tunnels that are still in use today — but a better option is to take the ferry to such picturesque coves as Spiaggia Di Frontone. The ferry shuttles back and forth from Ponza’s main town all day, but at 6:00 PM, it unloads dozens of teens and twenty-somethings onto the shore just as the sun works its way behind the tall cliffs lining the beach. Families take the cue and board the ferry back to port as a DJ starts spinning ever-louder tunes — turning Frontone Beach into a packed, late-night dance party.

Ruins of ancient Romans’ summer villas exist throughout Ponza, and scholars believe that the island was featured in the Ancient Greek epic The Iliad. Legend has it that the cave where the siren Circe entrapped Odysseus is on the west side of the island, but it’s hard to reach. It might be easier to take a long swim from Frontone to the Grotta degli Smeraldi, another beautiful sea cave.

2. Tavolara

Photo: Francesco Spadafina/Shutterstock

This three-mile-long sliver of land, just off the northwest coast of Sardinia and reachable by ferry, is the most unusual island on this list. It proclaimed itself a kingdom in the late-1800s and was recognized as such by the onetime King of Sardinia. But even members of the same “royal” family couldn’t agree on whether or not the so-called world’s smallest kingdom should really remain one — seeing as one of them left Tavolara for Italy upon her death in 1934 though her nephew claimed to still be regent. The owner of the island’s only restaurant still claims the throne. No matter — the open-air summer restaurant is a nice spot for a drink, and the beach in front of it is the perfect place for a long swim.

Tavolara, which has just a few full-time residents, is essentially a very tall peak housing NATO radio equipment and a flat stretch extending out from it. That stretch has a pleasant walking path through protected dunes leading to snorkeling spots and a petite beach at the end. We recommend sticking to Tavolara’s flat zone. You could try to hike up in the direction of its 1,854-foot peak, as we did, but the mountain eventually gets too steep, and the trail gives way to ropes dangling down sheer limestone walls hundreds of feet above the sea — with none of the safety gear you’d find in an actual rock-climbing locale. You can’t go much further, anyway, as that part of the island is off limits to civilians.

3. Aeolian Islands

Photo: funkyfrogstock/Shutterstock

Some consider these seven islands off the northeast coast of Sicily to be the loveliest of all the Italian islands, and they may well be ones that you’ve actually heard of. They range from dry Panarea to green, vine-studded Salina Island. There is also Vulcano, where you can walk alongside a crater still discharging sulfurous gases, or Stromboli, which is actually a scary, conical volcano emerging from the sea. Guided hikes take you near the top of Stromboli, one of Italy’s three active volcanoes, as the sun goes down, so you can watch it spewing its fiery red contents into the night sky.

Panarea, the second smallest of the islands, is also the poshest, attracting to its inlets the mega-yachts of the world’s superrich. No cars are allowed here, which is nice, but beyond walking on paths to its pristine beaches, there’s not much to do. We recommend Salina, where the volcano has long been dormant and tiny farms, vineyards, and forests green the island. It has the most options for accommodations and several great restaurants in which to savor Sicilian-inspired dishes. After dinner, order a glass of the sweet Malvasia wine.

4. Maddalena Islands

Photo: D.Bond/Shutterstock

The seven Maddalena Islands are located just off the northeast corner of Sardinia. With the exception of the namesake island, Maddalena, most of them feel rugged and remote with quiet coves overlooking turquoise water — and hardly a soul in sight. One reason the isles are still relatively uncrowded is that the US Navy had a presence here until about a decade ago. So, with NATO support and US dollars flowing in, the islands didn’t need to promote themselves to tourists. But the Maddalenas are now open to visitors, so we definitely recommend you get there.

The Maddalena Islands offer you the best of both worlds. The main island of Maddalena, where nearly all of the archipelago’s residents live, is a lively city with shops, cafes, and a hopping nightlife. The other islands are quiet and rugged. A two-minute drive across a bridge from Maddalena takes you to Caprera, which has a wee village with two museums and not much else. Caprepa is more like a state park. You can drive to hidden beach coves that have no commerce save a lovely restaurant for a languid, post-beach lunch. Boats take you to the other islands, like Spargi and Budelli. Budelli is famous for its Spiaggia Rosa, a beach with sand tinted pink from the local marine life. The smaller Razzolli, Santo Stefano, and Cala Santa Maria round out the Maddalena island list.

5. Capraia

Photo: robertonencini/Shutterstock

Italian brochures bill Capraia as Italy’s isola selvaggia, its wild island. It’s the farthest north of the islands on this list, located just off the northern tip of French island Corsica. Capraia has only 300 full-time residents, and most of the five-mile-long island is in fact protected national park. Its lone paved road is a half-mile stretch that connects its only two towns, which are known as the port and the village.

Unlike other Italian islands, where the focus is on beachy activities like lounging, swimming, and snorkeling, many visitors to Capraia come to hike. You can walk short coastal paths and take dips in the sea or head up to Capraia’s guard towers, which were erected in the Middle Ages to guard against invading pirates. A popular trek is the hike to the Zenobito Tower at the uninhabited south end of the island.

6. Pantelleria

Photo: Leone Von Dizic/Shutterstock

This little island in the strait between Sicily and Tunisia houses the villas of such chic Italians as Giorgio Armani, as well as boutique, luxury resorts. Pantelleria is a pretty new volcanic island, geologically speaking, and as such doesn’t have white-sand beaches. It does have a mud beach, though. At Lago di Venere, a protected lake on the north shore of the island, you can cover yourself in mud, let it dry for some minutes, and then rinse off to feel renewed and refreshed.

With its blocky white buildings, Pantelleria looks more North African than Italian and is in fact only 40 miles north of Africa. Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez once marveled that Pantelleria was the best place to admire the moon and gaze at the lighthouses on the African coast. You may find a casual eatery serving North African dishes like couscous — but, despite the nearness to Africa, most of Pantelleria’s restaurants serve Italian fare with an emphasis on wonderfully fresh seafood.


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The post The most amazing islands in Italy you’ve never heard of appeared first on Matador Network.

Hawaii's obsession with Spam

Spam is having a bit of a moment. You may have noticed it slapped across your Instagram feed on everything from pizza to mac and cheese. This sudden trendy resurgence comes after decades of neglect for a product that once filled GIs’ bellies and homemakers’ kitchen cabinets. But while the rest of us were sleeping on this miracle meat, one state in the nation carried on the great tradition of Spam — no, not its home state of Minnesota, but Hawaii.

When Spam hit the market in 1937, it was the first canned meat product that didn’t require refrigeration, making it an easy choice for soldiers’ rations. During World War II and the Korean War, GIs carried it to every corner of the Pacific. In addition to Hawaii, locals in the Philippines, Guam, South Korea, and other Pacific Islands all took a liking to Spam and quickly adopted it into their own diets, remixing the meat with traditional dishes and reimagining Spam’s potential. Today, Hawaiians consume seven million cans each year while residents of Guam burn through 16 cans per person per year, according to Hormel Foods Corporation, which produces Spam.

Photo: Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock

It’s Hawaii’s steak… and sushi.

In Hawaii, where Spam is known as the “Hawaiian steak,” Spam-based dishes emerged during the mid-century, borrowing from both traditional American dishes and a medley of immigrant East Asian cuisines that influence the archipelago. You’ll find it most commonly in Spam musubi, a variant of Japanese onigiri made of grilled Spam pressed into a square with white rice and wrapped in nori. Spam fried rice (sometimes served with kimchi) is another adaptation of an Asian dish, but Spam with eggs comes straight from American diners. Then there’s the ultimate comfort food, loco moco, in which Spam teams up with a hamburger patty on top of white rice and is topped with brown gravy and a fried egg.

Photo: P Lansing/Shutterstock

Chefs like Korean-American Roy Choi of LA’s hippest Korean restaurants and Hawaiian Ravi Kapur of San Francisco’s Liholiho Yacht Club have spread the gospel of Spam across the country by adapting it into Instagram bait. But long before mainlanders caught on to Spam’s retro cool and viral potential, Hawaiian chefs were experimenting with the canned meat.

Photo: Spam Jam

The largest Spam festival in the world.

For the past 16 years, food festival Spam Jam Waikiki on the island of Oahu has showcased chefs putting innovative spins on Spam. Toby Tamaye, marketing director for the festival, says it’s the largest one-night food festival in the state, and Hormel recognizes it as the largest Spam festival in the world. What began as a block party among a few chefs has transformed into a massive event. In 2017, 35,000 visitors and locals attended the Jam, which now fills six blocks of Waikiki’s bustling Kalakaua Avenue.

Tamaye explains Spam Jam has served as a rare opportunity for chefs and locals alike to explore the many possibilities of Spam. “A lot of restaurants don’t normally do Spam,” he says. “Spam is definitely a big part of casual dining and fast food. Our McDonald’s has Spam, and our Jack in the Box has Spam. But people usually cook it at home, so there’s not really a big demand when people go to restaurants for Spam.”

Photo: Spam Jam

Spam cheesecake, anyone?

That all changes at Spam Jam, when chefs can go wild with the meat product. Traditional Spam musubi sits alongside innovative recipes drawing on every cuisine represented in the state. Tamaye says, “We have Spam dim sum, Spam katsu on a stick, Spam fries with dipping sauces. We have takoyaki and gyoza filled with Spam. We even have Spam popsicles, Spam cupcakes, Spam cheesecakes. We have Chinese, we have Mexican, we have local cuisine, we have Thai, we have Japanese.” Hormel even uses Spam Jam as a testing ground for new products before releasing them nationally. As Tamaye explains, “Half of the people there are local, and if they like it, Hormel knows it works.”

And the Spam fanaticism at Spam Jam extends well beyond eating. Mascots bounce around in human-sized cans, cheeky accessories let visitors show off their brand devotion, and Tamaye even recalls a Spam-themed wedding held at the festival in 2018.

Photo: Spam Jam

Plan your travels around Spam.

It may be a long time before mainlanders develop enough passion for Spam to incorporate the meat in holy matrimony, but Hawaiians are happy to school curious diners who want to hop on the bandwagon. Tamaye routinely fields inquiries from travelers all over the globe who are planning their next trip to Hawaii around Spam Jam. So if all of this Spam talk has you craving a legit Spam musubi or Spam cupcake, then you should start planning your trip now to visit the real home of all things Spam.


More like this: 9 awesome museums completely dedicated to your favorite foods

The post Hawaii was obsessed with Spam way before it was cool on Instagram appeared first on Matador Network.

United Airlines launches new contest

Americans are known around the world as incredibly hard workers. They’re also known for letting millions of vacation days go unused every year — a problem that can lead to burnout. United Airlines wants to do something about it, so it’s sending one overworked American and their closest companion to Tahiti for a week of beachside relaxing over tropical cocktails.

Via United’s website, you can nominate an overworked employee in dire need of a holiday — and yes, that overworked employee can be yourself. Entries will be judged by United and Project Time Off. The giveaway program conveniently coincides with the October 30th kickoff of United’s new nonstop service between San Francisco and Papeete, Tahiti, meaning you won’t even have to spend time on a layover en route to your much-needed vacay.

In addition to roundtrip airfare, United is covering three nights at the Intercontinental Tahiti Resort and Spa, two nights at the Intercontinental Moorea Resort and Spa, and an additional two nights at Maitai Rangiroa. They will shuttle you between the islands and throw in an excursion in either Tahiti or Moorea. Plus, you’ll receive a prepaid card loaded with $2,000 to cover additional expenses. The only thing the airline won’t do is approach your boss about taking the time off — you’ll have to figure that one out for yourself.

The deadline for applying is September 25th, and the winner will be announced October 11th. The airline wants to know, in 300 words, why the person you’re nominating is the country’s hardest worker — maybe it’s been years since that last vacation, or perhaps they just wrapped up a major project that required immense overtime hours. No matter the reason, apply here before you get so burned out that you can’t even type a few hundred words.

H/T: Travel and Leisure

More like this: Boracay, the world’s dreamiest island, is set to reopen to tourists

The post If you’re overworked, United Airlines will send you to Tahiti appeared first on Matador Network.

Get paid $10,000 to ski

Being a ski bum isn’t a dead end path any longer. Ski.com is hiring one fortunate ski or snowboard aficionado for what they’ve appropriately dubbed an “Epic Dream Job.” If chosen, you’ll travel the world for two months shredding powder and experiencing 18 different mountain resorts along the way.

The chosen one will travel to seven countries on three continents in a two-month span this winter, experiencing the best of Vail Resorts’ famed Epic Pass — the worldwide ski pass that provides access to over 40 ski resorts around the world. The itinerary reads like a lifetime bucket list for avid powder hounds, stopping at resorts in the United States, Canada, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, France, and Japan.

It’s not just the on-mountain part that makes this the gig of a lifetime. Top ski brands from Helly Hansen to Oakley to Rossignol will deck you out with brand new gear, and GoPro will hook you up with a camera and equipment to document the journey. There’s also a $10,000 paycheck, but you won’t have time to spend it between all of the awesomeness this trip promises. “We have been in the business of ski travel for 47 years and even our team of experienced, well-traveled Mountain Travel Experts haven’t been on a ski trip this epic,” said Ski.com’s Chief Marketing Officer Dan Sherman in a press release. “We are excited to partner with the Epic Pass and other iconic ski and travel brands to hire an adventurer who will highlight what it’s like to literally travel around the world on a single ski trip.”

The application period runs from September 5th to October 15th, and you must submit a video telling the staff at Ski.com why you deserve the position. If this is how you’d like to spend your winter, get your video equipment ready and apply here. If you prefer to show off your social media savvy, post your application video on Instagram and tag @skicom and @epicpass and be sure to use the hashtag #EpicDreamJob. The winner will be announced on October 30th.


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How to baffle a Wisconsinite

Wisconsinites are a bright bunch. We know when it’s the right moment to switch from brandy to beer and we do pretty well on national education rankings. But some things still leave us befuddled. Whether it’s the assumption that we’re all German or the lack of knowledge surrounding the monumental importance of our state football team, here are 10 ways to confuse a Wisconsinite.

1. Praise the cheese selection in an out-of-state store.

If your grocery store doesn’t have at least an entire aisle dedicated to this dairy product, expect blank stares from Wisconsinites. After all, in Wisconsin there are 11 types of Sartori Bellavitano alone!

2. Say you don’t have anything to do during the summer.

With a different festival or event practically every day or night of the summer, there’s no excuse to not have plans and stay inside when you could be out enjoying the universe’s way of apologizing for winter.

3. Ask us who we’re cheering for during a Packers game.

In a state where people are added to the waiting list for season tickets at birth (and still have to wait 30 years), this is a silly question and will cause cheeseheads to look around for another TV set.

4. Assume everyone in Wisconsin has German heritage.

It’s true that Milwaukee is known as the US’s German city and many residents have last names that surely used to have umlauts. But, this is an old-fashioned cliché. After all, the lederhosen-wearing Brett Wurst is just one of five racing sausages at Brewers games.

5. Ask if the Packers’ third color is orange.

Wisconsinites are so accustomed to seeing people walk around in hunters’ orange (especially when you want to keep warm!) that they will have no idea what you’re talking about when you ask about the green, gold, and orange colors they observe at Lambeau Field.

6. Invite us to a game and then tell us to meet right before kick-off.

If there’s no tailgating involved, we’re missing half of the experience. Rain, shine, or extreme blizzard, we’ll be there. No parking lot should be empty.

7. Assume we’ve never eaten a decent taco before.

It may be true that Wisconsinites love brats and beer just as much as any resident of Munich, but that doesn’t mean that’s all we eat. The state is full of an increasingly diverse population who have brought their rich culinary traditions with them, ensuring that many cheeseheads finally see Taco Bell for what it really is.

8. Put your grill away in the winter.

Grilling is a year-round affair. Why would you settle for mediocre stove-cooked meat for any part of the year?

9. Say that Cape Cod is the best place to vacation by the water.

Why vacation on a cape when you could on a peninsula? For many Wisconsinites, vacation doesn’t get much better than Door County.

10. Ask a Packers fan to recall the last year we won a Super Bowl.

Packers fans are so convinced of the team’s greatness that even though we haven’t gone all the way since 2011, it kind of always feels like we’re winners. Make a cheesehead sit down and actually count the years and prepare to see a perplexed expression eventually emerge.


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Daylight saving time to be abolished

The EU government may not be powerful enough to make it summer time all year round, but it can easily make the winter months a lot more bearable for the 28 countries of the union.

Since 1996, EU countries have moved clocks forward one hour in March, and back one hour in October, but that may soon be coming to an end. Constituents in the EU have long asked for daylight saving to be abolished, which would result in clocks not being turned back in the winter, and, on Friday, the European Commission officially decided to pressure the EU parliament and member states to abolish daylight saving.

The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told the German ZDF network that “the people want that, and we will make it happen,” citing widespread support for the new time policy. EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc echoed that sentiment, claiming that 84 percent of the 4.6 million who took part in the EU Commission’s consultation are in favor of the proposal. The EU Parliament and member states would still need to approve the new policy, and may impose other changes to the system as well.

The time shift would mean darker mornings, but that seems to be a sacrifice EU citizens are willing to make for brighter and longer evenings.

There are, however, some potential complications that could result from the time change. It could mean that non-EU member Northern Ireland would run on a different time than the Republic of Ireland for seven months out of the year. The same could also be true of mainland Britain after Brexit. These are not insurmountable obstacles to the policy’s passage, but could generate some stubborn opposition, or affect the smoothness of the process.

H/T: CBC News

More like this: Here is why you should visit Europe in the dead of winter

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