How Luggage Got Its Wheels

40 years ago this month, wheeled luggage was born.

So why did it take so long for wheeled luggage to emerge? Mr. Sadow recalled the strong resistance he met on those early sales calls, when he was frequently told that men would not accept suitcases with wheels. “It was a very macho thing,” he said.


But it was also a time of huge change in the culture of travel, as a growing number of people flew, airports became bigger and far more women began traveling alone, especially on business trips. It had taken a long time, but common sense and the quest for convenience prevailed. The suitcase acquired wheels; travelers no longer routinely needed porters and bellhops.

Read the whole thing here.

(credit: SwissMiss)

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Traveltalks – 1948 Chicago the Beautiful

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Traveltalks – 1948 Chicago the Beautiful
I just came back from Chicago and came across James A. Fitzpatrick’s Traveltalks on Chicago. How Fitting!

(credit: Uniglory)

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fasten seatbelts

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Fasten Seatbelts is an instructional site on rising the awareness of customs while traveling to other countries
I love how they used their graphics to make it funny and informative.

You can get yourself in all sorts of trouble in other countries by not having
an understanding of their cultural language. Much of our behaviour can mean
other things in other countries, some of it amusing, some of it extremely offensive.

One gesture, or movement, or expression, may have many different meanings,
just as our verbal language has words which may have different meanings.

Some people, when travelling to new countries, may forget to consider the different
behavioural norms they are likely to encounter and behave exactly as they do at home.
In such circumstances, even minor cultural differences can become major barriers
to communication and cooperation. This project aims to demystify these cultural
differences and encourage visitors to embrace them.

(credit: SwissMiss)

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iStopover

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iStopover is an alternative to hotels, sketchy vacation rentals and craigslist while traveling
iStopover is a safe way to rent a place while traveling offering more search options, higher quality information, and safer financial transactions. The website is nice too.

Once you type in your dates and where you want to stay, the search offers a highly organized, easy to read list, including a map of all the available locations, so you can pick the exact area you want to stay.

Once you have choosen a place, there are many nice photos of the place so you can get a good idea of what the place looks like, as well as a profile of the owners, long description of the place and area, calendar of availability, amenities and reviews.

The only downfalls I could find smaller cities did not have any listings, but I’m sure as the site grows, the availabilities will rise as well.
(credit: Mashable)

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Yapta!

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Yapta! is another travel website:
But what makes Yapta! different is not only does it track specific flights (the actual flight number & times you want), you can track as many as you want, even on different days. It recognizes that all the flights are going to the same place, roughly around the same time and lumps them in groups for you, easily organized to look at later.

When you start searching for flights, Yapta! allows you to choose up to 3 preferred airlines, then it recommends you the top flights that match your search.


Another feature Yapta! offers is if you have already purchased a ticket from select airlines and the price has dropped, they will help you get a credit from the airline. They have a handy search so you don’t have to go through and find everything yourself.

I’m tracking two flights right now. One to Cancun for my wedding in October so I can keep people informed when the flights are at a good price. And one to Toronto for one of the receptions & christmas. I just received an update from Yapta! by email and it gives me the list of flights and if anything has changed since I started tracking the flights. As well as a link to easily buy the flight.

I usually use Kayak searching for flights, because it checks prices from the “cheap deals” websites as well as airlines, while Yapta! only checks airlines. I think I just like Yapta!’s organization and the way it helps you track the flights you’re looking for.

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