None of the photographs on this post are the product of PhotoShop manipulation. So what’s the blue luminescence you see around these swimmers and kayakers? That’s the result of the natural properties of Puerto Rico’s Laguna Grande. The Laguna Grande—colloquially referred to as the “Bioluminescent Bay” or simply the “Bio Bay”—is a relatively small and shallow body of water with a very narrow opening to the ocean and an extensive mangrove forest at i... Read Full Story

You don’t need to be as fast as the Kenians. You don’t need to challenge “Ultramarathon Man” Dean Karnazes on a 100 miles race. Running a marathon or a half marathon or a shorter race is more a personal challenge than a struggle against the clock. And you can enjoy the tourist experience as well, it’s called sightseeing on the run. Crossing the Brandenburg Gate at the Berlin Marathon or entering the Panathinaikon Stadium in Athens will leave you breathless (OK, t... Read Full Story

November marks the start of the high season for many of the world’s warm weather destinations. Travel to places like Thailand, Turkey and the Caribbean starts to get expensive. Meanwhile, the ski season in Europe and North America prepares to get into high gear. Fortunately, there are good travel deals and discounts to be found. Here’s a selection of a few of our favorites. As always, you can stay updated on our latest travel deal posts by . . . • going directly to our travel hot... Read Full Story

Looking for something to wear to your next costume party? If you have a car battery, spare 42-inch LCD TV—and a whole lot of time—you could go as an oversized working Apple iPhone. That’s what Reko Rivera and Bobby Hartman did. Two years ago they developed an iPhone costume that simply played a looped video of an iPhone on a wearable TV screen. Not content with that, the duo recently decided to set about creating a “working” wearable iPhone that would respond to user input.... Read Full Story

Did you know that humans have been wearing footwear of some form or another for as many as 40,000 years now? And that it’s only been in the last 200 years that shoes have been designed with differentiation for left and right feet? You needn’t necessarily be a fashionista to appreciate the astonishing variations in footwear over the ages. You need only to bring your curiosity to one of the two dozen-ish museums around the world dedicated to design of the shoe. Here’s a look... Read Full Story

You may have heard the term flashpacking, the act of traveling in the spirit of a backpacker but with the budget of one more monied. Well, from the Netherlands comes what might be the ultimate in flashcamping—a portable, wood-burning spa. The Dutchtub is a personal hot-springs-to-go. If you have a tub-sized patch of flat ground, wood and 200 gallons (750 liters) worth of water or snow you can have your own spa virtually anywhere. Here’s how it works: Fill your tub with water via a... Read Full Story

Spot Cool Stuff does not understand why most of the world’s alarm clocks wake their owners with a jarring buzz or annoying beep. We can imagine some worse ways to be awoken—eg. via cobra bite, bucket of cold water or missile attack—but not many. Imagine instead being woken by the sound of birds chirping, wind chiming, jungles jungling (or by the radio playing or whatever tune you wish from your iPod) as a soft bedside light gradually brightens over a period of several minutes. That... Read Full Story

As fans of the hit ABC television series LOST watch the riveting drama about a group of airplane crash survivors on a mysterious island they often ponder questions of love, fate and survival. What exactly is the Dharma Project? and What do those numbers mean? are questions almost every LOST fan has asked themselves. They inevitably also ask Where exactly are all these gorgeous tropical scenes filmed? The vast majority of LOST was set in various locations around Hawaii. Even many of the locati... Read Full Story

Since the early 1960s the Italian island of Sardinia has been a popular destination for the international jet set. The beautiful landscape, the clear blue sea, the amazing archeaology (such as the 3,000-year-old megalithic edifices that are the Nuraghi) and the friendly locals are all part of the attraction. The island’s ultra-excluvie hotels are also a major reason for Sardinia’s luxury appeal. So what are Sardinia’s most posh hotel rooms like? Here’s our peek into th... Read Full Story

Japan’s capital city can be a tough place for a cat lovers to live. Small apartments, long work hours and restrictive housing codes make it difficult for Tokyoians (Tokyoites? Tokyoids?) to keep cats at home. No wonder then that the city is seeing an increasing number of cat cafes—lounges where the felineless drink a coffee while they find some catisfaction. Tokyo only has seven different cat cafes that we know of (and there are probably many more than that). Here’s a look at our ... Read Full Story