This weekend we look at the fantastic translucent igloos at Hotel Kakslauttanen in Finland, explore international crime statistics and examine the effects of higher oil prices on travel and tourism.
This weekend we take a look at a hotel of transparent igloos that afford a perfect view of the northern lights in Finland.
Thermal Glass Igloos Offer Views of the Northern Lights at Finland’s Hotel Kakslauttanen
How neat is this? Lay in bed and watch the Northern Lights through your transparent thermal ceiling and walls. The Hotel Kakslauttanen staff will even awaken guests to alert them when the lights are shimmering in the skies.
Nestled in the wilderness near Finland’s Urho Kekkonen National Park, Hotel Kakslauttanen has one of the Arctic Circle’s best views of the Aurora Borealis. The sparse trees and complete lack of light pollution reveal millions of stars each night, and during the peak winter months the location offers incredible views of the Northern Lights.
Each glass igloo is fitted with thermal glass walls and ceilings, that insulate the interior to keep it warm and cozy at night. The glass also contains a frost preventative, maintaining crystal clear panoramic views even when temperatures outside drop to -22 degrees fahrenheit. Fitted for two people, the igloos are small enough to be efficiently heated without consuming too much energy.
11 weird things we learned from global crime stats
An off-the-wall look at international crime statistics paints a strange picture of crime around the world. How about it is just as likely to be a victim in your own home as when traveling or that a car in a paid parking lot is just as likely to vandalized as one parked on the street.
Civilization has a vested interest in keeping tabs on uncivilized activity. Crime statistics have been collected all around the globe for centuries to various degrees of precision. These stats paint a clear, data-guided picture of a universal (if unseemly) aspect of humanity. Crime is one our species’ most thoroughly documented activities, and therefore one which we can most accurately attempt to grasp.
The truth is made of numbers.
We’ve picked through the vast reservoirs of facts and figures from around the world in an attempt to make some order of the number jumbo. Some of these findings may challenge your conceptions, while others will reinforce them. But in the end, they are the only authority that matters because detached steely statistics never lie.
Oil higher as Iran threatens to halt exports to 6 EU countries
Travel is taking a hit from higher gasoline prices. Most of America’s travel and tourism depends on gasoline since the preponderance of travel is done by automobile. The latest rise in oil prices combined with what seems to be an anti-energy policies — banning offshore drilling, adding restrictions to coal burning and the nixing proposed pipeline from Canada — doesn’t bode well for one activity, tourism, that generates billions for the nation’s economy.
Pricier oil comes at a delicate time. The job market has begun showing signs of life, and other economic indicators are pointing toward stronger growth. But the recovery remains too halting to easily absorb the shock of sharply costlier oil.
Higher crude prices are likely to translate into higher prices at the gas pump, where drivers already are paying more to fill up. The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline has jumped 13.1 cents to $3.518 in the past month, according to auto club AAA. Some parts of the country have seen even bigger increases, with prices approaching $4 a gallon in parts of California.
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