Urban Myths are popularly held beliefs that persist because they are widely talked about, rather than because they are fact. The travel industry has its own myths, so it's worth exploring a few to learn which rumours might lead us to need some cheap travel insurance cover, and which are just misconceptions.
Deadly Ceiling Fans
In Korea, there is a widely held belief that falling asleep in a room with a ceiling fan on is mortally dangerous. The theory goes that unless you open a window, you will die. Although it is a popularly held theory among Koreans, they give only vague explanations including hypothermia, electrocution, Carbon Dioxide poisoning and suffocation. The latter is not too far removed from concerns raised in the Victorian era when the first railway tunnels were being built. Engineers assumed that the rise in air pressure when driving a train into a tunnel would squeeze the breath from the passengers on board. Until the Koreans can dispel or explain their mysterious fan danger to visitors, it might be worth getting some cheap travel insurance before you stay a night in a hot Korean hotel.
Germs on a Plane
Might it be worth getting your travel insurance medical cover just to protect you from what is circulated through the air con? Virologists say no. Apparently the air flow on a plane is not only localised to a few rows, but also filtered as it is dispersed. There's a greater risk of picking up a bug at the boarding gate. But we all know that after a few hours on a plane, the air starts to take on a certain staleness, so it is understandable that this myth will hang around for a while.
Damaging your film with the X-Ray
Since the advent of the digital camera this concern may be in decline, but for those who still use rolls of film, they are right to worry. It turns out that the radiation exposure from multiple runs on the security conveyer can wipe the images from film. The checked luggage is exposed to even higher levels of radiation, so this is not an option. The answer is to ask for a hand inspection of your films at the gate, because no travel insurance can restore your memories to your photo albums.
You Can't Put Your Laptop through the Scanner
Similar to the camera film concern, this myth suggests that an X-ray will scramble your hard drive. The reason why this is not the case is that computers operate with electromagnetic energy, and are not sensitive to light like films are. However, this means that the metal detectors at the airport can do some hefty damage and will cause you to reach for your travel insurance documents.
Just to be clear so there are no mistakes:
Don't put your film through the X-Ray
Don't take your laptop near the metal detector
As for whether or not unisex toilets are common in Scandinavia, that's a rumour for someone else to tackle.
Urban Legend The Movie
Checking around the net for a little information about the chain e-mail dilemma one needs to stop and think for at least two or three seconds. Am I becoming part of the problem, assuming there is one, or part of the solution? The stuff that is describing these chain e-mails is in of itself a chain e-mail.
Try thinking
One listing describes an Abercrombie and Finch chain e-mail as a hoax, and does a nice job at it as well. It shows the chain letter in grey and in nice plain text below the letter it describes it as a hoax. But, hang on those 2 or 3 seconds. What's this in blue? ?E-mail to a friend.? Ok, sure Susie will want to know about this. Hello! Check me if I'm wrong here but isn't this the whole idea of a chain letter in the first place? Think people! Heck, if you need more time print the darn thing out on your Epson printer and post it on your punch board. That's one of the beauties of Epson printers you can print and think. Yes, those were the days. People actually thought about things before they acted (sarcasm.)
Combining death, money and a dead African girl
So, outside of good old Abercrombie and Finch, what is it that gets people to pass along chain letters in today's information age? Threat of death is a big one. Making a bunch of cash is another. But, currently, the possibility of being possessed by a dead African girl is the biggie on MySpace and YouTube. One might think that MySpace and YouTube would be safe from chain mail. Nope, they're hot beds of chain mail.
Unfortunate consequences are more likely on MySpace where the younger set is easy pickings. On YouTube, however, the crowd is not so ready to be taken in. After all, there is the potential for making money, and not through a stinking chain mail threat either. Think about it, dead African girl, possession, making money? As Mickie Rooney might say ?hey kid's let? put on a show?, OOP's sorry, wrong generational reference there. Let's rephrase; as Toby Mquire might say ?hey creative people with to much time on your hands, lets make a YouTube video and sell it to a corporation after getting 2.6 million hits.? Chain e-mails? How pass?, get your web cam out and chain away. Oh, and don't forget to e-mail this to a friend.
Both Patrick Chong & James Kara Murat are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Patrick Chong has sinced written about articles on various topics from Travel Insurance, Travel and Leisure and Travel Insurance. Patrick Chong is the Managing Director of Journey's Travel. Their commercial travel insurance website, Insuremore, offers cheap and a quick and easy online. Patrick Chong's top article generates over 60500 views. to your Favourites.
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