Jaunted - Surrey

What's the Deal with the Boeing 747 Always in the Background of BBC's 'Top Gear?'

JetSetCD — 2011-07-18T11:33:47-05:00

So yesterday, while driving around the Isle of Man nearby Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson's second home, we got to wondering about one of the great mysteries of the popular UK car show: what's the deal with the unmarked Boeing 747 in the background of their test track shots?

A quick Google search revealed that it wasn't just us seeking the meaning and history of it, and some expert Wikipedia meandering revealed the real deal behind the giant laid-up behemoth:

The Saw Roller Coaster: Oh Yes, There Will Be Hyperbole

pbb — 2008-10-15T09:21:37-05:00

With so many terrifying roller coasters out there, we understand that sensational ad copy is part of selling your new ride. But Thorpe Park in the UK is really going over the top for its Saw-themed roller coaster, set to debut in 2009:

You consider yourself a thrill hunter... But did you truly wish to push yourself to the brink of death, or did you just want a quick fix?

The coaster does promise a decent amount of thrills, with a "beyond vertical," 100-degree free fall, but we hope the park's claim that the ride will be completely faithful to the Saw films is an exaggeration: We could do without the hacksaws and razor wire.

Related Stories:
· Saw the Ride [Official Site]
· World's Scariest Roller Coasters Map [Jaunted]

Henry VIII Never Looked This Good

egw — 2007-03-20T09:25:02-05:00

Who's excited about Showtime's new series "The Tudors?" Sure, they may have picked a strange subject for their sexed-up take on British history -- most people know King Henry VIII for being enormously fat and getting the English church to co-sponsor his womanizing ways. (He also had syphilis. Score!) But this series focuses on a younger, hotter Henry VIII -- Jonathan Rhys Meyers hot, in fact.

You can watch "The Tudors" free on this Showtime site, but to really see some Tudor madness you'd have to travel to one of Henry's 50-plus palaces, including one of the more famous, Hampton Court Palace, better known as the site where James I would later commission the King James Bible. The famous maze which adjoins the main house wasn't there in its current form when ol' Hank brought his women there, but it's a great place to get lost for a day and still be close to London (just 35 minutes by train from Waterloo station).

Related Stories:
· Hampton Court Palace [Official Site]
· The Tudors on Showtime [Official Site]