Jaunted

Tags: Flash Mobs / Crowds / Berlin Travel / Historical Travel / Events / → All Tags

Join 33,000 Others To Recreate The Fall Of The Berlin Wall On Its 20th Anniversary

Here at Jaunted, we love us some flash mobs and all of the fun and city exploration that come with them. But this upcoming Monday, November 9 in Berlin, a flash mob will take on a somber note as up to 33,000 people gather to recreate the Berlin Wall on the 20th anniversary of the night it came down.

The "Mauer Mob"—know that "mauer" means "wall" in German— will happen at approximately 8:15pm on Monday, lasting for about 15 minutes so that visitors, Berliners, and even those who were there for the original tearing down of the wall can commemorate the date and capture photos of the scene. Already almost 6,000 people have registered to participate on the event's official site, and if you're in the vicinity, you should not miss this opportunity.

For tips on what to see and what to skip while you're not becoming part of a human Berlin wall in the city, be sure to check out our Berlin Field Trip series.

Related Stories:
· Temporarily Recreating The Berlin Wall [Kottke]
· Mauer Mob [Official Site]
· Walk The Path Of The Berlin Wall And Crash Into A Starbucks [Jaunted]
· Berlin coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Jaunted]

Tags: Flash Mobs / Crowds / Spring Festivals / International Party Time / → All Tags

Say Sayonara To Stress On International Pillow Fight Day

There’s a lot to be stressed out over lately. The media, including us, can’t stop mentioning that the world’s economy is in the toilet. Pilots are smoking wacky tobaccy while you’re stuck in coach, and the long cold winter can’t end soon enough. If you’re like us, you'll need to relieve all that pent up frustration one way or another, and to do that, there's nothing better than pretending that you're six years old. So forget the adult worries and grab your favorite pillow—ninja turtle pajamas are optional.

On April 4 people from all over the globe will convene in town squares to celebrate International Pillow Fight Day. From Sydney to Stockholm everyone will get a chance to relieve their stress and anxiety by attacking friends and complete strangers.

more ›

Tags: It's Summer Somewhere / It's-Summer-Somewhere / Asia Travel / Flash Mobs / Crowds / → All Tags

It's Summer Somewhere: Flash Mob and Shop at KL's Petronas Towers

With an average high temperature of about 90 degrees year-round, you'd be safe to say that it's always summer in Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur. KL is modern and full of interesting sights to see and a whole lot of shopping, plus it's home to the tallest twin buildings in the world: the Petronas Towers.

And it's at the base of the Towers, home to one of KL's numerous shopping centers, that tourists might have been confused by a recent flash mobbing. Word of the sudden public meeting was spread by bloggers and at the appointed time, one of the mobbers tore up a newspaper in protest against a mainstream media mogul. Hundreds of people were suddenly there, and just as suddenly gone. (Reminds us of that hipster swarm in NYC.)

But if flash mobbing isn't your idea of a good time, then take a ride to the top of the Petronas Towers for a fantastic view over the city. If you get one of the free passes (1,700 per day), you can cross the Skyway that joins the two towers at the 41st floor. Of course that's only half way up--it's 88 floors tall--but you don't want to get greedy.

Related Stories:
· Malaysia's Foreign Tourist Arrivals Hit High [Forbes]
· Kuala Lumpur Gets a Metblog [Jaunted]
· Flash Mob in KL [Metroblogging]
· Flash Mobs coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: superciliousness]

Tags: Crowds / Airlines / Travel Tech / → All Tags

Travel Tech: Let Big Brother Do the Driving

Since we suffer from an abnormal amount of wanderlust--and find guilty pleasure in old sci-fi shows--we always fantasize about the day when planning our travel consists of uttering the phrase "Beam me up, Scotty."

No, we're not announcing the invention of teleportation. (Damn!) But a group of New Zealand-based scientists explained to The Observer in London that global positioning and nanotechnology will continue to ease the movement of humans throughout the world. The use of computer chips and GPS could help eliminate the congestion of global transport, they say.

They've even developed a system that monitors crowd movement which in turn can be used to remotely direct planes and ships. Sure, it's kind of creepy to be virtually followed. But if letting Big Brother do the driving gets our flight out of JFK on time for a change, track away.

Related Stories
· The Summer of Delays [Jaunted]
· The Future Of Travel [Science Daily]

[Photo: apollopony]

Tags: Podcasts / Crowds / Flash Mobs / Internet / → All Tags

Hipster Swarm Engulfs New York City Park

Ever wondered what 800 people gathering in a field looks like from above? Now you know. As you might have guessed from the watermark, some pranksters belonging to a group called Improv Everywhere recently drew a huge crowd of people who would apparently do whatever the Internet told them to do--even when that advice is as cryptic as, "Download this song, go to a park wearing red, green, yellow or blue, and start listening at 4PM."

The track instructed participants, some who had come from as far away as New Hampshire and California to meet at the World Financial Center, to point to the Statue of Liberty, take pictures of each other and high-five unsuspecting pedestrians. We were there but obeyed the track's instructions not to stop to take pictures. Rest assured, it was tons of fun.

Past Improv Everywhere missions have included a synchronized-swimming routine in the Washington Square Park fountain, giving out dirty "snowcones" in Aspen, Colorado and faking a U2 gig in Midtown.

Related Stories:
· Improv Everywhere [Official Site]

Tags: Museums / Crowds / Travel Tips / London / Britain / → All Tags

Don't Let Blockbusters Break You

The British Museum's Michelangelo Drawings show is a blockbuster, with crowds to the rafters. Working her way through the masses gave reporter Charlotte Higgins the chance to come up with some tips for handling similar exhibits that pack them in. We especially agree with this one:

In the case of a show with prebooked tickets, take the earliest or latest slot. We were the last in, and it must make a difference not having a constant flow of people behind you. But watch the time: we were herded out of the exhibition by ushers with all the grace of bartenders at closing time. If you're in first, go to the end and have a couple of rooms to yourself before working backwards.

Going to a museum an hour or two before closing is often a good tip in general, by the way.

Related Stories:
·   My blockbuster hell [Guardian]
·   Michelangelo [British Museum]