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Many great novels and short stories involve travel. It's easy to see why; when you leave behind everything that's familiar and step out into the unknown, all the key ingredients of an exciting plot are waiting for you. To quote JRR Tolkien, "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door. You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to." Do you have a favorite…
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The government of Scotland is preparing to make a formal request to the British government: hand over William Wallace's passport. William Wallace, the Scottish hero who inspired the movie Braveheart, may have had the passport with him when he was arrested by the English. The English never gave it back, instead storing it in their National Archives. The Times Online quotes Scottish official Christine Grahame explaining why the passport should be returned: “This is a very significant historical document related…
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It may still be cold and gloomy outside in many parts of the country, but make no mistake: spring is coming! That means it's time to start planning for Spring Break. And if your Spring Break plans are taking you outside of the country, you may need to get a passport. To help you with your travel plans, here are the passport requirements for some of the more popular spring break travel destinations: Mexico Warm blue water, gorgeous beaches and…
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Did you know that the first US passports were actually printed by Ben Franklin? According to this book review of "The Passport: The History Of Man's Most Travelled Document," the first US passports were made especially for the United States legation in Paris, France around 1777. Franklin modeled them after the French passports of the time, and printed them from his own printing press. However, passports did not become commonplace until 1918, when carrying them abroad became mandatory instead of…
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The new Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, just came out yesterday. Hardcore Harry Potter fans have probably already seen it, maybe even more than once. The next film, the first installment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is not going to be out until next November. What's a Harry Potter fan (young or old) to do until then? Well, you could get a passport and take a plane to Great Britain, where the books were…
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Today, Border Patrol officials began asking Americans for passports at the American and Canadian borders. The final phase of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative is in effect, and a passport or another government-approved document is now required to re-enter the country. How has this affected traffic across the borders? Not much, it seems. The Houston Chronicle is reporting that wait times at both the northern border with Canada and the southern border with Mexico are normal today, and that the…
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A BBC show called "Flog It" has unearthed a 400-year-old passport signed by King Charles the 1st. The document was issued to a 17th-century ship Captain, Captain Bradshaw, and is being valued at up to $20,000 pounds. The lucky owner received it as a birthday present from her husband, who paid only a hundred pounds for it. What did passports look like that long ago? Unsurprisingly, a passport from 1641 bears little resemblance to its modern counterpart. There is no…
