Today’s post isn’t funny – in fact it’s quite serious.

It’s about The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and the sad reality of how it’s used as means for Suicide.

There has even been a book written about this titled The beautiful bridge of death: Accounts of those who died, or nearly died, in falls from the Golden Gate Bridge.

If you’ve had a chance to walk across The Golden Gate Bridge, you would appreciate the fantastic views of the San Francisco skyline and the island of Alcatraz – assuming that there is no fog smothering the entire region that day.

However, you would definitely see one of these Suicide prevention signs placed next to a phonebox at regular intervals along The Golden Gate Bridge:

Well I guess jumping 100 metres off a bridge may cause some minor bruising.

However, I wasn’t prepared to actually see someone try and do this while I was walking over the bridge.  I walked past a couple of policeman who were talking towards Alcatraz, when I realised that they were talking someone who had scaled the fence, threatening to jump off The Golden Gate Bridge.

I could hear the officers saying ‘Don’t do it, it’s not worth it – come back over and we can talk about it.  We can help you out.’

The presence of this man created a scene where a number of patrol boats were alerted, and hence were circling below the potential drop zone under The Golden Gate Bridge – ready to perform a rescue (or most likely, body retrieval) if required.

I felt quite ill because I thought the guy might jump – and hence, I would witness a terrible Suicide.  However, after I had walked tens of metres further on, he was still talking.

After half an hour, he climbed back over the fence to safety.  I have a photo of him on the edge of the bridge just before he finished the almost hour long threat of jumping (check the centre of the photo).

It made me think – what drove this man to almost take his life?

I felt sad that society had let this man down to the point where he thought he was worthless and wanted to end it all on The Golden Gate Bridge.

Here’s a tip.

If you are feeling really crap, don’t hesitate to call your local crisis line.

People are there to try and help you.  You just need to ask for it.

The International Spy Museum is located in Washington D.C.

It’s the most bizarre museum I have ever visited!

Ever thought that all of the gadgets in Get Smart and all the James Bond Movies were too good to be true?

Well they’re not..

I confirmed this when I went to visit the International Spy Museum in Washington D.C.

This bizarre but fascinating museum contained an amazing collection of ’superseded’ gadgets that were used in espionage in years gone by, especially during the height of the Cold War.

The International Spy Museum had gadgets like a lipstick gun, the necktie camera, a shoe radio transmitter and a pigeon camera.

I found the pigeon camera the most interesting –  since there were no such things as spy satellites during the 1920’s, homing pigeons had a camera strapped to them so they could fly over a target area to capture images that were timed to be taken every few seconds.

In some of the images shown at The International Spy Museum, you can see the pigeons wings on either side of the shot.

It’s no wonder the CIA were monitoring the Get Smart show during the 1960’s to work out new ideas!

Also, the lengths of espionage during the Cold War were almost ridiculous – the U.S. and Soviet Union embassies took ages to build because each side were accusing the other of placing bugs in the wall – so metal detectors were an essential form of construction equipment.

However, there was a solution to this – mix metal shrapnel into the concrete mixture so that it was impossible for a bug to be detected.

So if you do see a ridiculous gadget in any spy movie – it’s probably already been developed by your country’s spy agency and it’s already superseded, finding a home in The International Spy Museum.

You can read more at Secret Agent’s Handbook: The WWII Spy Manual of Devices, Disguises, Gadgets, and Concealed Weapons.

Other things to do in the U.S. after visiting The International Spy Museum – confirm many times that Americans can in fact brew Great Beer, and check out some gun wielding locals on Google Maps.

Some of of us possess a Business Card as part of our line of work.

Sometimes, people or businesses produce a Funny Business Card that catches my attention.

I found a Funny Business Card from New Orleans that had me in stitches, from Johnny Po Boys, a local popular eatery.

Actually, New Orleans is a great city, even after the Hurricane Katrina disaster.  I wrote an earlier piece about New Orleans and some of their Funny T-Shirt Sayings produced after the hurricane.

My favourite Funny T-Shirt Saying was ‘I went to New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, and the only thing I got was this lousy T-shirt, a brand new Cadillac, and a Plasma TV…’

That’s what I like about the ‘Big Easy’ – it’s not pretentious at all.

Here is another example of this un-pretentiousness – a Funny Business Card with an honest slogan.

I love it! ‘Even My Failures Are Edible’.  I think that a lot of business would benefit from having a few Funny Business Cards around the place!

Actually, their food was pretty good – it wasn’t a failure for me!

If you’re in New Orleans, go and visit Johnny Po Boys for one of their tasty meals, and pick up their Funny Business Card!

Once your finished collecting some Funny Business Cards, try 52 Weird Food and Drinks and 52 Offbeat Travel Tips.

New Orleans is a fantastic city.

And it has a range of hilarious Funny T-Shirt Sayings that were inspired by Hurricane Katrina.

New Orleans is the place where Americans go to have a good time – and they usually leave their inhibitions behind in their home towns.

Here is a decorated balcony from the French Quarter, which is chock-loaded full of character.

I had always wanted to go to New Orleans, so I diligently booked a flight there in May 2005, for a January 2006 visit.  History tells us that Hurricane Katrina trashed the place in August 2005.

But I still wanted to go.

Normally, such a massive natural disaster would be just grounds for most people to change their schedules to somewhere else less trashed.  Hell, my travel insurance probably would have covered me if the airlines were too tight arsed to change my flights for nothing.

However, since I had developed an insatiable addiction previously for disaster zones like Kosovo, I thought it was reasonable to visit New Orleans at this time.

In January 2006, the French Quarter was back up and running and people were slowly trickling back and trying to move on with their lives. The electricity was back on, water was safe to drink, and music was playing out of the numerous pubs and clubs throughout the charming streets of New Orleans.

However, I found the locals dealt with the situation by using their dry, witty sense of humour.

I guess there are two ways of dealing with a massive natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina – either laughing or crying.

Many people in New Orleans have chosen the first option and have created their own Funny T-Shirt Sayings.

I guess one could buy one if you wanted to help the New Orleans economy.

Here are my personal favourite Funny T-Shirt Sayings from New Orleans:

1. I went to New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, and the only thing I got was this Lousy T-Shirt, a Brand New Cadillac, and a Plasma TV!
2. The Battle of New Orleans – 2005.
3. Katrina – That Bitch! and
   
4. Katrina gave me a blow job I’ll never forget!

Whether or not you would wear them at home – well, that’s up to you.

If you’re willing to wear T-Shirt’s like these, then maybe that’s no problem!

What other Funny T-Shirt Sayings have you come across when travelling overseas? Leave a comment and let us know!

Other things you can do in the United States after buying some Funny T-Shirts from New Orleans – Bust a Myth that Americans brew crap beer and check out gun wielding locals on Google Maps.

Great American Beer – does it exist?

Well, yes it does!

People who haven’t visited the States are under the impression that the Yanks only brew crap beer.  This is a total fallacy.  I’ve tasted some Great American Beer that had me wanting more!

There are numerous microbreweries around that make some fantastic drops, that are often quite high in alcohol.

Here is a beer menu from a pub in New York, located in the Greenwich Village precint.  I tried all of these beers, eventually… (OK, except for the Bud Light), and they were all great.

You can even see my appalling beer spillage as well.

Think about it.  No country ever exports their best beer – they only send their crap stuff and market it as the essence of the country, and keep the best stuff for themselves to enjoy.

I have an Australian example – Fosters.  Do you know any Australians who drink it?  I didn’t think so.

So, next time you visit the States, drink some Great American Beer.  I just wish the Yanks could export some of their Great American Beer around the world, there’s a market for it I’m sure!  I don’t want to travel halfway around the world every time I want some.

Or maybe that’s the point!  You can also find out more about Great American Beer here.

Other things to do in the States – check out the interesting characters on Google Maps and the Pigeon Camera.