When a friend and I headed to Denise's Homemade Ice-Cream in the Clintonville area of Columbus for a bit of ice-cream research, we found out that ice-cream is kind of like a horoscope. The flavor you order tells something about who you are.

"What flavor is the favorite?" my friend asked the guy behind the counter who had his scoop ready.

"For women your age, Salty Carmel," he said. (Our age is the above 30)

"What about not our age? And not necessarily women?"

"That depends. . ." He began ticking off categories, and assigned flavors to particular groups. It was clear that he is a people studier, and has learned a few things from his observations as he has scooped away.

"All men like nuts. Any kind of nuts. Butter pecan. African American men in particular like Butter pecan. Not Pistachio, though, except for Middle Eastern men. They like Pistachio--and Mango."

"Kids like Vanilla, Strawberry and Chocolate--and Blueberry."

Teenage girls? Thin mint chip.

Women in their twenties? Chocolate fudge brownie.

Asians like the Green tea.

He said that all this might sound like profiling, but that's not what he means. People pick ice-cream flavors based on tastes that are familiar to their cultures--and what they last ate.

When people are standing before him, undecided, he'll ask them what they ate last to help them pick a flavor. Not all flavors are chasers for all foods. We didn't ask him for this list. That's our next lesson.

As for me, I had the Tiramisu. I usually pick Rum raisin, but the woman working with him said that the Tiramisu is her favorite flavor that has alcohol.

My friend had Peanut butter chip, although she also tasted White Gold, Sweet corn and Cucumber and pronounced each of them delicious. I had already plowed into my flavor choice while she was still deciding.

Of course, not all people pick according to their particular categories, these are generalizations, but I thought about how my 6-year-old son's choice of flavors like Bubble gum and Cotton candy don't appeal to me in the least.

Two days ago, I did buy a Dreamsicle from the ice-cream truck that dings through our neighborhood for nostagia's sake. I love them when I was a kid.

Here's a link to MakeIceCream.com that lists the 15 most popular flavors. Vanilla has 11% points over the next popular flavor, Chocolate.

By the way, I highly recommend Denise's. Located on North High Street. This is gourmet ice-cream with a capital G. There's also free WiFi, so while you're savoring ice-cream, you can surf.

When Aaron asked in his post for "Words English needs but doesn't have," I thought of a Wolof word to add to the list, but I don't know how to spell it. enday san? n'day san?

The word is used for expressing sympathy, but much more than an "I'm sorry." It's like a combination between "I'm sorry," "I feel for you," and "That's too bad."

It's a good for tossing around if someone stubs his or her toe or loses his or her life's fortune.

I don't know how to spell it because when I was learning Wolof as a Peace Corps volunteer in The Gambia, Wolof was mostly an oral language and not widely written. Therefore, the two Wolof language trainers had their own versions of spelling and kept harping at those of us learning Wolof to listen instead of whining, "We're Americans. We're visual learners. Write it on the board."

I still know what the word listen is in Wolof, but I don't know how to spell that either.

Most of the Wolof I know, I never saw in a written format. I added vocabulary and phrasing over my two years of service by asking questions, writing words the way I thought they sounded and paying attention to context clues.

As a health education volunteer, I mostly learned health related conversations. I can whip out the "road to good health" talk on cue, but as for writing it down correctly, forget about it.

When Aaron asked for the word list, I did a Google search to see if I'd find some answers. Although I didn't find n'day san, or whatever it is, I did find this online course for learning Wolof.

Wolof, spoken in The Gambia, Senegal and Mauritania, is grammatically easy and flexible. There's one section of the Web site with audio samples. If you can pick up a few words, you'll so delight vendors that you'll be able to bargain like a champ.

What is one of the most important words to learn? Jërejëf "Thank-you." That is the correct spelling. I learned it from the Web site. Click on the word to hear how it sounds.

For those of you who find books handy, the one in the picture is one I came across in my search. Here's the link with the description.

This week was round two of I Survived a Japanese Game Show. Here's the recap of last week's show. Now that the American contestants know the framework--they've been whisked to Japan without their prior knowledge to appear in the Japanese game show Majide, that element of surprise is gone. Still there were plot twists that added some flavor, and some people just don't like each other.

The first twist was when Ben from Punxsutawney clutched his stomach and said he wasn't feeling well. Off he went to see a doctor never to return. Was it something he ate? A travel bug--not the good kind, but the bad kind? Whatever sent him to the hospital wasn't part of the banter.

Personally, from a cross-cultural/travel perspective, I wish Ben's trip to the hospital had been included, at least minimally since going to the doctor in another country is always enlightening--I've always had great luck no matter where I've been, but since that wasn't part of the planned show, it didn't fit the format.

Here is what was part of the format:

British Airways just announced that it was buying L'avion, the struggling business-class-only carrier that has recently been operating flights between New York's JFK airport and Paris's Orly.

We here at Gadling have been speculating on the future of the small, proud airline recently. Considering the price of fuel and the trouble that niche, business-class-only carriers have had in the recent market, we even put it on Gadling's Hit List (one down, four to go!) among airlines at risk for bankruptcy, liquidation or buyouts this summer.

BA must be reading our articles and wanted to take advantage of the carrier whilie they were off balance.

Or perhaps this is a strategic acquisition to give more breathing room for BA's own daughter New York-Paris niche carrier, Open Skies to operate. With one less competitor in the market, Open Skies will surely now be able to dominate.

Indeed, this Reuters article says that L'avion will now become part of the Open Skies network. As far as integration, I'm not sure how the aircraft and staff will be placed -- on the JFK-ORY route or on another of the new airline's planned routes.

One thing is for certain however: with one less player in the transatlantic business class market, prices will surely go up.

Something didn't smell right. British Airways passengers started to panic when a foul smell started coming from their aircraft on a flight between Belgrade and London. Fearing a terrorist attack, the captain turned around the aircraft and put it back down in the Serbian capital, where the aircraft was evacuated and contained separately on the runway.

Passengers screamed in horror fleeing from the aircraft as they were helped by workers in hazmat suits.

Investigators first feared that a a container with acidic chemicals had burst in the hold and was causing havoc among the cargo. But upon further investigation, they narrowed the source down to a package of curry.

This follows on the heels of an emergency landing earlier this year of an Alitalia flight because of similar fears --- the source of which was revealed to be minced onions.

Airlines have been doing anything they possibly can to raise money over the past few months, from checked bag fees to charging for soft drinks to increasing the price for almost everything that formerly had a fee associated with it.

Now, according to an article over at Smarter Travel, Spirit has decided to start charging extra for online seat selection.

Carriers have done this before -- many current legacy carriers charge extra for sitting in an aisle or window near the front of the plane or in preferred seats. But what Spirit is proposing is to charge for ANY seat selected online before departure -- even the seats that most people don't want.

Fees will range from $15 for a window to $10 for an aisle to $5 dollars for a middle seat.

So if you want to sit next to a person that you're traveling with or want to sit in a decent seat and want to pick your spots before departure, you're basically screwed into paying these fees. It looks like you can still go to the airport the day of departure and get assigned seats, but there's no telling who you'll be sitting next to and where at that point.

[Via Airfarewatchdog]

What strange things have been found on planes?

Click the image to read the bizarre story...

"This button is from the coat of a Confederate soldier--or a Union soldier" is something one might hear at a Civil War relic trade show and sale.

Or perhaps you might hear this at county historical society museum. Civil War relics are often among those items passed down through generations. At a museum, they are displayed in a case for everyone to enjoy instead of being tucked in a box in a bedroom closet.

Guns, cannonballs, swords, bullets, uniforms--if it's from the Civil War, and you have it, someone wants it. Increasingly, that's what the U.S. National Park Service is finding out. Yesterday there was a story on NPR about the looting problem in National Parks. People loot the parks then sell their catch to collectors.

Here's a case in point. At the Fredericksburgh & Spotsylvania National Military Park, a ranger found 467 holes dug in the ground where a battle took place when the Union soldiers led by Grant tried to flank the Confederates.

Remember that trade embargo that the US has against all of Cuba? The one that forces you to drive to Tijuana to pick up Cuban cigars and the one that prevents you and your family from stopping in Havana on your annual cruise? Yep, that embargo.

We as Americans have been forbidden from trading with the Socialist nation for over forty years now, as our good buddy Fidel Castro kept the country under lockdown and its population in poverty. Our "sanctions," which have recently come under increased scrutiny, are meant to punish the totalitarian government and encourage democracy in the island nation. How well that's working is another debate.

But our trade embargo sure isn't stopping Spirit Airlines from doing business with the Cubans. They've been paying the government regularly to use Cuban airspace on their flights over the Carribbean -- something that spokeswoman Misty Pinson claims was not premeditated, saying: ``Spirit Airlines never had the intention of violating any requirements or laws to carry out its international operations.''

How does your morality buzzer NOT go off when you're writing checks to Cuba? Aren't all business transactions with the communist state illegal?

Needless to say, the embattled airline is now coughing up 100G's in fines for illegal payments to the Cubans. Better to fly around next time.

If you're a person who likes a free breakfast when you go to a hotel--the donuts and Fruit Loops call out your name the moment you open your eyes in the morning, you might be missing out.

According to a survey conducted for the American Hotel and Lodging Association, of the 10,000 hotels out of 45,000 that participated, they're providing wireless Internet more often, but cutting out the free breakfast. You can get the free breakfast at many-- but don't assume.

Here is a summary of the survey findings to help you compare what you'll be getting for your dollars before you make that reservation.

• 91% offer Internet (15% hotels charge for it, and of those, 75% to 91% of them fit into the luxury to up upscale category)
• 75% have a computer in the lobby for guest use
• 47% have indoor swimming pools.
• 58% have outdoor swimming pools
• 82% have refrigerator in the room
• 40% have only non-smoking rooms
• 25% have allergy-free rooms
• 67% have weekend specials
• 56% allow pets, and of those, 67% charge extra for your four-legged family member.
• 43% have flat-screen TVs
• 48% offer vegan meals
• 66% offer healthy meals
• 70% offer a free newspaper

And about that free breakfast? 59% offer it, but that's down 9% from two years ago, the last time the survey was conducted.

For more details, read the MSNBC article. You'll notice how the changes reflect societal trends and habits.

Whoa! Wait a minute. How can that be? Where have I been? I keep thinking I have more freedom of movement about the world than I actually have. Here's one more place I can't go.

I just read that at the Phoenix Country Club women are not allowed in the men's grill room where the serious business deal making and dining occurs. No, the women who want find food to nosh on are pushed off into the women's grill which is smaller and without the buffet, the bar or the lovely view of the golf course. The women's grill has a hotplate.

There's a bit of a fuss going on at the country club since some members want to move on into modern times where a couple can eat eggs together for breakfast, for example. Some of the men are as appalled by living in the days when women weren't allowed in saloons--"respectable" women mind you and are having a time of it for standing up for their wives. This is true. Here's the article that covers the details. The story involves peeing on a pecan tree as well as other juicy grammar school-like tidbits.

But before you go to the article, consider this. Several years ago, and I'm talking many--when I lived in Columbia, South Carolina during middle school, my mom took my brother and me to a roller skating rink. When we found out we had to be members in order to skate, we decided that rink wasn't for us. Why not? Becoming members had to do with religion and skin color. We just happened to be the right religion and and the right skin color, but we didn't like the rules. We thought the rules should change.

Since then, I think, rules have changed. But, I often live in La-La-Land where we all get along, so I can't say if this is 100% so. *Before those of you from the south start sputtering, let me assure you I loved so much about South Carolina. Seventh grade was my Renaissance year and I was sad to move.

But, this story is about men and women and not race and religion--so perhaps, they aren't similar. After all, there are men's clubs and women's clubs--and most people wouldn't argue about that, so what's the difference?