📞 Press 1 to cry: A Denver dad lost $17K after calling United Airlines’ actual customer service number and somehow getting transferred to a scammer mid-call. You heard that right. The scammer intercepted the call like a midair hijack. United has no idea how it happened. I suspect a tech loophole let the fraudster “spoof” the handoff or silently insert themselves into the call queue. No answers yet. Just one stunned family, a lot less money and probably a free drink voucher from United, if they’re lucky.
Say goodbye to your passport stamps (and hello to fingerprint checkpoints)
ChatGPT
I love looking through the stamps in my passport. It’s proof that yes, I really did spend three hours at Charles de Gaulle waiting for my lost luggage.
Sad news. Europe’s pulling the plug on those little inked-up souvenirs and going high-tech.
Starting Oct. 12, 2025, when you enter the Schengen Area, you’ll face the new Entry/Exit System (EES), a fancy name for biometric border control. Instead of a stamp and a friendly “bonjour,” you’ll head to a kiosk where your face and fingerprints will be scanned, and your entry digitally logged into a giant EU database.
Yup, it’s basically like checking into the world’s fanciest club, except instead of bottle service, you’re getting your digital identity recorded for up to three years.
🏙️ Smile, it’s border time
This is important if you’re flying into popular European spots like France, Germany, Italy or Spain after mid-October. You’ll need to build in extra time to make a connecting flight.
You see, under the new system, you’ll need to do the full scan, i.e., passport, face, fingers and all. And here’s the sad kicker: no more passport stamps. That’s right.
Once the system fully rolls out in April 2026, border agents won’t stamp your passport, even if you ask nicely.
🚊 Not just in airports
Planning to take the Eurostar from London to Paris? Driving through the English Channel? Biometric border processing will be there, too.
Even if you’re coming in by ferry from the U.K., you’ll be scanned. The EU isn’t playing around with this digital gatekeeping.
📱 Back to the States?
Tech that makes long flights not feel like a prison sentence
Boeing
When I was a kid, my kindergarten teacher called my mom and said, “We think Kim might have a problem. She’s convinced she went to Paris last weekend.” My mom laughed and said, “Oh no, we did go to Paris.”
Over 1.2 million kilometers
How far one 1985 Toyota Tercel has driven in the past 40 years. The car’s still in mint condition, and if you don’t believe owner Andy, he’s got a photo of the odometer rolling over at 999,999 (it only goes up to six digits). His secret? Regular oil changes. (That’s about 745,000 miles if you’re like me and never got the metric system.)
Set up Gmail vacation auto-replies: Go to Settings > See all settings > General and scroll down to Vacation responder. Turn it on, pick your First day and Last day from the calendars, add a Subject line, and write your Message (include your return date). Now click Save Changes at the bottom.
TSA’s new travel warning: Don’t fall for ‘Free Airport Wi-Fi’
ChatGPT
You know the drill: You hit the airport, find a seat near your gate, and your first thought is, Where’s the free Wi-Fi? You see a network called “Free Airport Wi-Fi” or “Airport_Guest” and think, Perfect.
The TSA says: Stop right there. Their latest warning is the digital equivalent of “Don’t take candy from strangers.” Public Wi-Fi, especially in airports, is a hacker’s playground.
Why rich people swap homes (and how you can, too)
ChatGPT
Want to globe-trot like a baller but on a budget? Enter home swapping: the Airbnb alternative that doesn’t cost a mortgage payment per night. It’s just what it sounds like. You stay in someone’s house, they stay in yours, like Freaky Friday with better Wi-Fi.
Fake pics, real charges: A student was hit with a $9K damage bill after her NYC Airbnb host claimed she cracked furniture and peed the bed. But the “proof”? AI-edited photos. Airbnb initially sided with the host, then backpedaled fast after a newspaper got involved. Full refund issued, host slapped with a warning. PSA: Take inside and outside videos of any rental property.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Google Docs can instantly translate text. Go to Tools > Translate document > Choose a language > Translate. It creates a new copy, so your original stays untouched. C’est incroyable!
Proof that rocket science is history: In D.C.’s Air and Space Museum, there are five new galleries, two of them straight out of a sci-fi fever dream. I’m talking about Elon’s rocket guts, cosplay-level spacesuits and a clone of R2-D2 built by MythBuster Adam Savage. One display feels like a TEDx event on Mars. Goes to prove that despite the name, the Air and Space Museum has a lot to see there. (lol)
Teen taxi takeover: Waymo just dropped a self-driving car service (paywall link) for teens in Phoenix, with plans to expand. Kids ages 14 to 17 can summon robot cars to school, soccer or wherever else, no license needed. Parents are jazzed. “So like my dad’s Waymo can pick us up at 6 if your mom’s Waymo can drop us off at 10.”
Tunnel vision: The Musk Boring Company is planning a 10-mile loop in Nashville, linking downtown to the airport. It’s privately funded, Tesla-filled (of course) and could launch by 2026 if no one panics about excavation under Music City.
🐒 Chimp off the old block: I want to see this in person! Tourists snapping pics at a temple in Bali get their phones and wallets snatched by monkeys. It’s been happening for years, and nobody can stop it. The only way to get your stuff back? Bribe them with fruit, really. (paywall link). Oh, and they know what’s valuable and will barter for better snacks. If they were ducks, they’d want quackers.
Change of plans? Sell your trip instead
ChatGPT
You planned the dream getaway. Flights? Booked. Hotel suite? Paid for. Maybe you even splurged on a poolside drink package because hey, you earned it.
Then bam, life throws a wrench in it. A surprise meeting. A fever. The worst part? That pricey reservation is nonrefundable.
🧴 Your shampoo’s big break: TSA may finally drop the 3.4 oz liquid limit. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem says it’s “the next big announcement,” but there’s a catch: The tech that makes it possible (3D CT scanners) won’t be in every U.S. airport until 2040. For now, that travel-size mouthwash isn’t going anywhere.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: When your cell service is acting up, switch on Airplane mode, wait a few seconds and turn it off. Your phone will reconnect to the nearest tower. Nice.
💺 This idea is taking off: Forget flying on Wednesdays to save money on airfare. Delta’s letting AI set airfare based on what you personally might pay, i.e., how likely you are to cough up more money based on past purchases. About 3% of tickets use AI already. By year-end? 20%.
🛻 I think he might be right: Waze’s cofounder thinks Gen Beta (those born from 2025 to around 2039) won’t ever touch a steering wheel. With Tesla and Waymo pushing robotaxis, Uri Levine says the future is all self-driving, and maybe mobile shoe stores. So yeah, traffic might just be a bunch of vans selling Crocs.
Google Maps trick: You don’t need the exact name of a place to find it. Just type a general phrase like “walking trails,” “live music” or “shoe repair,” and Google will pull up local results. Perfect for those “I can’t remember the name, but I know what I need” moments.