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And other travel news you may have missed.
This week in travel, we have several stories that may have flown under your radar. Among them: A tourist visiting the Australian outback spent hours in waist-deep excrement after a long-drop toilet collapsed; Finnish air cadets got into trouble for drawing penis shapes in their flight pattern; a tourist drew criticism for pouring milk on her head at a 7-Eleven in Thailand; and a woman damaged a 16th-century fountain in Florence for a pre-wedding prank.
Dive into these and more as we examine the latest in travel news.
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Tourist Falls Through Toilet in Australian Outback
A woman traveling in the Northern Territory in Australia with her partner and children was stuck in waste for hours after a long-drop toilet collapsed. A long-drop toilet is a non-flush toilet with a deep pit, usually found in remote areas.
The family from Canberra was at the Henbury Meteorite Center when the woman went to use the toilet and became trapped for three hours. According to the initial investigation, the toilet fell into the sewage pit, taking her down with it. Her partner drove to find cell reception and asked a passing tradesman for help. The tradesman lowered a rope for her to stand on and used the car to pull her up. The rescue took about 45 minutes, and she was taken to the hospital. The tourist was unhurt but shaken by the incident.
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Finnish Air Cadets Draw Penis Flight Patterns During Training
Finnish Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets landed in trouble after deviating from their flight path and drawing penis shapes in the sky. They were conducting training exercises at 7:30 a.m. on April 13 when at least four planes created the genitalia patterns, drawing ire from senior officials. Military authorities said an investigation is underway after screenshots from the publicly accessible flight tracking website FlightRadar went viral on social media.
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Tourist Damages Historic Fountain in Italy for Pre-Wedding Dare
A tourist attempted to climb a 16th-century marble statue in Florence, causing thousands of euros in damage. The 28-year-old, whose identity has not been disclosed, climbed the Neptune Fountain to touch its genitals as part of a pre-wedding prank. She was removed by police and charged, but not before she caused “minor but significant damage to both the legs of the horses she had walked on and to the frieze she held on to in order to avoid slipping,” the city council said. The damages totaled €5,000 ($5,870), and she later told police her friends had dared her to do it.
Related: These Surprising Things Can Get You Fined In Italy
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Tourist Pours Milk on Herself at 7-Eleven in Thailand
A foreign tourist is facing online backlash after posting a video of herself pouring milk and snacks on her head at a 7-Eleven in Thailand. In the video, which has since been deleted, she is seen opening boxes of snacks and making a mess both on herself and in the convenience store. She did the same with two bottles of milk. Netizens are criticizing her behavior and wondering if she cleaned up after herself after performing the stunt for clicks.
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United Criticizes American for Not Engaging in Merger Talks
For the past two weeks, the two biggest airlines in the U.S. have made headlines after rumors of a possible merger surfaced. American Airlines said in a statement that it is not engaging with United regarding this. Now, United CEO Scott Kirby has criticized American Airlines for closing that door.
“I was hoping to pitch that story to American, but they declined to engage and instead responded by publicly closing the door,” Kirby said. He was the president of the rival airline and joined United in 2016.
A potential merger would have faced scrutiny from regulators and, if successful, would have likely raised prices for consumers, experts warned. However, Kirby hoped that a mega merger would have closed the gap with international airlines.
Related: The Biggest Airline Merger in Decades Could Send Ticket Prices Soaring