When the urge to get away from it all—really get away from it all: people, traffic, the 24/7 news cycle—strikes, it’s easier than ever to follow your instincts and enjoy a luxurious hotel or resort in a truly secluded setting.

And while there are dozens of great off-the-beaten-path properties out there, these 10 offer their own special kind of seclusion in great destinations from the Americas to Africa.

Secluded in the Mountains: Explora Patagonia

Chile

It takes at least two flights and a long drive from the tiny coastal hamlet of Punta Arenas, Chile, to get here—but it’s so worth it. Located in magnificent Torres del Paine National Park and blessed with one of the most heart-stopping views imaginable, 49-room Explora Patagonia is the ultimate base from which to hike amid surreal blue lakes and hypnotizing glaciers as fuzzy guanaco graze around you and graceful condors glide up above (from $2,820 per person for four nights, all-inclusive).

Secluded in the Caribbean: Petit St. Vincent

The Grenadines

There are several private-island resorts in the Caribbean, but there’s something about the layout and ambiance of 115-acre Petit St. Vincent that makes it seem extra secluded. Located far south in the laidback Grenadines, this 22-cottage resort takes unplugging (no phones or TVs) as seriously as it does romance. Renovated in 2011 with serene white-and-blue decor, the resort lets guests choose their bliss—beachside or hilltop—and raise a flag when they want to be left alone (from $1,100/night, including meals).

Secluded in the Rainforest: Belcampo Lodge Belize

Belize

Located outside Punta Gorda, Belize, far from the sun-seekers and snorkelers on Ambergris Cay, 12-suite Belcampo Lodge Belizebeckons with an authentic agritourism mantra (many of its thousands of acres are dedicated to an organic farm, a cacao and coffee orchard, and livestock barn) that delivers delicious farm-to-fork cuisine, chocolate and coffee courses, excellent bird watching, a yoga pavilion, and assorted activities from caving to diving. Best of all: the howler monkey alarm clocks and birdsong lullabies (from $300/night).

TAIPEI (Reuters) - The smellier, the better. That's the rule in Taiwan for stinky tofu, a popular fermented snack that assaults the nose but pleases the palate.

The scent, a cross between burning garbage and body odor, wafts through the narrow alleys of street markets on the East Asian island, overwhelming the tang of fruit stalls and the smoky aroma of barbecue stands. But with long queues at any given stinky tofu outlet, there's no denying its appeal.

Stewed, braised or deep-fried, the dish can come garnished with pickled cabbage, bamboo shoots, "thousand-year-old" eggs or congealed duck blood.

"It's hard on the nose but easy on the tongue," said the operator of a small stand in Shenkeng Laojie (Old Street) on the eastern outskirts of the capital, who gave her surname as Chen.

A 15-year veteran of the area of Taipei home to dozens of stinky tofu restaurants, Chen makes a grilled version doused in a chunky, salty sauce and served with vegetables. Enjoyed under the awning of a temple next door, the soft white curds melt in the mouth like pudding as the tell-tale whiff races up the nose.

For a different experience, try Yong Feng Dage Restaurant in the night market of National Taiwan Normal University in central Taipei. Its crispy skin tofu has a crackling consistency surrounding the chewy, cakey goodness within. Each cube has an "injection" of soy sauce that gushes out with every bite.

The secret of the stink is the fermentation process that can take several days to a week. Restaurants are fiercely protective of their recipes for the brine that can consist of anything from Chinese cabbage and tea leaves to meat, shrimp or milk.

Jiaziyuan Restaurant in New Taipei City, which serves nearly 20 varieties of stinky tofu, adheres to a strict vegan regime, using mountain spring water as the marinade base and Chinese medicinal herbs for flavoring.

Co-owner Chen Laihao says stinky tofu is rich in beneficial bacteria akin to those in yogurt. One of her bestsellers, a mala (hot peppercorn) soup variety, features rich, doughy tofu in a broth of peppers, ginger, mushrooms and black beans.

"I've had plenty of foreigners come in here refusing to touch it and then finding themselves pleasantly surprised at the taste," she said.

Tales of the origins of stinky tofu are as diverse as the dish itself. But most varieties are thought to have roots in the southeastern maritime areas of greater China, according to the SoyInfo Center in California.

Many legends say it was an accidental creation by a careless hawker in Qing Dynasty China who left his tofu stewing for an entire season but found the foul-smelling outcome to be tasty.

Regardless of its true origins, stinky tofu has won converts outside the Chinese-speaking world and even made CNN's list of the world's most delicious foods in 2011.

"It smells wretched," said Sarah Byrne, a Canadian based in Taipei. "But I like the flavor. It's definitely an acquired taste."

(Editing by John O'Callaghan)

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Two volunteers will taste the world's first test-tube burger in London on Monday, Aug. 5.

A live feed of the event is available at www.culturedbeef.net, and will begin at 8 a.m. EDT. Scroll down for live updates. 

The burger, made from Cultured Beef, will be cooked in a frying pan and then served to both diners in front of invite-only guests.

The taste-testers were revealed as Chicago author Josh Schonwald and Austrian food researcher Hanni Rützler on Twitter this morning. 

The hamburger's creator, Professor Mark Post of Maastricht University, believes that in-vitro meat could end the impending food crisis and satisfy the world's growing demand for meat without destroying the environment or harming animals.

The burger is made from a real animal. This makes it different from "imitation meat," like soy protein, used in vegetarian or vegan foods.

Muscle cells are harvested from a cow. The cells are placed into a donut-shaped dish with a nutrient solution — a mix of sugars, fats, amino acids, and minerals.

The cells become muscle tissue and grow into small strands of meat.

Around 20,000 meat strands are needed to make one five-ounce burger, Post says.

Ingredients like salt, egg powder, and breadcrumbs are combined with the Cultured Beef to make the burger. Scientists use red beet juice and saffron for coloring. Without this, the meat strands are an unappetizing, grayish color due to the lack of blood cells.

The lab-grown meat was still "not tasty" when Post spoke to Reuters in 2011. The first public tasting will be the ultimate test. Have scientists created something that lives up to the real thing? 

Post is optimistic; he predicts that commercial production of test-tube beef could begin within the next 10 to 20 years.

Here's our first look at the Cultured Beef burger. A Cornwall chef says he is going to approach it like a traditional burger. It looks slightly paler than a normal burger. 

It's browning up nicely. It has the same cooking time as a regular hamburger and smells good. 

About 4 minutes to go.

Inventor Mark Post says it will take 10-20 years to get the burger into supermarkets. Post says it is "as safe as regular beef."

The burger is done. We're now ready for the tasting. 

Rützler takes the first bite. She was expecting it be more juicy. "There is quite some intense taste," she said. Schonwald agrees that the texture of the meat is there, but the flavor is missing. The hamburger doesn't yet have fat, which is where most of the flavor comes from. 

SEE ALSO: Everything Bad That Happens To Your Body When You Skip Breakfast

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Asia is crazy for cute food. Think Totoro donuts and Hello Kitty bento boxes.

"Kawaii" cooking, or cute food cooking, took off in Japan a few years ago. To show affection for their children, mothers can spend hours turning a bento lunch into the splitting image of Pokemon.

Like all things J-pop, the trend quickly spread to Hong Kong. Now, locals can take cute cooking classes and buy panda-shaped cookies at Kee Wah Bakery.

So, who does it better: Hong Kong or Tokyo? In this epic showdown, reminiscent of Bruce Lee vs the dojo in "Fists of Fury" (well, maybe not quite), we present 15 contestants from each city. It's up to you to decide who takes the cake.

For more about kawaii cooking, check out La Carmina's recipe book "Cute Yummy Time."

At Princess Cake House, a Hong Kong-based cute cooking school, students learn to make panda bread with dyed and layered dough.

The head instructor made a Rilakkuma bear using chocolate bread and white icing.

A bakery offers a black forest cake shaped like Kuromi, evil nemesis of Sanrio character My Melody.

Wrapped co-founders Ryland Arnoldi and Sam Seidman  have been building their wrapping paper and design startup for a year and a half without any definitive business projections, and they're not going to create any soon.

"We make it up day by day. Is that reckless? Yeah," Arnoldi told Business Insider.

"People like to come in with this four year plan, but when you get married to the plan, you stop being creative and stop making changes," says Arnoldi. "Things come up every day that can’t be foreseen. If we had a one year or five year plan that we had to stick to, we would have failed a long time ago."

So far, the no-plan plan is working out fine. 

It all started when the two recent college graduates were on a backpacking trip in Peru and decided they "wanted to go into something insane first, then try real-life jobs."

They decided to start a wrapping paper company, inspired by beautiful gift-wrapping that Arnoldi's father, an artist, did using butcher paper.

"When people got these presents that were wrapped uniquely, it created this experience that was really special, people remembered it," Arnoldi said.

Today, the father-son team works together with Seidman at Wrapped's Venice Beach, Calif. studio. Arnoldi thanked his father for motivating his creative pursuits. 

"He’s my mentor, my creative inspiration ... He’s the one who pushed me to go into something crazy before resigning myself to working in a bank," Arnoldi said.

Just a year ago, the company was a wrapping paper-only producer, but Seidman and Arnoldi soon learned that they needed to diversify before they were lost in the startup shuffle.  

Today, Wrapped makes a variety of consumer-ready products, including journals, boxes, gift bags, commercial-grade flooring and wallpaper, though they mostly sell wholesale.

"If we were still only making wrapping paper, we probably wouldn’t be here," Arnoldi said. "We go to the trade shows, see what’s cool, might try something, might not. It’s always changing."

Seidman told us that so far, he has no regrets about staying away from banking. And while the pair couldn't speak directly about future plans, they did offer some advice to rising entrepreneurs. 

"Some of these startups come out and try to have a pissing contest, that’s a mentality that really pisses people off," Arnoldi said. "You have to let the world decide instead of demanding that you get your place. It’s a really humbling experience."

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Josh Schonwald, author of "The Taste for Tomorrow" and Austrian food researcher Hanni Rützler were the first people to taste a burger made from lab-grown meat at an event in London on Monday. 

Both agreed: It had the texture of meat, but the flavor still needs work. 

The burger was cooked in a frying pan by Chef Richard McGeown, who approached the Cultured Beef patty "like a traditional burger" despite it being a "little paler than normal." 

Since the meat lacks blood cells, red beet juice and saffron were added to make the hamburger more pleasing to the eye. 

The hamburger's creator, Professor Mark Post of Maastricht University, believes that in-vitro meat could end the impending food crisis and satisfy the world's growing demand for meat without destroying the environment or harming animals.

But does a test-tube burger live up to the real thing? 

Rützler said she was expecting the burger to be more juicy. 

The hamburger doesn't yet have fat, which is where most of the flavor comes from.

"It was crunchy on the top surface and hotter than I normally expect," Rützler said. The inside did not have an "intense meat flavor."

Schonwald was equally unsure about the flavor. "It's somewhere on the continuum between a Boca burger and a McDonald's burger," he said. Of the texture, he said it had a "cake-like quality."

Taste continues to be one the biggest technological barriers. "There's no meat scientist that can tell you which chemical composition of meat drives the tastes," Post said.

SEE ALSO: Everything Bad That Happens To Your Body When You Skip Breakfast

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We've seen plenty of armored cars, but the armored van is a rarer bird.

That's strange, because for wealthy customers who want to be safe and ride in luxury, a van offers so much more space.

For proof, look no further than Lexani Motorcars' Reale, a fully customized Mercedes-Benz B6 Sprinter.

Not only is the outside armored, the inside is packed with features that could have been lifted from a private jet.

Huge leather seats, a 3D television, a gold plated sink in a fancy bathroom, and more make this the sweetest, safest way to roll.

According to the Daily Mail, pricing is only available for serious customers, on request.

Here's what the Mercedes Sprinter van looks like in regular use.

And here's what Lexani did with the interior.

There are basic cooking tools.

Three-Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse reveals his favourite restaurants on the Cote d'Azur.

A typical brunch

At the market in Nice, Le Marché du Cours Saleya, there’s a stall selling la socca – a thin, unleavened crèpe made of chickpea flour, fried in a huge pan.

Le Marché du Cours Saleya Soccafrom €3 (Cours Saleya, Old Nice, two blocks back from the seafront; no telephone).

Lunch

Close to Nice market there’s a place called La Merenda. You can’t book over the phone, they don’t take credit cards and there is only room for 20 diners, but the food is superb: crisp, fried courgette flowers in summer; a daube made from beef and sweet carrots in winter; or spinach pasta with pistou [pesto].

At Les Arcades in Biot, you can taste Mimi Brothier’s slow-cooking for yourself. She decides what she’s going to offer you, often ravioli, sardines with a breadcrumb stuffing, bourride [fish soup] with aïoli, or soupe au pistou. If you ask, they’ll take you to see her husband’s collection of contemporary art.

For lunch I also love Le Café de la Fontaine in La Turbie. It’s simple market cuisine, very popular. They do things like cod brandade [saltfish stew] or fresh ravioli as a starter, then rabbit à la nicoise [with tomatoes, black olives, garlic and anchovies] or roast leg or lamb with garlic as a main course.

On the Italian side of the border, Carlo Brunelli at Baia Benjamin does fresh catch of the day, simply grilled or baked, and dishes such as squid with white beans, hake agnolotti [ravioli] with butter and tarragon, and gnocchi in lobster sauce. It’s right on the bay and you literally have your feet in the water.

La Merenda(4 rue Raoul Bosio, Nice; lamerenda.net ) Three courses à la carte about €30. Les Arcades (16 place des Arcades, Biot; 0033 4 93 65 01 04; hotel-restaurant-les-arcades.com ) Two-course menu €34, three courses à la carte €40. Le Café de la Fontaine (4 avenue du Général de Gaulle, La Turbie; 04 93 28 52 79; hostelleriejerome.com ) Three-course menu €28, three courses à la carte €40. Baia Benjamin (Corso Europa, 63 Grimaldi Inferiore, Ventimiglia, Italy; 0039 0184 38002; baiabeniamin.it ) Four-course menu with aperitif €55, six-course tasting menu with drink €85, three courses à la carte €60-€240.

An aperitif

One of the most beautiful places is La Vigie, at Monte-Carlo Beach. It’s at the end of a promontory, perched above the sea. You can listen to the sound of the waves and choose from a good wine list – but I’d have Campari on ice.

La Vigie(Monte-Carlo Beach, Avenue Princesse Grace, Roquebrune-Cap Martin; 00 377 98 06 52 52; monte-carlo-beach.com ) Wine from €40 a bottle, drinks from €8.

Dinner

One of my favourite places is Bacon in Cap d’Antibes. They only do fish, and it’s fantastic. You must have the salade de poisson cru [raw fish salad] to start with, then the mini bouillabaise, the vanilla millefeuille with wild strawberries and a glass of chilled white wine – either Côte de Provence or AOC Cassis.

On the Grande Corniche route, where it winds down into Nice, there’s La Chaumière, which does meat grilled over a wood fire with potatoes cooked in the ashes, and a salad. In summer, try la Bohémienne, a ratatouille-style dish of aubergine, tomato, peppers, onion, garlic, Provençal herbs and olive oil.

Bacon(Boulevard de Bacon, Cap d’Antibe; 04 93 61 50 02; restaurantdebacon.com ) Three-course menu €85 (except July and August), three courses à la carte €100-€230. La Chaumière (384 Boulevard de l’Observatoire, Nice; 04 93 01 77 68; la-chaumiere-nice.com ) Two-course menu €40, three-course menu €66, tasting menu €86.

Fine dining

There’s a two-Michelin-star restaurant next to Le Café de la Fontaine in La Turbie. It’s called Hostellerie Jérôme, and both places are run by Bruno Cirino, who used to work for me. He does haute cuisine de la marché – very simple, using produce from the market: roast duck with foie-gras, sea bass with a compôte of courgette flowers. Apart from Le Louis XV, there is only one place with three Michelin stars – La Vague d’Or in St-Tropez. It does haute cusine de la Mediterranée: amberjack fish and crabmeat marinaded in mandarin oranges, say, or turbot in a Camargue sea-salt crust with shellfish and rock samphire. It’s in a beautiful setting too, right by the water’s edge.

Hostellerie Jérôme(20 rue Comte de Cessole, La Turbie; 04 92 41 51 51; hostelleriejerome.com ) Six-course dinner menu €75, 13-course tasting menu €130, dinner only. La Vague d’Or (La Résidence de la Pinède, Plage de la Bouillabaisse, St-Tropez; 04 94 55 91 00; residencepinede.com ) Eight-course tasting menu €205-€245, depending on local market prices; three courses à la carte €200-€280.

Read more

Alain Ducasse's Cote d'Azur
More on the cooking techniques and the produce of the region.

Provence travel guide

The inimitable Anthony Peregrine offers his expert guide to Provence, including how to get there, how to get around, and his pick of the best hotels and attractions.

Overview
Provence's best attractions
Hotels
Restaurants
Drives
36 Hours In... Provence

SEE ALSO: 13 Places You Should Visit In 2013

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Google co-founder Sergey Brin funded the world's first lab-grown beef burger, which was cooked and eaten in London on Monday.

The taste still needs work; but the idea is good.

The hamburger's creator, Professor Mark Post of Maastricht University, believes that so-called Cultured Beef could solve the coming food crisis and help combat climate change. 

There are also ethical concerns about how factory-farmed animals are treated. 

"When you see how these cows are treated, it's certainly something I'm not comfortable with," Brin said in a film sponsored by the Cultured Beef project. 

That's why the billionaire Internet entreprenuer backed the €250,000 ($331,200) project.

"Some people think this is science fiction," Brin said. "I actually think that's a good thing. If what you're doing is not seen by people as science fiction, it's not transformative enough."

Learn more about lab-made meat in the video below:

SEE ALSO: 9 Powerful Men Who Don't Eat Meat

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New York recently became the latest state to pass legislation banning the possession and sale of shark fins, a move to protect the marine predators.

Shark hunting and finning — the practice of removing a shark's fin and returning the maimed animal to the ocean to die — have had a serious impact on shark populations worldwide, with an estimated 100 million sharks killed each year.

Sharks are hunted not for their meat, but for their chewy, tasteless fins, which have been a Chinese status symbol since the Ming Dynasty, when it was cooked specifically for emperors. Today they are commonly consumed at Chinese weddings, banquets, and business dinners.

Since sharks are in the news (thanks, Shark Week!), we decided to take a look back at celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay's 2011 investigative report on the shark fin trade in London, Taiwan, and Costa Rica. You can watch the entire documentary here or on Amazon.

Ramsay was not only shocked at how the sharks were slowly killed, but discovered that the crew had hacked a fin off a shark and threw the body overboard. The crew told Ramsay it wasn't a big deal because "it was only one fin."

But because of the negative associations with shark finning, restaurant owners and managers clam up when they're asked about it. This London restaurant owner wouldn't even let Gordon Ramsay and his cameras in to see the soup and talk to customers.

So in an effort to understand the shark fin demand, Ramsay traveled to Taipei, Taiwan, where shark fin soup is served everywhere from corner cafés to fine-dining establishments.

In a bid to enter the "premium transcontinental market," JetBlue revealed plans today for a new business class with private "suites."

That is a first in the market, it says.

The arrangement will debut in the second quarter of 2014, on 11 new Airbus A321 planes that fly from New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Each suite will have a lie-flat bed with a massage function, and a 15-inch screen.

There will be 16 of the new business class seats on each plane, four of them in the private suites, and 143 economy seats (called "core JetBlue Experience" seats) on the redesigned planes.

The New York-to-California routes are the airline's "two core transcontinental routes." On an industry-wide basis, they bring in 50% more revenue than any other domestic route.

JetBlue has not announced fares for the new setup, but says it will offer a "competitive price" to "invigorate the market."

The low-cost airline also promises to make things nicer for economy passengers, with as many as 100 DirecTV channels available on new 10.1-inch screens, with 110-volt and USB power ports accessible to everyone.

JetBlue is also promising to begin installing a wifi service, called Fly-Fi, on its planes by the end of 2014, and says it will offer "speeds you've come to expect on the ground."

Here's a virtual walkthrough of the new cabin:

Introducing JetBlue’s New Interior Design from JetBlue on Vimeo.

PHOTOS: Flying Cars And Vintage Warbirds Show Off At A Huge Wisconsin Air Show

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Royals have been making a splash in the news lately, but there's one prince who's stayed out of the spotlight.

Prince Fahad bin Faisal Al Saud is a grandson of the brother of the Saudi Arabian king. He could easily be living the high life at home in Saudi Arabia, but instead he's made a name for himself as a tech entrepreneur and social media evangelist. 

After graduating from Stanford with a degree in Mechanical Engineering (and a double minor in Management Science and Middle Eastern Studies), Prince Fahad was hired as the Head of User Operations for Facebook Arab, where he helped launch of Facebook in Arabic in 2009.

"Facebook is the reason I'm not going for an MBA right now. Facebook was my MBA. Facebook was my PhD," said Fahad in an interview with Business Insider. "[Working at Facebook] was the most educational opportunity I ever could have asked for. It was amazing to be working on a project that could change people's lives."

And change lives it did. Since the dawn of the Arab Spring in late 2010, there's been much talk of the role that social media, particularly Facebook, has played in various revolutions across the Arab World. But Fahad sees Facebook as a vehicle for social change rather than an independent force. "Social media is a tool," he said. "It's no different than the telephone, the television, a hammer. But it has forced a lot of people to be more transparent and to be held accountable for what they say."

He also sees social media as helping to drive job creation in the Middle East and around the world. "It gave a lot of people opportunities for work, creation, innovation, startups. We have a huge generation of entrepreneurs who wouldn't have had that opportunity without these social networks," he said.

Since leaving Facebook in August 2011 he's also helped found several tech startups, including Na3M Games and Appiphany. Na3M (New Arabic Media) focuses on creating multi-platform games with an Arabic twist. "We wanted to create content that focused on our identity and culture as Arabs," said Fahad. "It's a great feeling to be proud of something that you have contributed to and that has helped to empower the region." 

Appiphany makes slick apps that are like catnip for social media junkies. One of their most popular apps is InstaFeed, a program that allows Instagram users to divide the friends they follow into specific "channels" that can be turned on and off. 

He also invested heavily in Popover Games, a maker of cross-platform social-casino games, where he helped to develop a auto-translating chat program that allows players of different languages to communicate via gaming. 

"At Popover we wanted to create heritage games, games have been played for centuries and generations around the world but that weren't available to play on Facebook," said Fahad. "The idea was to help communicate cultures and break down language barriers by letting people play games that are culturally significant for them with other players around the world." He eventually became a co-founder and saw Popover Games sold to casino games-developer Playsino last year. 

Fahad currently lives in Los Angeles and consults for the Saudi government on cyber-technology and youth-oriented programs as the Foreign Ministry's Head of Student Affairs, a job he says has been a natural fit. "After being the head of Facebook in Arabic and having that experience, it felt very natural to be asked to advise, especially after things happened with the Arab Spring," he said. "I'm very happy."

He's just turned 30 and he's a veritable expert on technological growth in the Middle East, but he has a refreshingly funny and youthful attitude. When asked where he would like to see himself in ten years, he said (without a twinge of sarcasm) that he hopes he can have a penthouse on Mars.

But he also hopes to see the Middle East back on top: "In 10 years I want to see countries in the Arab world back in their rightful place as a global leaders and contributors," he said. "There's an opportunity for me to jump between different industries and I hope to play a part in re-introducing the Middle East to the world in the right way."

SEE ALSO: How Saudi Prince Alwaleed Spends His Billions

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Emirates has a new way to show off just how great it can be to travel in one of its Airbus A380 jumbojets: It partnered with Google to create a Street View for the plane, a first for an aircraft.

The marketing stunt, which marks five years since Emirates took delivery of its first double-decker A380, is a clever way to show off the extreme luxury reserved for high-paying passengers, including onboard showers, a spa, and private suites. Users can also check out the plane's cockpit, lounges, business class, and cockpit.

Emirates operates a fleet of 35 A380s (with 55 more on order), and has carried more than 18 million passengers on the plane.

Take a look around on Emirates.com.

SEE ALSO: The 20 Best Airlines In The World

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Inspired by Pamplona, Great Bull Run coming to US; organizers say events will be safe

ATLANTA (AP) — Organizers of a new event planned for several U.S. cities plan to unleash bulls to sprint through fenced-in courses as daredevils try to avoid being trampled.

The Great Bull Run is inspired by the annual running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. It's set to kick off Aug. 24 at a drag-racing strip south of Richmond, Va. A second event is planned for Oct. 19 at an Atlanta-area horse park that hosted events for the 1996 Olympics. More events are planned later for Texas, Florida, California, Minnesota, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

Bull runs — when the animals are released to run alongside participants as spectators cheer — are common in Spain and can drum up controversy. Injuries often occur, as do deaths, though they are much rarer. Some groups attack the treatment of the bulls used in the runs.

About 5,000 people have signed up to participate in the Virginia event, and the number grows by about 50 each day, said Rob Dickens, co-founder and chief operating officer of The Great Bull Run. And with 2,000 signed up for the Conyers, Ga., event, Dickens expects 5,000 to 7,000 to run there in October.

The U.S. events will last one day each, unlike the annual weeklong festival in Pamplona, when bull runs are held every morning. Author Ernest Hemingway wrote about the festival in his 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises," which helped it gain worldwide notoriety and attract spectators from around the globe.

Organizers acknowledge that the Great Bull Run is likely to start out on a smaller scale than its Spanish counterpart. But they note that other physically challenging activities such as extreme off-road runs and obstacle races have become increasingly popular in the U.S., and they see bull running as a natural follow-up.

"I think it's just a progression where we are becoming more and more active as a society," Dickens said. "There's this fitness craze that started with running. I think this is just an extension of all that, but making it more interesting to the general public."

Dozens of people are injured each year in the San Fermin festival at Pamplona, most by tripping and falling. Bulls have killed 15 people since record-keeping began in 1924.

Last month in Spain, a University of Utah college student and an Australian woman were gored by bulls. During one run, participants and spectators screamed as a bull tossed a Spaniard to the ground and attacked him, with fellow runners trying to pull the animal away by its tail. The man was eventually dragged to safety.

Organizers of the U.S. events plan to include several safety features, making them "quite different than the running of the bulls in Spain," Dickens said.

Unlike the narrow, cobblestone streets of the Spanish runs, the U.S. events will use fencing that will include coves, or notches, so participants can get out of the way quickly.

Dickens said organizers are partnering with ranches who will supply the bulls, and veterinarians will monitor their health. "We're not using the Spanish fighting bulls that are bred to be very aggressive for the entertaining aspect of bullfighting," Dickens said.

Bulls will be released in waves of six at a time, giving the animals and people a "better opportunity to complete the course safely," Dickens said.

Before running, participants will be required to sign waivers. Dickens, an attorney, acknowledges that waivers won't prevent lawsuits but likened it to sky-diving or operating a rock-climbing wall: "The waivers for the most part ensure that even if you get sued, they're not going to win."

Researchers are still trying to figure out why some people are drawn to potentially dangerous activities. One theory is that some people get a surge from routine activities, but others need more thrilling or exciting behaviors to get the same feeling, said Dr. Jonathan Becker, assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

"To get that same sort of euphoric feeling that you feel at the end of a jog, they may need to jog with bulls for example," Becker said.

Organizers say they're planning each of U.S. event as an all-day experience, with plenty of activities such as a tomato fight, also modeled after a Spanish festival. But they hope the bull runs draw participants who have always wanted to participate but couldn't make the trip to Spain.

"You can go running down the street anytime you want, but to run with bulls — that's something that doesn't come along very often," Dickens said.

___

If You Go...

THE GREAT BULL RUN: http://www.thegreatbullrun.com/ .

—In Petersburg, Va., Aug. 24. Fee: $50 through Aug. 9, $60 through Aug. 16.

—In Atlanta, Oct. 19. Fee: $45 through Aug. 30, $50 through Oct. 4, $60 through Oct. 11.

—In Houston, Dec. 7. Fee: $40 through Sept. 13; $45 through Oct. 18; $50 through Nov. 22; $60 through Nov. 29.

___

Felberbaum reported from Richmond, Va.

SEE ALSO: There's A Lot More To The Lumberjack World Championships Than Just Chopping Wood

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Even the world's hottest model isn't immune to H&M's strict policy against narcotics. 

A few months ago, Cara Delevingne dropped what appeared to be a bag of white powder in front of paparazzi. The press buzzed about an alleged cocaine scandal for the British model, who has represented Burberry, Victoria's Secret, Chanel, Zara, and more. 

Delevingne deflected the scandal by posting an Instagram photo of herself kissing actress Sienna Miller at the Met Ball. Soon, no one was talking about her alleged drug use. 

But the dropped powder incident is now catching up to the pretty model. 

H&M recently axed her, supposedly because of its strict, no-drug policy, UK tabloid The Sun reported. 

Even Delevingne's status as the hottest model in fashion couldn't deter H&M, according to The Sun. 

An H&M spokesperson gave a frosty statement to The Sun about Delevingne. 

"She is not a model with us and I think there was a misunderstanding that she was the face of H&M,” the rep said. “We just used her for the show.”

Within the industry, H&M is "famous for their zero tolerance policy towards drugs," writes Hayley Phelan at Fashionista. 

Phelan notes that the brand also dropped Kate Moss at the peak of her career, after she had been photographed  allegedly snorting cocaine. 

While H&M is a huge contract to lose, Delevingne is unlikely to suffer from the snafu. 

"With campaigns out for Fendi, Burberry, DKNY and more, Delevingne‘s career is arguably hotter than ever," Phelan writes. 

SEE ALSO: Meet The Gorgeous Model Who Could Take Miranda Kerr's Place At Victoria's Secret

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From lush hilly terrain in Ireland to stunning oceanside courses in California, golfers travel the world to play at elite golf courses.

We've created the ultimate bucket list for golfers.

Some of these golf courses are famous for their rich history, while others offer breathtaking views and unique locations.

From Scotland's historic Muirfield to the Dominican Republic's challenging Teeth of the Dog, here are the golf courses every golfer should play at in his or her lifetime.

Located on the west coast of Ireland, The Old Course at Ballybunion is naturally beautiful with grassy dunes set alongside the ocean. Nearly every hole here is excellent.

Learn more about the Ballybunion Golf Club >

The stunning Ocean course at Kiawah Island, South Carolina, offers incredible views of the Atlantic Ocean at every hole. It has hosted the 1991 Ryder Cup and the 2012 PGA U.S. Championship.

Learn more about golf at Kiawah Island >

The West course at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Black Rock is regarded as the finest in Australia. Alister MacKenzie designed it on a huge scale, and the greens are some of the fastest in the world.

Learn more about the Royal Melbourne Golf Club >

A recent thread on Reddit asked: What is the most useful thing to bring to college that few would think of?

Most of the answers were very helpful, and shed some light on items that might not appear on a traditional packing list. 

Here are some of the best suggestions:

An electric kettle 

"This is great not only for coffee and tea but a lot of dorm staples like ramen and easy mac can be made with just boiling water, no need for a microwave." — scibby_di_doowop

A thermos

"Increase your hot coffee/soup radius and the world is your oyster." — CactusRape

A stapler

"In every f---king class I've had in a lecture hall there is: 1. no stapler, 2. a policy that loose sheets will not be graded, and 3. a late policy where homework not submitted within the first five minutes will not be graded. In the first week I came in expecting there would be a stapler, there wasn't one and the lecture was starting so I didn't want to ask around for one. I ended up taking the staple out of one of my syllabuses, bending it straight with my fingers then jamming it through with and re-bending it. That was the day a bought a stapler." — slickback503

"I had a collapsible mini-stapler attached to my backpack, and I was everyone's best friend." — consumate

A door stop

"Those first couple of days keep your dorm door open so people can have a chat when walking past, it'll look a lot more welcoming if you've got an open door." — rioba

A George Foreman grill

"If you wanna be someone that everyone knows, be the guy who brings the grill and makes kickass steaks. In the common area, set that sh-t up and let people know that you'll cook whatever meat you bring them. Excellent way to make friends and meat new people." — vuv

"Simple to clean, and it's like 6-7 minutes tops for anything you need cooked on it. Works great on munchie/drunk greasy food items." — BrentMcClowd

Extra pillows

"I have 6 pillows, a body pillow, AND a comfort pad. I don't sleep on a bed, I sleep on a cloud." — DCEnigma

"I always get made fun of for the number of pillows on my bed, but damn it if I'm not the most comfortable person in my dorm." — tothesmoon

A screwdriver

"You'd be surprised how often this comes in handy (and you'll make friends when someone comes around asking for one). I had one that was magnetic on the top and had different heads to put in it so it was awesome. Got it in the dollar section at target and it was pink. I still have it." — Grace__Face

Card games

"Catchphrase, Cards Against Humanity, or Apples to Apples are awesome get to know you games. If you have space bring your favorite." — zukinigirl

Medicine

"Basic medical supplies such as Advil, band aids, etc... You'll be caring for yourself from now on!" — NOT_A_SASQUATCH

"Bring everything — stuff for stomach aches, cold medicine, Advil, neo-sporin, cough drops, band-aids, etc. When you get sick you will be so glad to have it on hand, and not have to go to the store. And it's nice to have it in case one of your roommates/floormates needs something." — sugarminttwist

A flashlight

"Power goes out sometimes. At my college we all had lanterns, so we would pull those out and light up our lanterns when the power went out. But this isn't a standard thing." — Lyeta

SEE ALSO: America's REAL Most Expensive Colleges

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The University of Iowa is the number one party school in the country, according to the most recent ranking from the Princeton Review. 

"Packed Iowa City bars blaring dance music, off-campus house parties and tailgating before Hawkeye football games are as much a part of Iowa's culture as the cornfields that surround the city," the Associated Press reports. Iowa was ranked second last year, behind West Virginia University.

After finishing second last year, an Iowa spokesman said, "among all the rankings published by various media outlets, the Princeton Review's stand out for their complete lack of objective, scientific methodology ... Their rankings are based almost exclusively on anecdotes and random, subjective feedback."

NBC points out that this year Iowa also placed in the top five for "Lots of Hard Liquor," "Lots of Beer," and "Students Study the Least."

Here are the top five party schools in the country, according to the Princeton Review:

1. University of Iowa

2. University of California, Santa Barbara

3. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

4. West Virginia University

5. Syracuse University

Check out a video of the Iowa party scene below:

SEE ALSO: WORK HARD, PARTY HARD: America's Most Intense Colleges

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One of the most compelling Tumblr blogs right now is "Life of a Stranger Who Stole My Phone," which charts the adventures of "Hafid," a resident of Dubai, entirely through the photos he's taking on an iPhone he allegedly stole from a beach in Ibiza, Spain.

Hafid neglected to turn off the photo upload function in Dropbox, the file-sharing app, which means that every time he takes a photo the original owner of the iPhone gets a copy of it on her computer.

And she's taking the best revenge possible by turning those pics into a chronicle of Hafid's macho, style-challenged life.

Here's how the unnamed author of the blog says the theft went down:

five hours after me and my friends landed in ibiza/spain, the four of us found ourselves hopelessly drunk and naked in the sea. we put our stuff on a deck chair 10m away.

... we tumbled out of the water quite irritated. everything was gone. money, purses, smartphones, passports, janas’ birthday presents and evangelos’ clothes (besides his underpants). as far as i remember, this must have happened in the time span of 15 minutes. well, that sucked quite hard.

apparently some guys with night-vision glasses hid in the dunes, waiting for drunk tourists to leave their belongings somewhere unobserved. then they crawled through the sand, stole the stuff and walked away like nothing happened.

It would have been just another "petty theft from drunk tourists" story until the thief used the Facebook app on her phone to hit on her — via her own Facebook account:

what really made me wonder about his stupidity, was when i checked my facebook profile and found out that he entered my facebook account, as you can see above, AND sent me a personal message from his own account to hit on me.  that’s why i know his name is hafid.

Here's the guy she says stole the phone:

She knows he lives in Dubai because he posed in front of its skyline (and also because he has tried Skyping her friends).

He likes the finer things in life ...

Although he may not be able to afford them, judging by his apartment (this is one of Hafid's roommates):

The Tumblr has about 12,000 followers and Hafid is still taking pictures with the upload function enabled. It's been going on since July 28, and there's no sign yet that Hafid has any idea how famous he has become.

Follow the rest of the saga here.

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For the last year, the North Korean government has been trying to convince anyone who'd listen that its tourism industry is booming. 

With North Korea's long history of fibbing, those reports were a little suspect ... until stories emerged about the country is having the same problem as many popular tourist destinations: dealing with crude Chinese tourists. "

Simon Cockerell, of Koryo Tours, which specialises in travel to the reclusive socialist state, cites as an example mainland tourists throwing sweets at North Korean children 'like they're feeding ducks'," reports The South China Morning Post's Kristine Servando. "If mainland tourists go to a school performance, they don't have any qualms about rushing to the stage and picking up a child for photos," Cockerell adds, pointing out another faux pas that is irking North Koreans. 

We've noted in the past, that Chinese tourists have usurped Americans as the tourists everyone complains about—in Paris there's reportedly a Chinese language-only order that warns people not to defecate or urinate on the museum grounds and a hotel opening up that says Chinese tourists are not welcome; in Singapore, Chinese tourists are chastised for talking too loud; in Chiang Mai, Thailand buddhist monks have a hard time explaining rules to them; in Egypt there was the Chinese tourist who carved his name into the Luxor temple; and in China itself there are stories of zoo-goers abusing animals. You get the picture: There are many complaints about Chinese tourists all over the world. But those complaints are leavened by all of the money Chinese tourists spend. 

In North Korea's case, these complaints about tourists may even be a signal of authenticity from acountry that loves pumping positive stories out about itself. Servando reports:

The Chinese tourism office says 237,400 Chinese travelled to North Korea last year, 22.5 per cent more than in 2011, but a North Korean tourism official has claimed as many as 700,000 came in 2010-11.

But for a country like North Korea, with the several warnings and travel restrictions it carries, you could see how they want to overlook these transgressions. And apparently, Chinese tourists may be even less beloved than Americans. "I don't see tensions, but I would think that the Chinese are even less popular as individuals than the Americans. I think because the Chinese are close by, while the Americans are abstract - they're far away and there's a lot of propaganda about them," Cockerell said. Ouch. 

More from The Atlantic Wire:

• Alex Rodriguez Will Be Suspended Through 2014 by Major League Baseball
• The Embassy Closures Prove Everyone's Point on NSA Surveillance
• Tamerlan Tsarnaev Had a Strange Reading List

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