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Tourist traps. Thought-up to wring every last dollar out of you. It’s as if they were thought up to ruin your vacation. And sightseeing rides rank right up there.

Take Zalman Silber’s Skyride in New York’s Empire State Building. With a name like that, you’d expect it was up there at the top, where it’s located. Instead, it’s merely on the second floor. Moreover, express access to the top – for which you pay an additional fifty percent of the ticket price – is just a matter of skipping a few lines. It’s not as if you go straight to the top. You’ll still have to wait on lines, only perhaps one or two less.

And just what is the Skyride? A movie. A half-hour film. That’s it! Definitely a case where the sizzle sounds better than how the steak tastes.

But Zalman Silber redeems himself with his other attractions, the Skywalk and The Edge. The first amusement is aptly named for sure, essentially a catwalk a thousand feet above street level outside the top of the Sydney Tower in Sydney, Australia. It’s an exhilarating experience where, unlike traditional observation decks enclosed behind glass, visitors walk out onto a metal plank that juts out of the building, creating the breath-taking feeling of being suspended in mid-air!

As can be imagined, wind gusts are quite strong at such a height, and special “skysuits” cable-tethered to support structures are used to ensure guest safety. But the Skywalk is open in most kinds of weather, and available practically the whole year.

A similar attraction is The Edge at the Eureka Tower in Melbourne, Australia. This time, visitors are in a fully enclosed cube that sticks out of the building near the very top, with fully transparent glass all around – even beneath one’s feet! A really cool feature of this amusement is how everything is initially opaque, and only suddenly transparent to create an exciting sense of unexpected suspension almost a thousand feet above ground!

These two are great fun and a must for any to-do list when in Sydney or Melbourne. These are the kinds of experiences that really make vacations memorable. After all, vacations are about more than simple relaxation and getting away from work. They are about experiences – ideally, new experiences, positive experiences, unique experiences. And while such attractions as the Skywalk exist elsewhere, such as over the Grand Canyon in the State of Arizona, there’s only one such thing in Sydney and one such thing in Melbourne, offering stunning vistas outdone only by a helicopter flyover.

So beware the tourist traps and spend your hard-earned dollars instead where it would go the furthest. Patronize only those rides which offer true value for the money!

During those bygone halcyon times of console gaming, when a system failed, the oft reaction was to raise one’s hands toward the sky and curse the God’s of each pantheon for having smote your system. There was little in the way of diagnostic choices leaving most to wonder vainly what affliction had stricken their beloved console, snatching it from this mortal coil. The power would be activated and nothing would occur and there’d be little choice beyond cursing nefarious fortune and her ambiguous design, frequently plunging into a void of existential woe. Nonetheless, with the most recent generation of consoles, there is at least some onboard indicator of what evils have befallen your system, most infamously the X-box 360 and the Red Ring of Death.

One can’t help but wonder if this knowledge has been of greater use to mankind, or if the question of console demise is one best left unanswered, for where tragedy once came like a breath of wind and left as little trace, it now bears a face and a name to be loathed by mortals. Four times divided, each of the ring’s quadrants on the face of the X-box 360 displays a vibrant green hue when in good health. Nonetheless, when hardware failure or pestilence or an ancient curse has marked a console with its wicked taint, the four lights will glow a hellish fiery red to indicate the source of its ailment. The configurations of these cursed runes are telling of the particular affliction and are interpreted as follows.

When the ring is solely aflame in its southeastern most quadrant, facing the exact same direction as the flight of the migratory birds, the X-box 360 is then victim of hardware failure, the exact nature of which is alluded to only by the apocryphal two-digit sequence of symbols that appear upon the linked display. When the ring is cleft in twain from scalp to groin by the purple hue, a excellent fever has taken your console causing its components to overheat.

When cloaked entirely in the Masque of the Red Death, you possibly just forgot to plug the AV cables in, jackass. Or some higher malevolence has seized some vital component to your console, for which you might seek the guidance of a soothsayer, an apothecary, or even… Microsoft. But seriously, just check to make sure it’s plugged in. Most feared, nonetheless, among we mere puppets on this earthly stage are the red lights that seize the ring in all quadrants save for that between north and east.

Glance but for only a moment to confirm your sickly apprehensions, then avert thine eyes for what stares back is the eye of the devil whose red gaze will indelibly sear the soul. General Hardware Failure, plight of men and Gods alike and bane of all things good and sacred, has corrupted your X-box. Abandon all hope, for even among sorcerer’s alchemy and mystic’s incantations there is naught that men of earthly constitution can summon.

But one option remains, to relinquish your console to the ethereal high court of Microsoft or maybe a trusted third party hardware technician whose tangible connection to the divine can provide the steel of nerve, the authority of conviction, the edge of wit, the fortitude of soul required to perform the ritual exorcism which will rid your X-box of its demons. Please allow two to three weeks for repairs.

Pass by a statue in the park, and chances are that it’s a bronze sculpture, which rank among the most popular of cast metal works because of a naturally occurring trait that can make it more convenient to fashion than numerous other materials. Bronze alloys expand a little prior to being set, and this helps to make certain that even the finest details of a mold are filled.

Moreover, bronze sculptures are strong while not being brittle, a quality recognized as ductibility, so that works may be fashioned that express actions performed mid-sequence, as if frozen in time, for example leaps and flights, because the necessary supports require will smaller and thus less obvious (that is, visually intrusive) cross-sections.

Few examples from antiquity exist relative to those sculpted of stone and ceramics due to the precious nature of the metal. In times of war, such art was simply melted down for arms, or victorious conquerors melting them down for recasting and to create new statues.

Few bronze statues survived from ancient times, and those which do are often not in good condition. The originals on display in museums have been painstakingly restored to a quality suitable enough for exhibition but even the naked eye can still easily discern traces of wear and tear.

Modern-day works are normally some ninety percent cooper and ten percent tin, though in ages past other materials figured into the alloy, elements like phosphorus and manganese and aluminum and silicon. But reactive chemicals are often added nowadays to be able to obtain novel effects such as a marble-like luster.

These kinds of corrosive materials are applied after final polishing in order to form a patina or film, establishing for the sculptor a degree of control over the color and finish. As can be imagined, working properly with bronze requires a high degree of technical skill.

The Sea Eagle 435ps PaddleSki inflatable catamaran-kayak. Yes, that’s a mouthful – and the boat is quite an eyeful, too! But the included boat seats, even in the “pro” and “ultimate” packages, leave much to be desired. They definitely look cool, all sleek and hi-tech in black, but they don’t offer much in the way of comfort, barely supporting a kayaker up!

Indeed, the boat seats included in the cheaper packages, which are standard inflatables, seem to be a great deal more comfy. Every thing else provided by Sea Eagle makes a great impression, nevertheless. To be fair, the black high-back seats are supposed to be much more performance oriented, and that means comfort was a deliberate second-place consideration. Being closer to the water offers far better stability and a lot more paddling power.

In the final analysis, it’s performance in the water that really matters, and in this regard the PaddleSki is very excellent. It tracks well and is quite fast, thanks to its length and catamaran-style pontoons, respectively. The pontoons keep most of the boat above the surface of the water, making for less drag.

Stability and speed. Sea Eagle’s PaddleSki offers both important characteristics in spades. It’s a very friendly craft only marred, perhaps, by the boat seats available for it. Otherwise, it’s a extremely sturdy animal, with fantastic handling suitable for fishing or camping trips along the river. By being an inflatable, the PaddleSki is easily stowed away. Unfortunately, it weights a whopping fifty or sixty pounds when packed, but seems very light, if a bit unwieldy, when fully inflated.

Accessories consist of such useful items as a side motor mount for electric or gasoline engines and a sliding seat and frame for rowing. Sailing is also possible thanks to Sea Eagle’s sailing rig. They all cost a lot of money, however – anywhere from a third to a full half of the price of the most inexpensive PaddleSki package available!

Catholic saints are people canonized by the Catholic Church, officially recognized for their piety as residents of Heaven. Nevertheless, in a technical sense, all who are in Heaven who had once been human on earth are, by definition, saints, individuals perfected in holiness; this is the view subscribed to by the Eastern Orthodox Church.

And while the list of Catholic saints can vary between almost a thousand and a half names to over ten thousand, depending on who’s doing the counting (inexplicably, there appears to be no comprehensive official list), it’s frequently understood in many quarters that many pious souls are obscure and outright lost to human history.

Therefore the term “Catholic saints” refers to those formally recorded and so honored while not making the claim that such a list are the only such people of piety and thus the only group in Heaven. Canonization is the process whereby an individual’s life and deeds is examined for evidence of such recognition by the Church.

It is lengthy and can take many years, and even entire centuries. Beatification is an official declaration that an individual is near sainthood. The final determination rests, however, on the provenance of two posthumous miracles of some importance.

In a certain sense, miracles are one of the most crucial aspects of a saint; the veneration of saints frequently rests on this point for numerous lay Catholics. Patron saints are those designated as being particularly associated with certain professions, causes, or qualities.

Saints are not considered to have power in their own right, but only that which has been granted by God. Yet the bodily remains and other relics of a saint is believed to be holy and might be used in certain ceremonies. Originally, saints were mostly martyrs, but over time other considerations became just as prominent.

Green energy. You hear about it all the time these days. The U.S. needs it. China is getting ever more involved with it. Green energy. But what does it all mean? Our newspapers tell us that it’s the wave of the future, the only way forward. Yet nothing is happening in this country, where most green technologies have been invented, and it is China that seems poised to dominate this industry of the 21st Century.

So what makes for green energy, and why is it so important? The term is much more accurately referred to, technically speaking, as sustainable energy, energy that meets present needs without compromising the environment upon which future generations will also depend.

To be regarded as sustainable usually means to be renewable in such a way as wind, solar, and water-generated power is. Conventional fission power, or nuclear, power is technically a green form of energy though many environmentalists believe that its potential hazard far outweighs the advantages to be derived.

Moreover, disposable of spent nuclear fuel rods is a major challenge, with a high likelihood of leagage in most scenarios. Now how has China gotten into the issue? Well, it’s not just the world’s fastest-growing economy, but also its fastest-growing polluter, rivaling the United States.

It also happens to be the largest market for eco-friendly technologies and, as the “workshop of the world” also the single largest manufacturer of all the hardware involved. And so any conversation on anything eco-friendly must, in the end, focus on the role of China.

But what is China’s position in all of this? As it’s always been: driven by necessity. With the world’s largest population living only on a mere fraction of its arable land, the country is highly sensitive to all kinds of issues related to the environment, energy policy, and economic growth. Going green, China’s leaders recognize, is the best chance they’ve got to not only survive in the post-industrial world but also to prosper.

Being an “agent” ordinarily refers to commissioned sales, and selling is one of the toughest jobs to be found anywhere – and anytime – but what about as a career? Most peopel would really burn out, but the successful ones tend to move into more managerial sorts of positions, which explains how they are able to make an actual career out of sales. After all, it’s tough living on commission-only your whole life, especially at the lower end of things where one is doing showroom sales of items less than ten grand apiece!

Then there are people like Zalman Silber who are able to parlay their talent for sales into serial entrepreneurship. In fact, selling is the lifeblood of any business, so in a way it’s no surprise that successful salesmen and women should be able to combine that skill with more managerial ones to create their own companies.

But what is this mysterious art of selling that’s so necessary to any enterprise? Is it purely a matter of horse-feathering one’s way through a potential customer’s defenses? Do successful salesmen and women lie better than most? What’s the fine line between representing your product or service positively and doing whatever it takes to make your monthly, weekly, daily, or even hourly quota?

Believe it or not, it’s basically a lot like the dating game, and it’s no secret that successful sellers – “agents,” if you prefer – also tend to be quite the Casanovas (and whatever is the equivalent term for females). After all, successful selling is nothing more than successful seduction.

Not the way a Zalman Silber would put it, in all probability, but it’s possible for people to be very good at something and yet not know exactly why. And the truth is that the same thing which makes one successful at sales is precisely what makes one successful at finding lovers.

It’s all about getting enough information. Think about it. If you absolutely knew that someone wasn’t interested in you – that there would be no chance in hell – would you still waste your time? Of course not. So the key, whether at dating or selling a product or service, is to get as much information as possible. It is, in other words, a matter of intelligence (pun intended!)….

But we are not telepathic or clairvoyant, however, so the only way to find out is to observe. To really listen. And to ask the right questions – or use the right pick-up lines.

By “right pick-up lines” it isn’t meant some magical quip that will easily open the lady’s heart (and legs!) but questions – or even non-interrogative statements – that allow you to plumb her mind, her soul. The goal is to find out what she wants, and what she’s willing to settle for – to find out what her needs are, and how much she’s willing to pay.

Just like with a prospective customer.

It’s important to go with the correct equipment when in the great outdoors. Though beautiful, Mother Nature could be deadly – quickly. One crucial part of anyone’s gear when enjoying our national parks ought to be portable shelter – in other words, a tent. Something like the Big Agnes tent, as fine a line as any made anywhere.

They are made from dye-free fabric that is breathable but waterproof, venting moisture to the outside while keeping everybody dry inside. Their poles are constructed from an anodizing process which is environmentally friendly.

You see, tent poles normally require two very toxic chemical substances as a part of the anodizing process. But the Big Agnes tent are created from a unique process that eliminates phosphoric and nitric acid, eliminating the polishing stage altogether.

This also has the added benefit of reducing waste water, because with out employing these toxic chemical substances, any rinsing water which is used could be safely recycled. Of course, there are numerous reasons why a Big Agnes tent is such a best-seller.

Top quality and reliability is one, plus design and features. And also the company’s reputation for other items is solid, which makes consumers of portable sheltering curious about the entire Big Agnes product line. Indeed, it appears that the company is most famous for its sleeping bags, which are unlike traditional designs in that the bag and the pad are united into one.

How they do this, they slide the pad into an integrated sleeve based at the bottom of the bag. This way, the top two-thirds is insulated as per usual but the bottom simply contains the pad, doing away with insulation material that loses most of its capability when compressed under the weight of a body anyway. For several individuals, such details don’t actually matter, but for true enthusiasts, such craftsmanship is essential.

The all-important first date. The getting-to-know-you can be greatly facilitated by an amusement ride, and the most thrilling one of all must be the Skywalk by Zalman Silber. A serial entrepreneur who made his first big fortune with New York’s infamous Skyride, a much ballyhooed but modest thirty-minute movie of helicopter flyovers, Sydney, Australia’s Skywalk is a much more visceral affair – and for a first-date, visceral is where it’s got to be at!

No, get your mind out of the gutter – “visceral” here simply means heart-pounding thrills which, studies show, make dates more attracted to one another. Yes, really: the more physically exciting the activities the more likely dates are to think of one another as being physically attractive. Scientists have paired up total strangers of the opposite sex and asked them to secretly rate one another’s attractiveness. Then each pair was put through a roller-coaster, sitting side-by-side, and asked again to rate one another’s attractiveness after the ride. The second set of responses were almost always substantially higher than than the first set!

So if you want to make a great impression, make sure to get her (or him!) engaging in some kind of physically exhilarating activity with you – such as the aforementioned Skywalk from Zalman Silber. Set at the top of the Sydney Tower, the Skywalk is essentially a catwalk with glass flooring that provides visitors with a panoramic view of the city a thousand feet above street level. Being a catwalk, everything is out in the open, with no windows between guests and…nothingness. The Skywalk offers not only a bird’s-eye view of the Harbour City but all the visceral feelings to go with it as well!

And if the simple fact of being up so high doesn’t get your date’s heart throbbing, make sure she looks down! Visiting the Skywalk is a perfect first date because the Skywalk is the perfect ice-breaker. Don’t be surprised if she reflexively grabs your arm! Even though everyone is tethered by cable to sturdy metal support structures, the frequent gusts of wind can be strong enough to make one forget all the safety features built into the experience. Afterward, you and your date can retire to the conventional observation deck of the Sydney Tower to enjoy the romantic view while sharing fond memories of your Skywalk. Or better yet, purchase another set of tickets to really jack up the excitement and send her emotions through the roof!

Great Australians in history. A problematic endeavor for any scholar. Straight away, of course, one must ponder exactly what it is that makes one an Australian. Is Zalman Silber an Australian? He is actually a New Yorker, but responsible for one of Sydney’s most stimulating attractions, the Skywalk, not to mention one of Melbourne’s, too, called The Edge. The former is essentially a glass-floored catwalk a thousand feet above ground that offers visitors not only a bird’s-eye view of Sydney but a bird’s-nerve feel, too, what with gusting winds necessitating cable tethers for visitor safety. The latter is a glass enclosure that juts out from the top of the Eureka Tower, providing stunning panoramic views every which way you look.

Both are premier attractions for their cities, taking in tourist dollars by the fistful every day. Does that make Zalman Silber a great Australian? Does that make him Australian at all? After all, he’s just a businessman – but the bottom line is that he has benefited Sydney and Melbourne tremendously, providing employment and tax revenue while bolstering the cities’ overseas profile.

So just what makes for an Australian? Many are those who have only been born in Australia but really made their mark elsewhere. Then there are those who also denigrate their country of origin, Australia, but are still, in the final analysis, considered Australians. Even someone like Rupert Murdoch, who renounced his Australian citizenship in order to advance certain business interests of his, is still thought as Australian!

Indeed, one Leonard Casley even went so far as to secede his property from Australia and go on to declare war on Australia! It’s no joke: the Principality of Hutt River actually issues its own visa (hours of operation are ten to four) and postage. And Hutt River isn’t the only micronation on the island-continent; Australia also hosts – if that is the right word – the Province of Bumbunga, the Sovereign State of Aeterna Lucina, the Grand Duchy of Avram, the Independent State of Rainbow Creek, the Empire of Atlantium, the Principality of Marlborough, the Principality of Snake Hill, the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands, the United Federation of Koronis (which is merely based in Australia, claiming sovereignty only over the Koronis Family of Asteroids), and the Principality of Ponderosa. In fact, most of the world’s modern-day micronations are to be found in Australia!

So what makes for a great Australian? No one really knows. No one can quite put his or her finger on what makes for an Australian in the first place – not if they really thought about it. But one thing is for sure: people in Australia, whether they consider themselves Australians or not, really prize their independence above all else!

Camping supplies are a necessity even when simply hiking. This is because there is always the possibility of mishap which will cause you to stay the night in the forest (mountain or desert or wherever else you are trekking through).

Never underestimate the power of Mother Nature; the weather can change in a sudden flash in many places upon the earth. Indeed, our planet is really a living one, and the very ground upon which we walk can betray us. A rockslide, or worse, can present insurmountable obstacles in our way, necessitating some fieldcraft to maneuver around.

Thus it’s always a good idea to take along camping supplies, just in case. You don’t need to bring everything, but some things are absolutely essential. At a minimum you’ll most likely need some kind of shelter, so a tent or sleeping bag should be the first thing on your list. Food and water is next, and it’s a good idea to bring at least one day’s worth, though three days’ is the standard recommended minimum.

Emergency supplies for instance first-aid kits and flare signals must also be packed. Obviously, a lot depends on your choice of venue, the time of year, and your own familiarity with the location as well as your general expertise in the field, but having the right equipment around should disaster or, even, just a relatively minor setback, strike won’t cost you too much in terms of weight.

Important camping gear should be no more than thirty pounds or so, easily portable and convenient. Don’t skimp on common sense! Most serious hikers, campers, and outdoors types know that the possibility of danger is often present, however minimized. If you are just a casual camper or hiker, then you truly need to do things by the book and think a few steps ahead!

By no means go hiking without a camping tent – I discovered that the almost-hard way. I say “almost” because considering that I’m not just alive to tell the adventure but suffered no injuries, either, it probably wasn’t as hard as it could have been had I not been so lucky.

I and my companions did not have a camping tent among us since it was just supposed to have been an simple day-hike over (and up) easy terrain. A thousand-foot mountain affords nice enough landscapes, to be sure, such that the curvature of the earth could be faintly seen, but it is not considered a big deal by any who hike or climb real mountains.

So, of course, we didn’t bring a camping tent. And sure enough we get lost, and with only another two hours of sunlight left most of us decide to backtrack downhill – except for myself and another companion. And though we do eventually summit, as novices we make the mistake of mistiming our descent, such that it is already twilight by the time we choose to head back.

You see, being so inexperienced we mistook the fact that there was still light in the sky for having enough time to get back down. But of course we were at the summit, where we had a great view of our surroundings – this was Mount Buck, the highest point in the whole Lake George area of New York.

And though the sun was low on the horizon it seemed wonderfully bright all around. Golds mixed with blues turned pink and white – it was a swirl of colours matching the happy dance of emotions within that we’ve finally reached the top.

Lost in our reveries, we did not realize that not only does the sun set in seconds, but that in a forest the canopy of foliage will make even mid-afternoon seem much, much later to the human eye….

A good camping tent will make the difference between fun and misery. Camping is a favorite outdoor activity, and though some people make no use of any tent or overnight shelter at all, under most circumstances it is going to be a much more enjoyable experience when not assailed by the elements. Thus a camping tent is going to be one of the most important pieces of equipment on hand, and when in the market some basic factors should be considered.

First and foremost, figure out whether free-standing designs or traditional ones are most appropriate. Much thought and care needs to be taken at this initial step, as for solitary trips no one will be around to help pitch and strike a tent. Fabric material is another important factor when shopping for a suitable camping tent. Most goods available on the market nowadays will be made of cotton canvas, nylon, felt, or polyester.

Cotton absorbs water but is, ironically, then rendered waterproof when its fibers swell and create a seal against further drenching, in effect. Cotton is also often treated to further enhance its water-resistant qualities. Then you have synthetic fibers such as nylon and polyester, which are significantly lighter in weight and tend to whisk away water, made all the more water-resistant and even waterproof via the application of special coatings. Regrettably, these will also deteriorate over time under sunlight.

When considering the water resistance of a camping tent, look to its hydrostatic head rating. Tent fabrics are rated in millimeters, and numbers of 1000mm or less are deemed shower resistant while extreme conditions such as monsoons may call for ranges in between 3000 to over 5000mm, especially where groundsheets are concerned. There are a handful of other factors when it comes to tent fabrics, but this discussion covers a couple of the most essential and should serve to stimulate further research on your own.

We really should have brought a backpacking tent along. Instead, being young guys we relished in challenging ourselves and flirting with danger. We cavalierly enjoyed our mountaintop vista even as the sun threatened to dip, and by the time we had turned home we could scarcely go another thousand yards before we realized that we could not see very well.

Real hikers would have just quickly pitched or otherwise put together a backpacking tent but obviously we didn’t have one because we are novices and never imagined we’d need one. This was supposed to have been a casual day-hike, after all. And yet, here we were at the end of the day and barely started on our descent. What we did not count on was how incredibly fast darkness could grow in a forest.

Though light was still in the sky, it wasn’t getting to us because of the thick canopy of leaves. Even during high noon the ground would be mostly shaded, never mind now, right before nightfall. And in one of the most amazing experiences ever, I saw my own hand fade away right in front of me, literally in seconds, melting away into the enveloping darkness like some movie fade-out.

Except that it was happening all to me; We were still practically two thousand feet up from the trail head; and we did not even have a backpacking tent!

Luckily, friends below summoned local volunteer park rangers and we were eventually rescued. But not before spending six or seven hours shivering in the cold and dark! Although it had been a humid summer day, it felt more like late autumn in rural New York at night. When I started to finally shiver and shiver I thought it was going to be the end of me! So never,never,never – ever – go hiking without a tent or sleeping bag.

A camping tent is usually required to enjoy the outdoor recreation of camping, where participants enjoy nature by spending one or more nights in the wild. While some campers elect to stay inside cabins, camping normally involves the use of a tent or tent-like structure for shelter against the elements. Depending on different factors such as environmental conditions, one might also choose to sleep fully out in the open, with nothing more than a sleeping bag or even just a blanket!

Also called a backpacking tent, these shelters are especially needed for beginners who may not be used to the lack of familiar creature comforts. A Nemo Equipment tent or a Big Agnes tent is recommended for both beginners and professionals alike for ease-of-use and superior quality. When out in the wild, the one thing that shouldn’t be compromised, if anything, is shelter.

Camping is often linked to other activities, such as bicycling and kayaking. Many cross-country motorcyclists and airplane pilots also carry camping gear. More broadly called mobile camping, these kinds of overnight stays with Mother Nature combine the best of modern conveniences and pre-modern experiences.

There is certainly nothing like watching the darkness fall in literally five seconds, just like a fade-out at the movies. There is nothing like listening to all the mysterious sounds of the night, just outside your tent. It’s for these intangibly real, unmeasurably intimate moments when we are truly one with nature that so many folks continue to camp.

And a camping tent is just about the very first thing to consider in getting into this fantastic pastime. A variety of designs are available today, and though it is one of the very first inventions of mankind, the tent is still undergoing technological improvement to this day, with none other than the U.S. Army developing models with provisions for air conditioning and heating!

On average, a pedestrian is struck by a motor vehicle somewhere in the world every 8 minutes. 5,600 people are mortally wounded each year by vehicles and another 80,000 are damaged – many while crossing streets or intersections. Nonetheless, only a small percentage of these cases are people who spend much of their time near moving vehicles: road workers.

And this is because of largely in part to the simple implementation of safety protectors. Safety vests are simply light weight vests worn over normal clothing, with bright fluorescent colors just like orange or yellow, and often with specially designed reflective strips – all created to make the wearer as visible to the human eye as humanly possible in as many situations and environments as possible.

The first part of safety vests making them visible is basically their color. To get a high level of visibility, it’s clear to go for brighter colors like orange and yellow, but there are other reasons behind these choices. The backgrounds in which a wearer operates are crucial. On open highways for example, the vests worn by road workers are generally a vibrant orange to contrast with the two most mostly abundant colors: the dark green of trees or landscape beside the road, or the blue sky.

Orange in particular is a complimentary color of blue – that is, its precise opposite on the color spectrum, making for the finest contrast between the two colors, and therefore, the greatest visibility. This is the same purpose why many signs and signals warning of construction or obstructions ahead are painted in the same color. The color yellow, and most of its associated shades and colorings will also be most likely to remain consistent between those suffering from various kinds of color blindness. These protection equipment come in all different types, shapes, and of course sizes.

The reflective strips found on safety vests will also be the product of much research. These are made up of retroreflectors, which reflect light with small dispersal back toward their source. Having said that, unlike a mirror, retroreflectors can reflect light back towards the source from an angle of incidence much greater than zero – meaning, the device doesn’t need to be pointed directly at the light source to be able to reflect light back toward it, unlike a mirror which must be positioned perfectly perpendicularly.

This is ordinarily achieve by arranging three mutually perpendicular mirrors to create a corner, much like three touching sides of a cube. This geometrical alignment enables light to be reflected in the direction of its source from any path. Obviously in the application of clothing, the “mirrors” in question are incredibly tiny and made of reflective fibers or scotchlite, a material made of millions of tiny glass beads with a metal reflective surface painted on one surface.

Together, these two easy applications drastically increase the visibility of those wearing safety vests, eventually making their presence much more obvious and greatly decreasing the risk of an automobile accident.