Out There

Ballpark Estimate: $200 to $4,100 If the word “shark” strikes a sense of fear deep in your heart, you are not alone. Many people today have an intense fear of being attacked by a shark. The good news, though, is that shark attacks are quite rare. In fact, more people are actually killed by lightning strikes…

Ballpark Estimate: $1,000 to $5,300 for sub-orbital space; $10,000 to $45,000 to launch to the moon If you’ve always wanted to explore the universe but can’t afford the high price of a round-trip ticket into outer space, a few private companies are working together to offer the next best thing: the chance for your cremated remains to…

Ballpark Estimate: $1,100 to $3,500 If you’ve always dreamed of being a fighter pilot but find thought that role was out of your reach, think again. There are several companies today that will let you try on the job for size without your needing to switch careers or join the military to qualify. All you need…

Ballpark Estimate: $400 to $500/person If you’re planning to vacation in East Africa, there’s one excursion that, without question, must be placed on your itinerary – witnessing the annual migration of the Wildebeest from a hot-air balloon. Usually, the best time for viewing this spectacle in the Serengeti of Tanzania is between June and August. In…

Ballpark Estimate: $1,000 to $15,000 for all of the related costs If you want to get married but have given up on discovering the woman of your dreams through some of the traditional methods like being introduced by friends or meeting at a singles bar, you may want to broaden the parameters of your search to…

Ballpark Estimate: $40,000 Most people know the tragic story of the RMS Titanic. This extravagant cruise liner, which spanned almost one-sixth of a mile long, was the largest ship ever built and also the most opulent. But despite its magnificent presence, it crashed into an iceberg on April 14, 1912 during its first transatlantic journey, and…

Ballpark Estimate: $100,000 On the evening of January 1, 1863, following a busy day of greeting White House visitors in the Blue Room, President Abraham Lincoln retired to a second-floor room and before less than a dozen witnesses, signed a five-page document that forever changed the course of U.S. history. From that day forward, the Emancipation…

Ballpark Estimate: $20 to $250 for DIY; $100 to $200 for visit with medium Do you think it’s possible to communicate with the dead? Some people find comfort and solace in “speaking” to loved ones even after they are gone. But for others, this form of communication goes another step, as they use different methods to try…

Ballpark Estimate: $200 + airfare to Bucharest, Romania Yes, there really was a Dracula. And, yes, there really is a Dracula’s Castle located in the Transylvanian region of central Romania. One of the country’s most popular tourist attractions, today this castle remains much as Bram Stoker described it over one hundred years ago, making it the…

Ballpark Estimate: $500 to $100,000 When it comes to planning a children’s birthday party, it used to be enough to invite the neighborhood children over for homemade cup cakes and a plan game of pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey to commemorate the passing of another year. But over the past decade, the traditions have been changing, fueled by some particularly…

Ballpark Estimate: $2 billon to $2.5 billion Silently cruising the black depths of the global oceans, the U.S. nuclear attack submarines are a constant reminder of the precarious world we live in as they continue to maintain their vigilant surveillance. Able to stay submerged for months at a time, (only limited by the quantity of food…