Chocolate World Opens at New York-New York

Hershey’s Chocolate World opened at New York-New York on Tuesday, June 3, 2014. The 13,000 square foot, two-story flagship store features an 11-foot, 800-pound replica of the Statue of Liberty that was hand carved from milk chocolates. There is also a replica of the Empire State Building, made out of 1,800 Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bars. Customers can mix and buy their favorite Hershey’s candies, customize their candy bar wraps, and purchase a large selection of accessories such as T-shirts, stuffed animals, mugs and key chains.

On an unrelated note, one year ago, Edward Snowden revealed highly-classified National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance documents through Glenn Greenwald's report in the Guardian on June 5, 2013, sending a shockwave throughout the world. It is important for us to continue the debate so that the freedom and liberty can be preserved, and Lady Liberty wouldn't end up just being a prop.

Postcard US-2236311 to Ukraine and US-2566020 to Italy shows a half-sized replica of the Statue of Liberty in front of New York-New York Casino and Hotel. In 2011, The U.S. Postal Service issued a Statue of Liberty stamp, accidentally based on this replica in Las Vegas rather than the original in New York City.

Over the Rainbow in Las Vegas

Rainbow over the Mirage

It seldom rains in Las Vegas. Measured at the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport between 1981 and 2010, the average annual precipitation is about 4.19 inch or 106.4 mm. In average, there are 26.5 raining days per year; even during the wettest month in February, it has only 4 days of precipitation. It is the driest month in June when the average monthly precipitation is 0.07 inch or 1.78 mm with 0.6 raining days. (Interestingly, in English, plural "days" is used with zero or a decimal version of less than one instead of singular "day"). I used to live in West Palm Beach, Florida. In comparison, the average annual precipitation during the same period there is 62.31 inch or 1,582.67 mm with 136 raining days per year.

As a result, we rarely see rainbows in Las Vegas. Therefore, when it does occur, it's beautiful and magnificent. The postcard US-2276095 is currently traveling to Moldova featuring a rainbow over the Mirage Hotel and Casino.

On Youtube, you can watch "Over the Rainbow" from the 1939 movie "the Wizard of Oz", sung by actress Judy Garland.

Here are a few more postcards with rainbows over Las Vegas: US-2236311 with New York-New York Hotel and Casino to Ukraine and US-2205397 with Wynn Las Vegas to California, USA.

New York - New York Hotel and Casino

Wynn Las Vegas