Today's Video of the Day takes us on a techno-filled trip through Shanghai, courtesy of photographer Rob Whitworth. Although much of the short time-lapse film focuses on twinking lights and congested traffic, it also shows the city is much more than that by stopping to follow both a taxi driver and a woman selling flowers. The video also stops for a few seconds to give a glimpse into a couple local kitchens. My favorite part, however, is just after the minute mark, when the lights that make up Shanghai's skyline shut off one by one. Watch for yourself and see what part of Shanghai you'd most like to experience.

Historic cannons from Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, that date to the Civil War have been meticulously conserved and returned to the fort, the National Park Service announced. Some of these big guns, weighing up to 15,000 pounds each, were used to fire on Fort Sumter just across Charleston Harbor. It was this attack on a federal fort that was the official start of the Civil War.

Scientists removed several layers of old paint from the 17 cannons and applied a coat of epoxy to protect them from rust. They also applied a durable coat of fresh paint. The cannons are exposed to the elements as well as salty, humid sea air, so choosing the right coating can make the difference between an evocative, educational exhibit and a rusting heap of trash.

Fort Moultrie is part of the Fort Sumter National Monument and has the world's largest collection of American seacoast artillery from the 19th century. Last year a team of conservators visited Fort Sumter and treated several artillery shells from these cannons, many of which have been stuck in the fort's walls since the day they were fired.

When the cruise ship Costa Concordia was grounded off the coast of Italy, the blame fell on Captain Vincent Schettino, practically convicted by the court of popular opinion. In July, Schettino will go on trial. Meanwhile, a Moldovian dancer who was on the ship has problems of her own

At the time of the event, we met Domnica Cemortan, 26, a former cruise ship "hostess" and dancer from Mondolvia. It was said in a variety of publications that Cremoran was having dinner at the time with Schettino and somehow wound up on the bridge. Now, Cemortan is suing Schettino and the cruise line for damages of $280,000-$420,000 over the $15,000 being offered to all who sailed.

"The media has presented her as a prostitute," insists Gianluca Madonna, Cremortan's Italian lawyer. Apparently, at the time of the accident, Cremortan told investigators that she was "in love" with Schettino, a suggestion she later told the UK's Daily Telegraph that she rejected, reports Travel Blackboard.

Cremortan is now seeking damages against Schettino and the cruise line for failing to defend and rehire her. She might also go after several Italian newspapers, magazines and TV channels who she says "slandered her reputation for suggesting she had been involved with the captain."

New York City hasn't built a new line since 1932, and after seeing these pictures one can begin to understand why. The $17 billion project to create the Second Avenue Subway is a massive undertaking - and that's an understatement.

Sometimes referred to as "The Line That Time Forgot," the Second Avenue Subway has been planned and occasionally worked on since the 1920s. The many delays are due to numerous reasons, but if things keep moving along a new 8.5-mile tunnel will stretch from Hanover Square at the tip of Manhattan up to 125th Street in Harlem. On all those transit maps around New York, the new line will be known as the T service.

Get an idea of just how much goes into unearthing a new line in the pictures below.

Yellow Duckmarine promises a "splashdown" ending to each of its tours - but it looks like some passengers got a little more than they bargained for. Twenty-seven people were taken to the hospital when an amphibious tourist bus sank shortly after entering a dock in the United Kingdom, the BBC is reporting. The incident is the second involving the same company - and the same dock - in the past few months.

There were 31 people on board the Yellow Duckmarine when its landing at Liverpool's Albert Dock went awry shortly before 4 p.m. An eyewitness tells the news outlet the vessel took about four minutes to sink, and many people - including children - had to climb out and swim to safety. More than two-dozen people were taken to the hospital to be treated, reporting injuries that ranged from cuts and bruises to shock.

The tour company told the BBC it was working with the coastguard and police to find out the root of the problem. In March, Yellow Duckmarine was banned from going into the water after one of its boats sank, forcing passengers to be moved onto a pontoon. Just last month, three vehicles were declared safe to give tours again, but obviously it seems like everything hasn't been sorted out.

The video below shows people making their escape from the bus, including a mother holding a baby above the water.

The horse has been with us for thousands of years. A loyal steed that has pulled plows, helped us migrate to new lands and carried us into battle, there is no more noble animal. We've honored the horse in myth, art and song, so what more fitting end to this fine beast than to eat it?

Horse meat is a good source of iron and is a free-range meat that's low in fat. Horses produce far less methane than cows, so they're easier on the environment too. As I mentioned in my post about Slovenian cuisine, Slovenia is one of the many European countries where horse is considered a delicacy. I'd never tried it before so while I was in the capital Ljubljana I decided to set out to one of the most popular places to eat horse – a horseburger stand called Hot Horse.

The branch I went to is in Tivoli Park, a large green area filled with families enjoying a sunny weekend. Hot Horse is located right next to a kid's play park offering slides and games. No pony rides, though. That would have made my day.

Hot Horse looks like pretty much any other fast food place you've seen, with garish colors and plastic furniture. I ordered a horseburger, small fries, and a Coke for €6.50 ($8.67). As you can see, the thing was huge and slathered with ketchup and mayonnaise. I had to scrape much of this off to actually taste the horse meat.

1. "The Gift of Fear," by Gavin De Becker, should be required reading for all men and women, especially for those of us who travel, particularly for women who travel alone. I've recommended this book to more flight attendants and passengers than anything thing else over the years. It's saved my life more than once.

2. Skip the first floor. They're easier to break into. That's why you'll never find a flight attendant below the second floor in a hotel. There's a reason for that. It's in our hotel contract.

3. Leave the lights and television on when you're not in the room. Put the Do Not Disturb sign on the door. It gives the appearance that someone is occupying the room, so no one will break in.

4. Stay Healthy: Never leave home without a small antibacterial spray. A mini bottle of vodka works just as well. Hit up the remote, the light switches, doorknobs and taps. You don't want to get sick while you're stuck at a less than desirable layover hotel.

5. Walk with intent. Walk down the street like you have a place to be, like you know where you're going and need to get there quickly. Do that and people will leave you alone.

As a gear reviewer for Gadling I see a lot of different products come and go across my desk. Everything from high-tech gadgets to travel apparel and footwear are sent my way for evaluation. After awhile, much of that gear can start to look alike and while I seldom come across an item that is completely without merit, it is also rare to find an item that surprises you with how well it performs. That happens to be the case with the new BirkSun Atlas, a backpack whose main selling point is its ability to charge your small electronics via a built in solar panel. But to focus too much on that one feature alone runs the risk of dismissing everything else this high quality pack brings to the table.

When I first took the Atlas out of the box it was shipped to me in, I was immediately struck by the high quality materials that it is made from. It uses soft, yet durable, fabrics that are resistant to the wear and tear that comes along with travel. In fact, after using this bag as a daily commuter pack for several weeks, it hasn't shown a hint of fraying, abrasions or any other typical blemishes that you would normally expect to come with regular use. Those same materials provide a level of water resistance as well, helping to protect the important items you carry inside. The entire package feels solid, well built and more than ready to hit the road.

Speaking of the interior of the pack, it is absolutely cavernous. BirkSun has designed this bag to allow you to carry all of your important equipment with you wherever you go. It includes a large laptop sleeve capable of safely holding up to a 17-inch notebook, while still giving you plenty of room in the main pocket for an iPad or other tablet, not to mention any other miscellaneous items that you want to bring along such as a camera, book, snacks and so on. A smaller secondary pocket houses the Atlas' battery pack (more on that later) and some organizational sub-pockets that come in handy for keeping track of smaller items like pens and business cards. An elastic water bottle holder along one side is a welcome touch too.

Ever set foot on an active volcano? There are about 1500 known active volcanoes around the world, and if you're up for it, you are able to climb many of them.

Mount Bromo in East Java is one of those active volcanoes, and in this photo by Lauren Irons we get a good feel for what it's like to be standing atop a volcano and looking into the center. The still puffing volcano shrouds the group in a cloud of smoke. The photo is made even more intense by the use of black and white photography; you really get the feel that the top of this mountain is grim and destitute.

Have an excellent shot from your travels? Submit it to the Gadling Flickr pool for a chance to be featured on Photo of the Day.

A hundred and twenty years ago, Norwegian scientist Fridtjof Nansen started a journey that made him one of the greatest explorers of all time. He set out to purposely get his ship frozen in the polar ice.

The reason? To study polar currents. His ship, the Fram, was purpose-built for the task. It needed to be; many crews had perished in the far north when their ships got frozen and then crushed by ice. The Fram spent three years stuck in the ice as the crew studied currents, took soundings and gathered a host of other scientific data that researchers are still sifting through. Not content with this adventure, Nansen set off on skis in a failed bid to be the first to the North Pole.

Nansen (1861-1930) was fascinated with the world of the Arctic. He was the first to ski across Greenland in 1888 and wrote about his adventures in The First Crossing of Greenland. This was the first of many exciting travel books he'd write. His most famous is Farthest North, his account of the Fram expedition. Nansen went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his work helping refugees after World War I, including the many victims of the Armenian Genocide. His ship is preserved at The Fram Museum in Oslo.

Now researchers at the Norwegian Polar Institute want to get their own ship frozen in the ice. They're hoping to take an old Arctic research vessel that's slated for the scrapyard and get it stuck in the ice during the winter of 2014-15.

They plan on studying the conditions of the ice, conditions that have changed markedly in the past few years. With the warming of the poles, most ice is only a year old, instead of being several years old like the ice that Nansen studied. This young ice is thinner, more saline, and has different reflective properties than older ice. Such a study may yield important data on how the Arctic is changing due to global warming.

You can read more about Nansen and the proposed project in an excellent two-part series on Science Nordic.