47 Travel Jokes: The 2010 “Filter Everything & Volcano Ash” Edition

In 2010, travel became “aesthetic.” We started taking photos of our airplane wings just to put a Lo-Fi filter on them, while the rest of the world was stuck in hotel lobbies because an Icelandic volcano decided to clear its throat. It was the year of the iPad, the birth of Instagram, and the end of the “Lost” era.

The 2010 Top 10: The “App Store & Ash” Classics

1. The Volcano Name: Why did the traveler miss his wedding? Because he couldn’t pronounce Eyjafjallajökull well enough to tell the airline which volcano was currently eating his flight.
2. The First Instagram: Why did the tourist let his pizza get cold? Because he had to spend 10 minutes choosing the perfect filter to make a 2-euro slice look like a “vintage Italian masterpiece.”
3. The iPad Arrival: Why was the traveler staring at a giant iPhone? He wasn’t; he had the first iPad, and he spent the whole flight trying to find a pocket big enough to hide it from the “electronics-free” takeoff.
4. The Angry Birds Peak: Why was the plane so quiet? Because everyone from 5 to 75 was busy slingshotting birds at pigs instead of looking at the actual Grand Canyon.
5. The Inception Effect: Why was the traveler terrified of his own dream? Because after the movie, he spent his entire vacation checking if his souvenir spinning top would ever stop falling over.
6. The Foursquare Mayor: Why was the man “Checking In” to the airport’s Cinnabon? Because he wanted to be the “Mayor” of sticky buns, even if it cost him his dignity and his waistline.
7. The Lost Finale: Why were the backpackers on the beach so angry? Because they spent 6 years watching a show about an island only to realize they understood their hotel’s Wi-Fi password better than the ending.
8. The iPhone 4 Grip: Why was the traveler holding his phone with two fingers? Because of “Antennagate”—if he touched the wrong spot, his “I landed safely” call would drop into the abyss.
9. The Toy Story 3: Why were grown men crying in the back of the plane? Because they watched the movie on the seatback screen and realized their childhood toys were probably in a landfill while they were in First Class.
10. The Uber Launch: Why was the traveler standing on a street corner in San Francisco? Because he’d heard of a “secret app” that could summon a black car to his location like he was a billionaire.

The Full 2010 Travel Jokes Archive

11. The WhatsApp Growth: Why did the traveler stop paying for SMS? Because WhatsApp became free, and he could finally send 400 “Are we there yet?” messages for the price of zero.
12. The Despicable Me: Why were there “Minions” everywhere? Because the movie came out and suddenly every yellow object at the airport looked like a potential henchman.
13. The Pinterest Launch: Why did the woman have a 50-page “Dream Vacation” board? Because Pinterest launched and she realized she preferred planning a trip to actually going on one.
14. The Alice in Wonderland: Why was the tourist so confused in London? Because Tim Burton made the world so weird he expected Johnny Depp to be serving tea at the Tower.
15. The Justin Bieber “Baby”: Why was the airport terminal so loud? Because that song was playing in every duty-free shop, and every teenager was “Oh-h-h-h”-ing during security.
16. The Kindle 3: Why was the reader so happy? Because the “Graphite Kindle” finally had enough contrast to read The Hunger Games while sitting on a sun-drenched beach.
17. The Katy Perry “California Gurls”: Why did the traveler bring whipped cream to the pool? Because the music video made it look like a valid fashion choice for the summer of 2010.
18. The Social Network Movie: Why was the traveler staring at his Facebook profile? Because the movie told him that “1 million friends isn’t cool,” but 1 billion is (and he only had 142).
19. The Kinect for Xbox: Why was the family jumping around in the hotel room? Because they brought a Kinect and were trying to play “Kinect Adventures” in a room the size of a closet.
20. The Iron Man 2: Why was the billionaire bored? Because Tony Stark had a holograph computer and the traveler was still trying to get his Windows 7 laptop to recognize a printer.
21. The 100-ml Liquid Rule: Why was the traveler still confused? Because it had been 4 years and he still tried to smuggle a 200-ml “Limited Edition” shampoo past the guards.
22. The Lady Gaga “Telephone”: Why was the traveler wearing a headset made of cigarettes? Because Gaga’s music video made “airport style” look like a high-fashion crime scene.
23. The Glee Tour: Why were the tourists singing in the streets of New York? Because they thought they were in an episode of Glee instead of a crowded sidewalk in Midtown.
24. The iPad Battery: Why was the passenger so smug? Because he could watch three movies in a row and still have 20% battery while his laptop-using neighbor was dead by the first hour.
25. The Black Swan: Why was the traveler afraid of the hotel mirror? Because she saw the movie and was convinced her own reflection was going to start doing ballet and growing feathers.
26. The Groupon Craze: Why was the traveler eating at a weird restaurant? Because he had a “50% off” coupon and he didn’t care if the food was 100% mystery meat.
27. The Burj Khalifa: Why was the tourist looking so far up? Because the world’s tallest building opened and he spent his whole Dubai trip with a neck cramp.
28. The FarmVille Peak: Why did the traveler buy “Virtual Fuel”? Because his digital tractor ran out of gas while he was waiting for his real plane to take off.
29. The Skype Mobile: Why was the man talking to his iPod Touch? Because Skype finally let him make calls over Wi-Fi, making him look like he was talking to a sandwich.
30. The Harry Potter 7 (Part 1): Why was the traveler so depressed? Because the movie ended halfway through and he realized he had to wait a year to see the end of his childhood.
31. The Instagram Sepia: Why did the 2010 beach look like it was from 1974? Because everyone used the “Sepia” filter on their iPhone 4 photos to look “deep.”
32. The Walking Dead: Why was the traveler checking the hotel closet? Because the show premiered and he was convinced the “housekeeping” knock was actually a zombie looking for brains.
33. The Hulu Plus: Why was the traveler paying $7.99? So he could watch Modern Family on his new iPad while sitting in a tent in the middle of nowhere.
34. The Eminem “Love the Way You Lie”: Why was the traveler so dramatic? Because Rihanna and Eminem made standing in a burning room look like a great vacation aesthetic.
35. The TSA Full-Body Scanner: Why was the traveler so “exposed”? Because 2010 was the year we all had to decide between a “pat-down” or a “virtual X-ray” that saw everything.
36. The Bruno Mars “Just the Way You Are”: Why was the man smiling at his passport photo? Because Bruno told him he was “amazing,” even if he looked like a tired criminal in the picture.
37. The MacBook Air (11-inch): Why did the traveler lose his computer? Because it was so thin he accidentally used it as a bookmark in his physical copy of Freedom by Jonathan Franzen.
38. The 4G LTE: Why was the tech geek screaming? Because he found a “4G” signal in one specific corner of the airport and felt like he was downloading the entire universe.
39. The Tangled Movie: Why was the traveler looking for a tower? Because Disney made long hair and chameleons look like the ultimate travel companions.
40. The Google Instant: Why did the traveler stop typing? Because Google started predicting his search before he even knew what he was looking for (e.g., “Where is my… bag?”).
41. The Angry Birds Seasons: Why was the tourist celebrating Christmas in October? Because he was playing the “Halloween” level of Angry Birds on his bus ride.
42. The Quora Launch: Why was the traveler asking “How do I breathe?” Because Quora launched and people started asking experts for advice on things they should already know.
43. The Pinterest Board: Why was the honeymoon ruined? Because the bride spent the whole trip trying to recreate a “Pinterest-perfect” photo of a sunset instead of watching it.
44. The 3D TV Hype: Why was the traveler wearing glasses at dinner? Because he bought a 3D TV for his hotel room and thought the real world looked “too flat.”
45. The Ke$ha “We R Who We R”: Why was the traveler covered in glitter? Because 2010 logic dictated that if you weren’t sparkling, you weren’t actually traveling.
46. The Vevo Launch: Why did the traveler spend 5 hours on YouTube? Because Vevo gathered all the music videos in one place and he couldn’t stop watching Lady Gaga.
47. The Windows Phone 7: Why was the man staring at “Tiles”? Because he bought the new Microsoft phone and was waiting for someone—anyone—to call him.