Results: Most Traveled Document

According to the U.S. Department of State, more than 143 million passports were in circulation as of 2020. A small proportion of those were second passports, and accounts for more than 40% of the U.S. population of 331 million. However, in 1989, just 7,261,711 million passports existed for a population of approximately 245 million. Twenty years ago, that number was less than 50 million passports. As you have probably guessed, I'm planning another Tellwut (TW) adventure to some faraway places, so make sure your passport is valid. Do you have a passport?

Blue (the current choice of the U.S. government) is the most popular, preferred by 83 nations. According to the Passport Index, the world's passports can be grouped into four colors: red, blue, green, and black. Red is second with 65 countries, followed by green and black with 44 and 7 countries, respectively. The colors don't always stay the same, and the U.S. passport has been all four at some point in history. In the book The Passport: The History of Man's Most Travelled Document, the author notes that America's first modern-style passport was red, issued in 1926. It was replaced by green from 1941 to 1976, when blue was introduced to match the flag, in honor of the bicentennial celebrations. Exceptions: Diplomats use black, and anyone traveling without diplomatic status on government business uses red. Were you aware of the different passport colors?

The artwork in the current passport protects against forgery - A 2016 makeover moved the machine-readable chip, which contains biometric data about the holder, inside polycarbonate paper to make it more secure. Depending on the angle you view the word USA, the ink looks green or gold. The current design (American Icon) features patriotic images including the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, bison, bears, bald eagles, and longhorn cattle. The ideals are summed up through excerpts from the Declaration of Independence and quotes from some notable Americans. Norway's passport (under a UV light) reveals a hidden image of the Northern Lights. Finnish passports - flip the pages fast enough and the pictures create a moving image of a moose. After travel restrictions in 2020, is your appetite "whet" for some great travel experiences?

U.S. passport holders can travel to 185 countries without having to arrange a Visa. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) supplies information for what is known as the Henley Passport Index. In the latest published data, the U.S. passport allows access to 185 countries during normal circumstances. That ranks number 7 among all countries and is on par with the U.K. and Switzerland. As an incentive for our next TW awesome travel adventure in the near future, It will be "passport optional". There are some destinations for which you don't need a passport at all, as long as you are a U.S. citizen. "Better to see something once, than to hear about it a thousand times." Have you started packing for our next exciting trip?