Armchair globetrotter
Gran, 80, spends hols cash on virtual reality headset & ‘visits’ dream destinations
A GRANNY who uses virtual reality to travel the world has been praised by Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg.
Dorothy Howard, 80, became hooked after buying a £400 VR headset.
Unable to travel far because of arthritis, she now enjoys 3D trips to Egypt, Australia and India instead of her usual knitting holidays to Cheshire.
Zuckerberg learned about Dorothy after she sought technical advice on the firm’s Facebook page. He told delegates at a US conference in Seattle this week that she was “awesome”.
The gran-of-three admitted she had no idea who Zuckerberg was but reckons she has saved more than £100,000 in travel costs with her Oculus Rift headset. She has dived with whales and even been shot into space. Dorothy, of Cotgrave, Notts, said: “I used to go on knitting holidays. Then it got difficult getting on and off coaches. “I was watching a Star Trek episode featuring the holodeck they use to enter different worlds and thought, ‘That’s what I need’. It’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever used. Most days I have breakfast then go on holiday for a few hours. I get there on Google Earth and it’s like being there in the flesh.”
On being dubbed a star by billionaire Zuckerberg, Dorothy said: “I don’t really know who he is. It’s as if I’ve had an interview with the Pope.”