TASK DEFINITION: Given a travel related situation, and given a specific question about the situation, summarize the question into a title
PROBLEM: I forgot to bring my padlock for this trip so my hostel in Taipei lent one to me until I buy one, which I keep forgetting to do.

The one they lent me is a generic "NO. 20" 4-barrel combination lock. There's no brand name in the instruction sheet. It has a feature where you can set or program the lock's combination.

I used the padlock fine about three times. But now I cannot get it to open just a couple of hours after last using it.

I did not forget the code. I set it to a year in the 20th century. I'm not sure the order of the last two digits but I've tried both many times, and I've even gone systematically through all 100 possibilities that begin with 1-9-?-?!

Is it a known problem with this kind of cheap padlock to "forget" or spontaneously change their combination?

(Yes I know I can just cut it off. But I'd feel like a bit of an idiot especially since the lock is not mine and is on loan. In fact the hostel must not own a pair of bolt cutters like I thought most do. They've asked a locksmith to come! I fear this may prove expensive, which is worse than just feeling like an idiot...)

SOLUTION: Are cheap "programmable" combination padlocks known to change their own combinations?

PROBLEM: Recently, I was cruising on the Danube river from Bratislava to Vienna and we were encountering these small green rocket-shaped objects floating in the water roughly after each kilometer. They were not staying still but also sailing in the same direction as our boat but slower.

What are these UFOs (Unidentified Floating Objects)?

SOLUTION: What are these small green rocket-shaped objects floating in the Danube?

PROBLEM: Two questions actually:

Are US dollars widely accepted in Jamaica? For example if I'm in a small town buying a pack of gum, would they accept my US dollars?
In Jamaica, do they refuse to accept your US dollars, if they don't look brand new and crisp, as is done in certain countries?

SOLUTION:
US dollars in Jamaica