Lobby Bar – January 5: Naked Pilots, Ice Cream Storms, and the Lonely Need Not Fly
By Jeremy Del Nero on 5 January 2018
Lobby Bar – A Glow-In-The-Dark Summary of FBT News and Views
What’s in a name. Let’s take a look at the “at” sign, that is to say the @ sign, which has many names in different languages. It also goes by the name of “spider monkey,” “strudel,” and “elephant trunk,” although we’ve taken a liking to calling our @ sign “Hunter.”
Please obey. With the onset of the New Year, a slew of new laws have gone into effect in various states across the nation. Please note that as of January 1, it is now illegal to go a full 24 hours without reading an FBT article, so make sure to bookmark our home page and tune in at least once a day.
Drafty cabin. Join Jesse Sokolow on a journey to the greatest moments in travel history throughout Januarys past. Did you know that the first ever airline uniforms, worn by Instone Air Line’s pilots and staff, were introduced on January 1, 1922? Before that, airline code called for all members of the flight crew, including pilots, to be naked, a practice abolished the first time a flight attendant uttered the immortal phrase “Coffee, tea, or me.”
Real history. John Portman, an American architect and developer who popularized hotels with soaring atria, died this week at the age of 93. Soaring atria, or levitating lobby areas, were only made architecturally possible when Portman discovered that applying a little bit of fairy dust to the foundation of a building would make the whole structure float just a little bit. He was laid to rest in the family’s mausoleum, which rises 45 stories above ground level.
Ice cream-inspired. This week’s winter storm broke records and brought historic levels of snow, cold, and wind to the Northeast. A meteorologist called the weather system a “bomb cyclone” after overhearing a 22-year-old Connecticut man named Dwayne refer to his especially tasty Dairy Queen frozen treat as such, and the name stuck.
Friendly skies. British Airways is introducing a new group boarding process starting this month. This means that passengers will only be allowed to board in groups, so anybody flying solo needs to make a quick friend in the gate are and take a brief friendship test before being allowed to board the aircraft.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
