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Vehicle: Airplane: Seating
8F Guestbook   (+84, -7)  [vote for, against]
See the history of your seat

As I flew into Brussels this morning, the 55 minute flight allowed for some halfbaked thinking. As I flew over the channel, I wondered where my plane would be heading after we landed and of all the people that had sat in my seat previously.

I have a curious addiction to the guestbooks often left for guests in holiday accomodation. The stories of holidays enjoyed by strangers, the places they visited, the mishaps they endured are curiously voyeuristic and endearing.

This aircraft seat guestbook, completed by passengers and left in the seat pocket, provides the perfect inflight read for passengers. Detailing names and destinations, it also provides opportunity for the passenger to provide narrative about their forthcoming trip or about the voyage coming to an end. It would also allow the curious to find out where all these planes go, the routes they travel and the passengers conveyed.

[Incidently, if you ever find yourself in seat 8F on an Avro-85 jet owned by SN Brussels airline, look in the seat pocket. I've left you a note just to get things going].
-- jonthegeologist, Dec 08 2004

who they were [hob, May 16 2009]

Airtoons http://www.airtoons.com/home.php
[calum, Dec 12 2004]

(?) "Calm as Hindu cows" http://www.foxmovie...b/flightcard_sm.jpg
Fight Club safety cards [calum, Dec 12 2004]

a real life 8F (well 29E) http://www.i-am-bor...k.cfm?link_id=11134
someone's started baking this. sort of [neilp, Jul 16 2005]

Yann Arthus-Bertrand http://www.yannarth...d.org/index_new.php
Yann Arthus-Bertrand is also interested in people in this way. He has made some very beautiful films. the best examples are at ted.com [danman, Jul 07 2009]

The ted link http://www.ted.com/..._in_wide_angle.html
[danman, Jul 07 2009]

What I want is a history of the airplane and preferably before I board.
-- bristolz, Dec 08 2004


[bristolz] ... I don't think you would. If you knew the history, you might never board the plan. Ignorance is peaceful travel, probably.

[tabs] ... Payne Stewart, Hanse Cronje...
-- jonthegeologist, Dec 08 2004


+ Nice.

"To whom it may concern,

Have spent the last four hours being chronically air sick. I hope that they've managed to clean up the mess now but I'd check your seat before you sit down.

Best Regards,

DrBob"
-- DrBob, Dec 08 2004


Nice!
-- hazel, Dec 08 2004


They'll lose a lot of revenue if *any* plane goes down.

Regardless, I think this is a great idea, but it might be better suited to a bus, so that in a month or a year's time, you could return and read the follow ups to your entry.

I do this type of thing on my desk in physics. 'S wonderful.
-- Cuit_au_Four, Dec 09 2004


If you check airliners.net , you can enter in the registration number of the aircraft you just flew on...and at least see where else in the world is flies. A start perhaps?
-- nebben, Dec 09 2004


I was thinking along the lines of [DrBob]'s anno. But I think this is a great idea. Next trip I take I'm going to leave a note for the next passenger. (Do they clean out the seat pockets after every flight, though?)
-- Machiavelli, Dec 09 2004


Be careful what you write....could get that flight canceled and a visit from the feds. Although I do like this kind of logbook....done this in several different locations before, from mountaintops to inside machinery.

I've inspected a variety of objects and processes in my career. Don't think I'd enjoy being an aircraft inspector. I've inspected aircraft components and gotten fired for keeping possibly defective components from going into engines.
-- normzone, Dec 09 2004


// gotten fired for keeping possibly defective components from going into engines.//

Now *there's* a comforting thought. Why would they fire you for that? They'd prefer that the plane take a nosedive?
-- Machiavelli, Dec 09 2004


nice +
-- energy guy, Dec 09 2004


[machiavelli] I thought they did clean the plane thoroughly after each flight, but on my return from Brussels yesterday, I found two boarding pass stubbs showing that my seat had been used on flights from Brussels to Hamburg and back before my trip home.
-- jonthegeologist, Dec 09 2004


A moving, historical account of a seat. Yay!+
-- blissmiss, Dec 09 2004


[Machiavelli], it was at the beginning of my Quality Assurance career, in those days I was just getting started doing inspection.

The outfit was a forging house, making, among other things, blades for jet engines.

Things were rather....lax, to put it politely. Temperatures were supposed to be regulated within a given tolerance, and there were informal tolerances observed on top of the formal tolerances.

I found a batch of metal being heated past even the informal tolerances. They said their instruments were correct and mine were wrong. I kept pushing, and eventually I was proven correct and the batch had to go back to the metallurgist's lab for testing to determine if it had been fatally heated or could be used.

This was just not done in that environment. I never got to see how it all came out....a few days later I was discharged for " Ineffective job performance ".

Not one of my more glorious moments, but I like to think I may have kept an airplane in the sky.
-- normzone, Dec 09 2004


is there really that much of a story on a flight? +
-- nomadic_wonderer, Dec 09 2004


[nomadic], there would be that much of a story if someone was initiated into the Mile High Club in the seat you are sitting--and gave a detailed account of it in the guestbook. Somehow I think that's sicker than someone vomiting all over the seat.
-- Machiavelli, Dec 09 2004


[+] I'd use it in R/W mode.

Sometimes you might just read things and scribble little buns or fishbones on the corners.

Pages are nice & detachable, so that if you wrote something you then wanted to keep, you could. Also, since teenagers take airplanes, it'll be filled with purile profanity that people could just tear out for disposal. Kind of a grassroots data entry & grassroots censorship / filtering.
-- sophocles, Dec 09 2004


[Cuit_Au_Four] - in physics I used to open up the power and network sockets and leave little notes for posterity inside with my contact details on them. I was disciplined for this within a couple of weeks. Amazing how often sockets get opened up.
-- wagster, Dec 09 2004


like [jtg], although should be extended, obviously, to every seat (work, bathroom, restaurant, pub, house, car, ski lift, helicopter, bike) think of the fun.
-- neilp, Dec 10 2004


[Tabs] Sure it's not there when you return, when you write sh@t like that, it gets censored.
-- sophocles, Dec 10 2004


+ plus +
-- DesertFox, Dec 11 2004


Love it
-- noblea, Dec 11 2004


This idea is a beautiful way of sharing the most human experiences with others. Nice one, [jon]. +
-- Pericles, Dec 11 2004


Could you imagine if you were sitting in seat 8F on 9/11? Or on anyplane that came to a tragic ending. Or flew through a severe thunderstorm, or while having engine trouble.

I would find leaving a journal of such, if there were to be any "time thereafter", an amazing insight into the events preceeding, and/or a great way to relieve the stress of the event.
-- blissmiss, Dec 11 2004


I came.
I flew.
I landed.
?
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Dec 12 2004


This could be a boon or a bust for Homeland Security. A caution to all travelers, any information left in your seat may be used against you if we decide we do not like you.
-- Aegir, Dec 13 2004


I like it, but the airlines probably wouldn't because they're control freaks. However, I think this would work quite nicely in a "Where's George" kind of model. So you board the plane, take note of the registration number, log onto seathistory.com, and write your guestbook entry. What a great way to kill time on the plane.
-- yef, May 04 2005


I think this is a great idea, but how would you be able to get around the language barrier? if the plane was going from 1 country to another that didn't speak the same language it would make it a little hard to read the last person entry. Bun for the idea though (+)
-- gorjabuble, May 05 2005


Great idea. Until they provide something to write on, we could use the "sky-mall" magazine or whatever ad mag that is handy as the journal. They don't throw those out very often. Or, you could use the barf bags if you write small.
-- bneal27, May 05 2005


there are two kinds of people in this world those who crave more oportunity to interact with strangers and those who crave less. I am the type who gets on a plane and cringes away from conversation with those around me, so i'd be ignoring that book.

now if the guy next to me had a little book he could write in, and tell all about his trip to cleveland while leaving me alone, that would be great. So Big bun for this one.
-- RBStimers, May 05 2005


I like [yef]'s take on this with the seathistory.com. [+]
-- Klaatu, May 05 2005


I like it. It gives flying a bit of personality that is definately lacking these days. Although we can't count on the airlines to provide these since they are constantly cutting corners these days (North West Airlines doesn't even provide pillows anymore let alone the long extinct in-flight meal). I suggest the next time you get on a plane, remember to bring a pocket notebook. Write a little journal entry and suggest the next passenger do the same. Sounds like a great plan to me. Good show [jonthegeologist]!
-- Mauve Herring, May 12 2005


Hey, this is one of the best ideas I've seen on this site, and yet it's cheap and very simple unlike some (lets carve-up the moon into another Mount Rushmore. Definately a [+]
-- maximus5, May 12 2005


Either I was seeing things, or a certain well-known baker just mentioned this idea on the national lottery draw. My eyes nearly popped out of my head!
-- david_scothern, May 21 2005


Specifics?
-- jutta, May 21 2005


In the UK, there is a TV program covering the National Lottery draw. One of the features offers studio contestants the opportunity to win £50,000. One of the contestants mentioned that he liked coming up with new ideas, and went on to describe an idea for a guestbook for each seat of an airliner. I'm pretty sure he was a baker... didn't mention the bakery though, you'll be happy to know. I'm sure he'll be along to give more details.
-- david_scothern, May 22 2005


[david] that was me. and the good lady to my left (right on screen) was [hazel]. Didn't win the cash though... very annoying as we won it in rehearsal.
-- jonthegeologist, May 22 2005


I'm gutted I missed that [jtg].
-- wagster, May 22 2005


I think it's a brilliant idea. I certainly am fascinated by the people around me on an air flight and would gladly sign my name in the register
-- harrisj, May 22 2005


Yes, I decided it had to be you two, as there really can't be many couples named Jon and Hazel keen on coming up with new ideas such as this. I was astonished, especially as I don't have a TV and thus haven't seen the show in a couple of years. Small world...
-- david_scothern, May 23 2005


//I'm gutted I missed that [jtg]//

We're a bit gutted that our lack of knowledge about Jilly Cooper books meant we crashed out. Grrr.
-- hazel, May 23 2005


But then you'd potentially be surrounded by 26 annoying passengers. 9 from the previous flight, 8 from this flight, and 9 from the next flight! That is 18 more than you need to be annoyed by. [-]
-- quantum_flux, Nov 25 2007


"Kilroy was here."

Just churning a classic 'cause many of the latest entries lack a certain something, or in many cases, anything at all.
-- RayfordSteele, Mar 24 2008


awh, cheers [rayfordsteele]
-- jonthegeologist, Sep 07 2008


At the risk of getting my hand slapped, "Ditto".
-- jurist, Sep 08 2008


i thought this was going to be a hexidecimal joke
-- simonj, Sep 08 2008


A guestbook for each square on a chessboard - everytime you move to a particular square, you write in your name, and a brief expression of your feelings on occupying this particular square.

8f - Oh thankyou so much for everything - we've had a marvellous time here on 8f - I feel like a whole new person - somehow, more...regal! Gerry was wonderful, thankyou - we will definitely visit again!
-- zen_tom, Sep 08 2008


Fast Forward to Present Day:

"It was a great flight. I had a wonderful nap and the pillow only cost me $5." (sarcastic sneer hidden by pillow here.)
-- blissmiss, May 16 2009


[hob] wonderful illustrations. I'm honoured.
-- jonthegeologist, Jul 07 2009


I once took a flight on a DC3 in Kenya. There was an aircraft history sitting in the seat pocket. I wish there hadn't been.

In short: Plane built in 1944. Used in Berlin airlift. Scrapped in 1947. Bought by BOAC and refitted. Used until 1962. Scrapped. Bought by ... . Scrapped. Bought by ... Scrapped. (repeat this about 3 more times). Then about a decade, before 'Salvaged by us and now flying this route since March this year.' (We were now in April).
-- kindachewy, Jul 07 2009


[+] Would like to view a short clip of what they had to say, or see a see a pic of the person. If it would be too expensive to add vid cams in head rests, why not have cam near bathroom? Just enter your seat and we will update your text (this could make for some pretty good pranks so also have pic taken of you with ticket). I would rather read it on seen than in a book.

//Just churning a classic 'cause many of the latest entries lack a certain something, or in many cases, anything at all.// This could be condensed to some really cool clips advertising the idea.
-- danman, Jul 07 2009


oh my god, what a great illustration, fine work [hob].

This is now baked, people use the FourSquare application to make notes.
-- neilp, Sep 28 2010


I read a story in one of those airline magazines once, a fictional version of this very idea. No idea where it was...but, very creative story.

I wouldn't want to read an account of someone's trip to the Mayo Clinic to find a cure for his/her persistent head lice.
-- Boomershine, Sep 28 2010


hob sneaks around and illustrates ideas without even taking credit. They really are hidden treasures. I think.
-- blissmiss, Sep 28 2010


What do you do about dumbasses like me who would sign names like: "Ballsack T. McButtfart"?
-- doctorremulac3, Sep 30 2010


[BTMcBF] Well, how can we answer that unless we know what you wrote?!? Duh. Would it be some funny shit?
-- Boomershine, Sep 30 2010


Ok, let's see...

"We really enjoyed our trip to Buttstankia. The Buttstinkians were very polite and quite delicious. We followed that with a stopover in Bonerville and had lunch with the Duchess of Turdsilvania. Then I wiped my butt with this card you're reading.

Signed: Ballsack T. McButtfart"

Clever? Probably not. Funny? It would be to me and that's all that counts. (I'd just write that last thing, not really do it obviously.)
-- doctorremulac3, Sep 30 2010


OK, having read what you wrote, in answer to your question: either firing squad or gas chamber.
-- mouseposture, Oct 01 2010


Yes, how dare anybody dishonor the sanctity of the seat log!

Oops, speaking of seat logs... <--- (vague, poorly though out scatological "humor")

Ok that's enough lowbrow humor even for me. I'm done.
-- doctorremulac3, Oct 01 2010


//What do you do about dumbasses like me...//

We have a recent idea submission for commercial airline ejection seats. I bunned it.
-- Boomershine, Oct 03 2010


Time to update this idea to 2016 technology with an app.

Just put in your airplane and seat info and get to see what else you have in common with people who sat in 8F.
-- doctorremulac3, Jul 24 2016


Body lice ?
-- 8th of 7, Jul 24 2016


Bed bugs, more like it.
-- blissmiss, Jul 24 2016



random, halfbakery