Awesome New Thing of the Week: Week 4

One thing most expats get very used to is traveling.  Back and forth, back and forth...

I have to say as much as I like going places, I hate the actual act of traveling - the actual process of getting to place A or B really irks me.  I hate it more and more each time and one of the biggest reasons is becuase people don't know how to properly board a plane.   They stop in the aisle for what seems like an hour figuring out where to put their carry-on luggage, opening the overhead storage compartments that have already been closed becuase they are full, struggling to lift their oversized/overweight bag completely oblivious to the fact that a line of about 20 people has formed behind them (even when I huff, puff and tut loudly in their direction).  Then, and only then do they notice that someone is sat in the middle seat when they need to get past them to the window, so they hold up the whole process even further while they stand in the aisle waiting for the person to move before they even begin to settle themselves in their assigned seat. 

Note to fellow travellers:  Get the hell out of the way!  Look if your path to your seat is clear immediately upon coming to your row, ask the person to move as you are messing with your bag(s), only pack a bag you can handle with ease, throw it up as quick as you can even if it isnt the compartment directly above you and sit your butt down.

Or...

Enter John Steffen, an American astrophysicist who has worked out a method to board a plane twice as fast as the currrent method.   He says people should enter the plane from the back, each taking a seat on every other row on one side of the plane first starting with the windows until every other window seat is full. Then do the same on the other side, then switch back to the first side to fill the remaining window seats and then back to the other side.  Once all window seats are filled, do the same for the middle seats and finally he aisles.  Three and a half minutes - done and dusted! 

See the Steffen method boarding process in action:

Sure you cant sit with your travel companions and people would no doubt mess it up and make an even bigger disaster out of this than the regular block method, but the fact that Mr. Steffen even did the research in the first place is this week's Awesome New Thing of the Week!