Jul

Memorable Moments: Summer, Sand, and Surf

by Your friends at OIC on July 1, 2019

On the slim chance that summer escapades aren’t already in your plans or on your mind, we’ve assembled this collection of popular posts from the past to whisk you away to the beach for some OIC Moments-style fun in the sun!

Your friends at OIC Comments

Worldwide Sites

Apr

Flights of Fancy

by Joyce McGreevy on April 1, 2019

In the early days of aviation, airlines had to transport passengers one at a time by hand.

Travel Innovations Soar Every April

Every year on this day, the travel industry announces innovations that push the boundaries of creative problem solving and take air travel to new heights. Here are airline upgrades that made aviation news in Aprils past.

A figure with suitcase at an airport evokes the need for aviation innovations and creative problem solving. [Image public domain]

Today more people than ever are able to experience being stuck at airports.

Travel Technology Takes Flight

In April 2017, Emirates Airline delivered a game changer: plans for the world’s largest commercial aircraft. The April 1 ad campaign went viral as Emirates debuted the Triple Decker APR001, the first jet in history to feature an onboard swimming pool, park, and gym. See video!

Not to be outdone, Virgin Airlines rolls out news-generating inventions with such consistency that by March 31 at 11:59pm aviation buffs are poised for updates.

So it was on April 1, 2013 when Virgin Airlines founder Richard Branson announced “the technology required to produce the world’s first glass-bottomed plane.” This technological innovation, which coincided with the expansion of Virgin Atlantic Airways domestic service within Great Britain promised “an unrivalled view of Scotland.”

A crowded commercial airline interior evokes the need for aviation innovations and creative problem solving. [Image public domain]

Starting today, many airlines will offer games like “Musical Chairs” and “Twister.”

Clear Leadership

While public reaction was tempered, skeptics reflected a more fractured view: Would Virgin Airlines’ upgrades shutter the competition? Could engineers hold up their end of Branson’s glass bottom? Or in shattering the glass ceiling of aviation technology, had their creativity hit a breaking point?

Oh, I see: While some cheered the First Glass Service, others saw a glass plane half empty.

Branson responded with transparency, revealing April after April that he would always take great panes to floor his passengers. Subsequent upgrades included:

In-flight Spin Classes, offering passengers frequent flyer points for every kilometer cycled. “The harder you spin, the more you’ll grin,” commented a spokesperson known to be a big wheel.
The Dreambird 1417: Its high-tech flexible wings created a flapping motion that moved the plane forward and generated electrical power for the cabin.

A food truck and commercial airplane on a runway remind the author of the need for aviation innovations and creative problem solving. [Image public domain]

As of April 1, McGreevy’s Law will require airline meals to contain up to 10% actual food.

Dogging the Competition

On April 1, 2017, Branson unleashed his most popular airline upgrade yet, the Canine Crew: Video

Few airlines had the pedigree to compete. But one Canadian carrier proved it’s never too late to learn new tricks. Determined to get a leg up, WestJet uncaged its Furry Family policy: Video.

People playing with water by an airplane remind the author of aviation traditions and innovation. [Image public domain]

Now economy passengers can enjoy free post-flight spa treatments.

Taking Care of Business

Other airlines refused to roll over and play dead.

Southwest Airlines made a splash with “Cash Lav,” an onboard game show that turned a visit to the smallest room into a chance to win big bucks. The series, which aired 01/04/16, yanked chains nationwide. But when critics pooh-poohed it, airline execs sent it down the drain.

Video: Pilot Episode of Southwest Airlines “Cash Lav” is Flush with Humor

By contrast, Swoop Airlines of Canada had passengers down in the dumps when it announced an April 1 price hike on in-flight facilities. Tags like #ThisStinks! and #SoCrappy! spread online as many cried foul. Get the full scoop here.

An unsmiling traveler on an airport escalator evokes the need for aviation innovations and creative problem solving. [Image public domain]

Passengers are obviously very excited by commercial airlines’ April 1 upgrades.

Snacks on a Plane!

Canada’s WestJet solved air travel’s scariest problem: in-flight beverage carts that block the aisle. For too long passengers had returned from the loo only to get stuck in a slow-moving conga line. WestJet’s creative thinkers installed rails that let robotic snack canteens glide overhead, air-dropping snacks and beverages onto tray tables. Or laps.

Video: Robotic Automated Light Food Handler (#RALFH) Tosses Cookies

man walking a cow reminds the author of airlines’ creative problem solving and policies regarding animals. [Image public domain]

Animal airline passengers can now bring along their Emotional Support Humans.

Room at the Top

As competition for creative problem-solving went full-throttle midair, other sectors of the travel industry elbowed their way onboard. With no armrest for latecomers, success belonged to those who kept their feet on the ground, their head in the clouds, and their tray tables under the seats in front of them.

Some companies formed alliances. But the merger of aviation and five-star accommodation had already reached its zenith on April 1, 2009 with the debut of The Hotelicopter. In a shocking twist, the world’s first flying hotel never took off. Soaring demand kept the luxury rooms out of reach of even the highest flyers.

Video: Hotelicopter Generates Spin, Raises Reservations

An astonished looking construction worker reminds the author of the need for aviation innovations and creative problem solving. [Image public domain]

Airlines will offer discounts to passengers who help build the planes.

Trending Travel Take-Offs

As home-centric businesses get in on the act, flights of fancy innovation will transform all aspects of travel, even staycations.

Airbnb announced a spin-off brand one recent April 1. Recognizing that “every hero needs a hideaway,” the home-share business launched “Lairbnb,” complete with unique transportation to the airport. See the ad.

Not to be caught napping, Lucid Mattress delivered a wakeup call with the April 1 roll-out of ShareBED. View here.

The Future of Travel Is Ahead

Experts confirm that the travel innovations of April 1, 2020 will differ from those of the present day. But while no one can predict the present, today’s headlines could herald incredible examples of creative problem-solving.

So ignore any naysayers who insist, “It’s all fake news on the first of April.” (Fools!)

A moving sidewalk at an airport reminds the author of the need for aviation innovations and creative problem solving. [Image public domain]

Linking motorized walkways from LAX to JFK will reduce overcrowding in planes.

Comment on the post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Joyce McGreevy Comments

Innovations/Rides (Land, Sea, Air)/Worldwide Sites

Mar

The Art of Cloud Watching

by Meredith Mullins on March 4, 2019

Altocumulus clouds at sunset near Yosemite National Park in California, traveling the world while cloud watching. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Keep looking up
© Meredith Mullins

Looking Up . . . While Traveling the World

It all started with a mackerel sky—a real-life Magritte painting that rose up in splendor near the foothills of the California Sierra.

I had never seen anything like it before. A sky filled with cotton balls. Dancing sheep. Wayward popcorn.

A mackerel sky (altocumulus clouds) near Yosemite National Park in California, traveling the world while cloud watching. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

My first mackerel sky
© Meredith Mullins

I posted the photo on Facebook, feeling like a humble human proud to share the poetic beauty of nature with the world.

It was then I realized I must be cloud deprived. It seemed that most of my friends had seen plenty of mackerel skies before (and even had “altocumulus” at the tip of their tongue). I was clearly behind on the cloud curve.

A lenticular cloud, cloud watching while traveling in the world. (Image © DMT.)

The lenticular UFO shaped cloud, often found near mountains
© DMT

They had also, in the tradition of Facebook bragging, been privy to some magically dramatic cloud formations, like the lenticular UFO shaped clouds and the mysterious “hole in the sky.” They posted photos that led me into a new world.

Cloud called Fallstreak Hole, cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © Eric Pearson.)

A hole in the sky?
© Eric Pearson

Where had I been? When traveling the world, had I failed to look up? Had I failed to realize that clouds are a constantly changing show in whatever country you’re in? And, “Oh, I see.” Even now, their shapes and the interplay with light and color pave the way for flights of the imagination, just as they did when we were kids.

Storm cloud shaped like a bull, cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © Eric Pearson.)

A giant angry bull?
© Eric Pearson

Being One with the Sky

Most of us can remember staring at the sky for hours when we were young, seeing perky poodles, dancing bears, scaly dinosaurs, and exploding volcanoes floating through the atmosphere.

We feel nostalgia for the time spent lying on the grass making up storylines as the crisp-edged cumulus clouds gracefully changed shape and form.

Cloud shaped like a baby elephant, cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © DMT.)

Clearly a baby elephant trying to stand up
© DMT

As Gavin Pretor-Pinney, the founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society, recalls, we were “masters of daydreaming.”

Why not return to that state of bliss?

Animal shaped cloud resembling a bear, cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © Robert Ax/iStock.)

What animal is peeking out from the clouds?
© Robert Ax/iStock

Pretor-Pinney urges us to return to those childhood days of letting our imagination run wild. Nature’s Rorschach test. What exactly do we see (and why?) when these cloud shapes are forming?

Clouds shaped like a crocodile eating a python, cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © DMT.)

A crocodile eating a python? You be the judge.
© DMT

“Cloudwatching legitimizes doing nothing,” Pretor-Pinney says. It gives us a chance to take a break from “perpetual busy-ness.” We don’t have to work or tweet or Instagram every moment of the day. We can just meditate on the beauty of the sky. It’s good for the soul.

A cloud at sunset, as seen while cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © DMT.)

Joni Mitchell encouraged us to look at clouds from both sides now, and The Rolling Stones demanded that we get off of THEIR cloud (“hey you”). But clouds rarely become the main attraction in today’s busy world.

For many people, clouds seem to be visual white noise, a stage-set background for some bigger and better main character. Something less ephemeral.

But clouds can be a main act.

Cloud in the shape of a fish, cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © Germi_p/iStock.)

The Science of Clouds

Not all cloudwatching is aimless, however. Clouds give us much information about what weather changes might be coming.

We learned the ten main cloud types in grade school.

Cumulus clouds are the puffy fair-weather clouds that often inspire creative interpretation. They grow into animals, people, and symbols, contained only by the limits of imagination.

Cumulus clouds, part of cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © DMT.)

Altocumulus clouds (white or gray clumps or rolls) produce the most dramatic and artistic cloudscapes, especially when the sun is low in the sky.

Altocumulus clouds, as seen when cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © DMT.)

Cirrus clouds look like delicate brushstrokes or wisps of hair (cirrus is Latin for “curl of hair”). This type of cloud can be the first sign of moisture developing and can mean rain in the future.

Cirrus clouds, as seen when cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © DMT.)

The subtle Cirrostratus and Cirrocumulus are layers of ice crystals high in the sky, so shapes and edges are not common in these formations.

Cirrocumulus clouds, cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Some of the low-lying and mid-level gray layer clouds are not as dramatic or popular. Stratus clouds bring fog, Altostratus bring drizzle, and Nimbostratus bring rain.

Stratocumulus is another cloud type destined to lose the popularity contest. It’s the most widespread of cloud types and usually brings overcast days.

We get more dramatic when the Cumulonimbus clouds form—skyscrapers of power announcing a coming storm.

Storm clouds, cumulonimbus, above a hill, cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © DMT.)

A Small World

Somehow, when we realize that every human can look upward and see the same kinds of cloud formations around the world, it unifies us as a planet.

Cloudwatching is something anyone can do. There is no cost. It’s egalitarian.

The clouds may change while traveling around the world—depending on the season, the weather, and the land or sea forms under the clouds. But . . . the sky is everywhere.

All we have to do is to keep looking up.

A sunset with lighthouse, cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © DMT.)

OIC Moments welcomes your best cloud photos to inspire our further cloud appreciation. Please share them in the “Comments” section of the OIC Moments Facebook Page.

Find out more about the Cloud Appreciation Society, and view Gavin Pretor-Pinney’s Ted Talk. You can also get a cloudspot app for your phone if you want to become an avid cloud collector.

For an additional cloudspotting guide, visit the BBC Guide or the Met Office.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Meredith Mullins 4 Comments

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