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Random Thoughts

Anonymous
Not applicable
I was fortunate during the Holidays that I was able to spend several quiet moments with my wife and son just enjoying the time together and reflecting on the year past and what 2007 might hold for the three of us and the world. My son and I travel together frequently, and my wife always asks what we talked about during those hours by ourselves: My typical answer is "just random stuff." During one of our fireside chats last month, the three of us started discussing "random stuff" and came up with some questions to which we are not sure of the answers. Knowing that the Southwest Blog audience consists of extremely intelligent people, I thought I would run these questions by you to see what your thoughts are. So here goes... Now that Pluto is no longer a planet, how does that affect my horoscope? When was the first Christmas Eve? If I get stupid and put aluminum foil in the microwave, it arcs, and my wife gets mad, but our microwave has a metal rack, so why no arc? On our airplanes the potties are lavatories and we call them "lavs", so why is a boat potty called "the head"? And finally, I see delivery trucks with "FISH" in block letters on the back and sides of the trucks, I have never seen a truck labeled "veal" or "turkey" or "chicken"; what is so special about fish? I look forward to some great answers. Perhaps you too have some random thoughts that you have always wondered about, feel free to comment, and I'll bet you get a quick response.
24 Comments
blusk
Aviator C

David
Maybe the FISH trucks have to be watered so often to keep the fish fresh?
Blog Boy

joe-mdw-plane-d
Frequent Flyer C
Blog bog? What happened to blog boy? Are you an imposter? Joe Friedmann
Dennis_Cheatham
Explorer C
Excellent question about the FISH trucks - I've always wondered the same thing and finally just took the time to look it up. I found an answer at Yahoo!'s Answers Site. Looks like it's an FDA requirement.
blusk
Aviator C
Fie on that Blog Bog fake! Blog Boy has returned to right the wrong, Joe. The real Blog Boy
Vicki1
Explorer C
The ship's lavatory is called the "head" because in the old days these facilities were located in the forward part of the ship.
Marc11
Explorer C
"head" becasue they used to be at the bow, or "head" of the ship - You'd do your business over a hole that dropped right into the bow wake of the ship. Since ships most often sailed down wind (wind from the back half of the ship), the smell would get carried away.
Eric15
Explorer A
What happens to the missing half of a pair of socks? Where do they go. I think if i found mine, I could start a textile company. The truth is out there.
Mary9
Explorer A
Why do black jeans always fit tighter than a same pair of blue jeans made by the same manufactor?
Lloyd
Explorer C
Your question regarding the 1st Christmas Eve has multiple answers depending on your beliefs and the context in which it was asked. The 1st Christmas Eve was the night before Jesus was born in Bethlehem about 2007 years ago. I say about 2007 years ago because the exact date is dependent on the accuracy of the calendar we use (a whole different discussion). The Christmas story is found in the Christian Bible in Matthew and Luke chapters 1 and 2. The origin of the word Christmas comes from ChristÃ
SamIAM
Explorer C
Where does all the rubber go? The best "random thought" I ever heard of came from lee, who for a while was a long haul truck driver, who said he always wondered this: Every year people go through millions and millions of tires, because tires naturally wear out and get thin. They all start out nice and thick with plenty of tread, and get replaced when they're too thin to be safe. So - Where does all the rubber go? I know the scientific answer, that black dust that covers your car isn't dust at all, it's actually fine rubber particles, which brings up a whole other issue about air quality on the freeways. Lee always say he always expected to round some bend in a deserted stretch of highway, to finally find it, that ever elusive black rubber mountain, sitting there next to the road, waiting to be discovered.
CAROL_PATTERSON
Explorer C
IT IS FANTASTIC TO SEE EMPLOYEES WITH A GREAT SENSE OF HUMOR WHEN THEY ARE SUBJECT TO THE UNFORGIVING PUBLIC ON A DAILY BASIS, I KNOW THIS ONLY TOO WELL FOR I AM TRYING TO SELL MY HISTORIC HOME IS COCOA RIGHT BY THE RIVER AND EVERYONE FINDS SOMETHING WRONG, WHY DO THEY EVEN COME OUT TO LOOK, MAYBE3 THEY ARE REALLY REALLY BORED...NOW YOU SEE WHY WE ARE RELOCATING TO COSTA RICA...GOD BLESS ALL SOUTHWEST EMPLOYEES...I AM SURE A THANK YOU WOULD BE BETTER AT TIMES THAN A PAY INCREASE...CAROL PATTERSON COCOA FLORIDA
Brian_May
Explorer C
Many evangelical Bible scholars agree on a springtime day in 4 B.C. for the night before the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Caesar Augustus' tax enrollment is good corroboration for this. Kudos on the "Airline" series and to "Laura" on 01/29/07 at @ 8:30 C.S.T. I called from WV on the 214 # and she assisted me with excellence and compassion. My recently displaced grandson can now also enjoy our 02/08 & 13 flights. May someone with authority suitably recognize her for LUVing us and her job in the best SWA manner. Maranatha!
Brian_May
Explorer C
Many evangelical Bible scholars agree on a springtime date in 4 B.C. Caesar Augustus' tax enrollment requiring one's return to their hometown (Bethlehem for Joseph) is good corroboration for this.
Francisco_Delga1
Adventurer A
You know being stationed on a ship i still have yet to adapt to the ships vocabulary. We call the walls bulkheads, the bathrooms are heads, the water fountains are skuttlebutts... the list goes on and on... can anyone guess what wog day is???????????????????????????? THE REAL BLOG BOY FRANCISCO
Tommy_Blog2
Explorer B
Why does one SWA flight attendant give out two bags of peanuts, while another one only gives out one bag. I watched this last nite from vegas to LA and pondered that thought.
joe-mdw-plane-d
Frequent Flyer C
Brian, Could I suggest an edit function and a marker to show which posts have not been read yet? Also, a jump to next unread function would be cool. I know I have made some spelling mistakes and posted before I proof read and it was to late to fix it. The this old house forum gives you a half hour to fix it. thank you Joe Friedmann
Tamra
Explorer A
well, i have a comment on the rubber tires....some of the old tires become chopped up and become the soft landing zones in playgrounds to help protect from falls. i also often see tires near the marinas for bumpers and to block the wakes...(or i assume).
Down_under_Doug
Explorer C
Hi from Australia, good to see the humour and I am always impressed with the customer service and culture of the airline when I am in your country. My question: Why are pants, trousers, jeans, overalls, etc all plural, but shirt, jacket , vest, coat are all singular? We have 2 legs and 2 arms? cheers to all
blusk
Aviator C
Joe, Thanks for the suggestion and we will talk to the web developers for the blog, if we can just get them back from their search for the big pile of tire rubber. Down Under Doug, it's great to hear from the antipodes. Here's another thing to ponder: Why do the British refer to a company as singular, for example Southwest have started this blog, as opposed to American English (is that an oxymoron?) phrasing: Southwest has started this blog. Blog Boy
joe-mdw-plane-d
Frequent Flyer C
Brian, Give them some candy corn. They will come back real soon. Joe
blusk
Aviator C
Of course Joe, candy corn is well-known for its powers of persuasion. Oddly, in some translations of ancient Greek literature, Homer has the Sirens luring sailors to their death with bags of candy corn. The Original and Still Best Blog Boy
Leigh_Smith
Explorer C
Trucks are marked FISH because they have to be kept on ice to stay fresh. Most other meats (chicken, turkey, steak) do not have to be kept on ice because they are pre-packaged when shipped to stores. However, fish is often bought from butchers or from the deli-area in grocery stores and they have to be kept fresh by being on ice and loose a lot of flavor when frozen (most fish). The trucks that transport fish are usually different from the other trucks because they have built in coolers and blocks of ice, or storage containers for ice. I think they are marked on the outside to distinguish them from the other delivery trucks.
Leah4
Frequent Flyer B
I had a random thought at work today. Why is it called a manicure & not a womanicure? :?
Patti_Preston
Explorer C
Looking to speak to the Pilot I met while traveling to Tampa. I did not meet him through Southwest---we met out in Tampa and he helped me out. I would like to thank him but do not have his name. I have a picture of him which I took the night we met. Anyway I could send this picture for identification? The information he gave me was that he is pilot, new at Southwest now for 4 months or so----although not a new pilot--worked for another airline for 20+ years---was living out West but now in Tampa Fla. Anybody can help please let me know Thanks again.