Show and tell

Now find out more about something useful for air cadets: the sick bag.

The paper-and-plastic sick bag was invented in 1949. It was originally made to hold food, but an American airline saw that it could be used for “recycled food”, too.

Dutchman Niek Vermeulen set the world record for having the largest collection of sick bags: 6,290 from 1,191 different airlines. There is even a website for fans of the sick bag: the Air Sickness Bag Virtual Museum (www.airsicknessbags.com).

Sick bags are practical, but they can be works of art, too. In 2004, Virgin Atlantic put 20 special designs on their bags. They were so pretty, however, that passengers took them all.

We hope you never have to use a sick bag on a flight, but it’s good to know they’re there.