You're so grounded mum
A woman flying from Saudi Arabia to Malaysia over the weekend insisted the plane turn back mid-flight when she realised she had forgotten something important at the airport: her baby. Following protocol, the pilot had to first get permission from an air traffic controller before making an about-face. According an audio recording you can hear the pilot say, "May God be with us. Can we come back or what?" Then you can hear someone on the air-traffic control side saying to a co-worker, "This flight is requesting to come back ... a passenger forgot her baby in the waiting area, the poor thing." And so the plane returned to King Abdul Aziz International Airport where the mother was able to retrieve her child. There are safety concerns associated with having distraught passengers mid-flight, same goes for people who are drunk. A flight from Calgary to London last month had to turn around and dump $20,000 worth of fuel after a man got drunk and unruly on the flight.
Privvy counsellor
Language geek Max Cryer reminds us of another "lavatory" substitute — at historic royalty level. King Henry 8th had a full-time senior staff-man called The Groom At Stool ... to "assist His Majesty with his excretions" (on a sit-down commode-like structure — the stool). Far from being looked down on for his mundane duties, the Groom At Stool saw the king in total privacy and became guardian of many secrets — making him highly respected within the royal staff.
