And from the more glamorous days of air travel:
A stewardess told me that when she first started out in her job in 1968, they would actually weigh the girls before they were allowed on the plane. Once, she weighed 1/4 pound too much and was thrown off the plane, missing a day’s pay. She said, “I just laughed and sat by the pool that day. Eventually, they stopped doing this, since it was so hard to find replacement staff at the last minute.”
December 16th, 2004 at 11:15 am
My aunt started flying as a flight attendant in 1963. She’s still tiny so I doubt she ever got thrown off, but I’ll have to ask her. She’s coming to town tomorrow.
December 18th, 2004 at 10:51 am
Amazing – I’ll bet they can’t do that now.
December 20th, 2004 at 4:48 am
That’s funny… and a little horrifying! I’m guessing they probably didn’t apply the same criteria to the men (were there any?)
My Mum was a stewardess for British Airways’ predecessor in the 1950′s, on the Africa route, and they trained her to kill lions. In case you ever find yourself in a crash in the jungle, here’s how to do it.
Find a stout pointed stake and hold it at a 45 degree angle to the lion, bracing it with your foot. Lion leaps and is impaled.
Easy-peazy.
December 20th, 2004 at 9:47 am
Especially when wearing high heels and a tight uniform! Yikes!