Last month, while Jason was flying home from Chicago, he asked readers to submit their most amazing facts related to air travel.
We’ve combed through the submissions, fact-checked our favorites, and picked 11 winners. The winners will be contacted via e-mail so they can receive the mental_floss T-shirts of their choice.
And the winners are…
Amy Gardner McNeal:
Seventy-five thousand engineering drawings were used to produce the first Boeing 747.
Ken:
The song YYZ by Rush is named after the airport identification code for Lester B. Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They chose that code because seeing it on their airline tags means they are finally coming home after months upon months on tour.
Dina:
In 1987, American Airlines eliminated one olive from each salad served in first class. This saved them $40,000.
Heather:
According to U.S. News & World Report, the longest commercial flight by duration is Los Angeles to Singapore on Singapore Airlines. It clocks in at 18 hours and 30 minutes and takes more time than the Newark-Singapore flight which is 800 miles longer but saves time by going over the north pole and experiencing less wind resistance.
Jenn:
Niek Vermeulen has the world’s largest collection of airsickness bags (6,016).
Devdoggy:
Gliding was an exhibition in Berlin at the Olympics in 1936, and it was planned to be an Olympic sport in the next Olympics.
Tim:
Dallas’s [DFW] airport is bigger than the island of Manhattan.
Moniker:
Little known fact, Penn Jillette, of Penn & Teller, was the first person to ride / float [the famous "Vomit Comet" anti-gravity flight] completely nude. Also joining him that day for the ride was Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top.
Competitivesleeper:
Vesna Vulovic holds the world record for surviving the highest fall. She was a flight attendant who was in a plane that was bombed at over 30,000 feet. Although severely injured she was the only survivor.
Teresak33:
As a ginger I’m thrilled to report there is an airport in Ebro Florida named Redhead Airport.
Steven:
To fly from Chicago O’Hare to Chicago Midway, you have to make a connecting flight and use at least two airlines. The shortest route is O’Hare-Milwaukee-Midway.
Congratulations, everyone! Go check out our t-shirt collection here.