On the ground
How time rolls by. It's been 40 years since the first luggage with four wheels and a tow-rope went on sale at Macy's in New York. Other stores had rejected inventor Bernard Sadow's concept as crazy. Today's models, with two wheels and retractable handle, appeared in the 1980s. The 21st-century version, created by Live Luggage in England (liveluggage.com), boasts motorized wheels and is self-propelling. It will soon be sold in Canada through HQV Inc.
In the air
Six tourists who had to stand on a five-hour flight may be on the crest of a new wave. The passengers had neither life vests nor oxygen masks on their Tatarstan Airlines trip from Turkey to Russia. Finding their flight overbooked, they chose to stand rather than wait seven hours. Meanwhile an Italian company has unveiled a stand-up seat called SkyRider. Designed to let airlines cram in bodies on short flights, it has a saddle-like bum rest. So far no carriers have placed orders.
On the seas
Cunard Line confined a 91-year-old man and his Jewish wife, 82, to their cabin for the last six days of their Queen Mary 2 transatlantic crossing, allegedly over a noisy and expletive-filled argument with another passenger over what they say was an anti-Semitic remark. Originally the captain ordered them to disembark at a remote port in Quebec, but fellow passengers intervened on their behalf.
Sources: Asian News International, International Herald Tribune, New York Post
Special to The Globe and Mail