Why You Get Bumped
Kirt's Cogitations™ #158

RF Cafe University "Factoids," "Kirt's Cogitations," and "Tech Topics Smorgasbord" are all manifestations of my ranting on various subjects relevant (usually) to the overall RF Cafe theme. All may be accessed on these pages:

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Why You Get Bumped

Since we as a group do a lot of flying, here are some stats you might find interesting. 18% of Americans are afraid to fly, yet only 6% consider it unsafe. Items falling from overhead storage bins cause 4,500 injuries per year (50% of them are sports items). Seats are designed to fit 95% of the male population. Cabin pressure is held at 8,000 feet, which helps calm passengers due to oxygen deprivation. Delay pushing away from the gate costs $22.38 per minute, or $220M per year system-wide. Window seats get the freshest air due to the cabin recirculation pattern. Your chance of getting bumped is reduced the more you pay for your ticket. Nearly 900,000 people were bumped from flights in 2002, yet only 0.05% complained - which is why airlines still bump so many people!

RF Cafe began life in 1996 as "RF Tools" in an AOL screen name web space totaling 2 MB. Its primary purpose was to provide me with ready access to commonly needed formulas and reference material while performing my work as an RF system and circuit design engineer. The World Wide Web (Internet) was largely an unknown entity at the time and bandwidth was a scarce commodity. Dial-up modems blazed along at 14.4 kbps while tying up your telephone line, and a lady's voice announced "You've Got Mail" when a new message arrived...