Wednesday, July 31, 2013

11 Things We No Longer See on Airplanes

11 Things We No Longer See on Airplanes | Mental Floss:
"11. A SEAT ASSIGNMENT IN 22I

Or any row with an “I” designation.
Watch the seat numbers the next time you’re tripping down the aisle on a wide-bodied plane—they usually run “HJK”. Why no "I"?
Blame computers.
When airlines started installing computer equipment to handle their reservations and other records, problems were often created when a letter too closely resembled a numeral.
Digital Equipment Corporation was the first company to eliminate confusing letters (in automobile VIN numbers, for example, not only the I but also O, Q, and S were nixed) and as a result such an alphanumeric system is now referred to as the DEC Alphabet. "

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