"Astronautical soap opera that suffers from interminable flight drag"

That's from Jack Gould's review in the NY Times of Star Trek (the TV series) upon its first appearance, Sept. 16, 1966 (p. 56). The oddest things get cult followings.

Follow-up rant: Patent 7, 041,042

I'm calling B.S.

So the reason that I posted the picture of the bottom of the airsickness bag was...what the hell are they patenting? Like no one's made an airsickness bag before?

Having read the patent I'm calling B.S. again, and doubly. As mentioned, no one's made an airsickness bag before? No one's made a plastic seamless-sided bag before? It's not blindingly obvious to use the latter as the former?

Secondly, the very bag I held in my hands and which you see a picture of below, was imprinted with no "indicia" or "graphics comprising instructions for using said tubular member in the event of nausea." That imprinting is one of seven claims of the patent.

There's a patent examiner out there who needs to look me in the eye and tell me that this will "promote the progress of science and useful arts." As someone who makes a living from intellectual property, I'm keenly aware that invention, discovery, and creation need to be made profitable. I'm also keenly aware of when something stinks. And this one smells as bad as its intended contents.

OK, rant over. Now that I've gotten that out of my system, I feel much better. Hey, maybe it does work, after all!

I have this awesome idea

A collapsible container for relief (or at least catchment) in the
event of airsickness. Oh, wait, someone's thought of it already.