The Airplane Oxygen Mask
June 30, 2009
With come creativity, you can add a little comic relief to even the most mundane chores in your work group as this individual did with a rubber chicken.
In our work there are many tasks which are repetitious by nature, and over time, we tend to just “go through the motions” to get them done. Once in a while, though, you will find a person who tries to make these mundane tasks a little more interesting.
If you ask anyone who flies frequently, they can probably recite the pre-flight announcements by heart:
“In preparation for take off, please make sure your seats are in their full and upright positions and your tray tables are stowed…”
The plane then pushes back from the gate and begins to travel to the runway. Next come the safety announcements.
“Please remove the safety briefing card form your seat back as our flight attendants explain the safety features of our Boeing 727 aircraft…”
As one flight attendant reads the descriptions, one or two others will stand in the aisles pointing or demonstrating. After explaining about the emergency exits, the next topic is the oxygen masks.
“In the unlikely event that supplemental oxygen is needed, an oxygen mask will be released from a compartment over your head…”
Normally, at this point in the demonstration, the flight attendant in the aisle holds up his hand and releases the bright yellow oxygen mask, which he holds by the plastic tube. Not on this flight. In this case, the flight attendant, a man in is ‘50s, released a rubber chicken that he held, upside down, by its legs. (In case you’re wondering, no, it wasn’t Southwest Airlines, it was American!)
The announcement continued, “Please secure the mask to your face by placing the plastic straps around your head and tighten by pulling on the ends…”
At this point, the flight attendant put the “rear end” of the rubber chicken over his face and “secured” it in place by wrapping the chicken’s legs around his ears.
“Pull down gently on the tube to begin the flow of oxygen; the rubber bag will not inflate even though oxygen is flowing.”
The flight attendant “started the flow of oxygen” by pulling down on the neck of the rubber chicken which was hanging from his head.
As this was going on, a funny thing happened: one person looked up from his newspaper and did a double take as the chicken was released. He tapped the shoulder of the woman sitting next to him and pointed into the aisle. She did a double take, then started paying attention herself. One by one, people in the cabin started watching, until every passenger was viewing this spectacle, tears in their eyes from laughing so hard.
When he had everyone’s attention, of course, he did the demonstration properly with an actual oxygen mask.
I take as many as 100 flights a year. I have heard the safety announcements so often and so regularly that I really don’t pay attention any more. And yet on this trip, the flight attendant found a way to vary his work routine and, in the bargain, got me, as well as everyone else in the cabin, to pay attention to the safety announcements.
In your own work, there are many tasks that are boring or routine. The trick is to find a way to make them more exciting – for you and for the people around you. And while a rubber chicken may not be appropriate in your work, with a little creativity, you can add a little comic relief to even the most mundane chore.
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