Nicholas.Spies@H.CS.CMU.EDU (01/26/86)
About perhaps 15 years ago I read in (perhaps) Popular Science that someone had designed airplane seats that would lilt back when sujected to acceleration (presumably by putting their center of gravity below their pivot point). This was depicted as being safer because passengers would have a better chance of surviving in prone sitting position than being thrown forwards with seatbelts. This might be more practical for trains, where seat belts are not required and additional mass for seat counter-weights might not be a big problem. I recall also in my youth the cars on the Paoli Local as having flippable seats. The seats themselves were covered with maroon velvet. Also, the windows could be opened by squeezing two brass devices (one on each side of the window) which would catch on a number of slots, depending on the height you wanted the window. What I don't quite remember is whether the cars also had large ceiling fans, though I think they did. I also remember that when the newer cars came on line I had the feeling of being in a tin can because the windows wouldn't open. --Nick