The "No Need To Worry About Anything While Traveling!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Talking with my wife about the chances of flying to the Caribbean island of St. Martin/Sint Maarten for a few weeks vacation.  We haven't been able to fly for over 3 years now due to health problems and problems created by COVID-19.  We are getting antsy and can only hope that we will be able to fly soon.  Carol and I talked about where we would stay, which beaches we would want to visit, favorite places we would love to go to eat and friends we would want to visit while on the island.  Then there is always the pre-planning when we have to decide which city we want to fly from as well as what airline we want to use for our flight.  Now...all during this time of pre-planning, we talked about how we feel about flying once again.  I got online and checked out a few choices of dates, times to fly and seating in the plane.  And then I clicked on another site and I saw a headline in bold type that read..."What Actually Happens When You Flush an Airplane Toilet?"  Geeezzzeee!  I'm not sure I ever wondered about that in my life!  I guess it might be a good question, but I'm sure it must have an easy answer or more would be written about it in the past.  Naturally, I had to read what actually happens...wouldn't you want to know?  Seems that during any given flight, travelers flush the toilets up to 1,000 times.  And, being that there isn't any indoor plumbing up at 30,000+ feet in the sky, your stuff has to go somewhere.   When airfare first began years and years ago, the very first airplane toilets were primitive and direct; you know...a bucket and a bottle.  Then when airlines began using toilets they used Anotec which is a blue deodorizing gel that flushed away waste and controlled odor.  The airlines had to store gallons of the stuff, which naturally made the planes heavy and resulted in planes wasting precious fuel and having to limit passenger space.  In addition, the storage tanks were directly below the toilets, so the smell would sometimes drift up into the cabin.  Not a good idea if it happens when the attendants are serving drinks and snacks.  And, the early toilets weren't the best, so some of the lumps of blue gel mixed with feces, might drop to earth at great speeds and damage cars and houses below.  Well, that ended when commercial flying began using pressurized cabins and bathroom systems saw an upgrade as well.  In 1975, a design was made that featured a nonstick bowl, a small amount of Skychem (disinfecting liquid), and powerful vacuum suction.  Now, when you flush an airplane toilet, a trapdoor in the base opens, liquid is released, and everything is sucked out faster than a Formula 1 race car.  Waste whizzes through the plumbing to the rear of the plane, where it is stored in sealed tanks, well away from the passengers, until the plane touches down.  On a long-distance flight travelers might flush the toilets around 1,000 times which could create over 200 gallons of sewage.  When the aircraft lands, a "honey truck" siphons out the waste and disposes of it into the airports sewage system.  The next time you travel by plane, see if you can spot the "honey truck" after your plane lands.  It may be the one that is dripping stuff from under it as it reaches and leaves your plane. And...might you wonder if the plane might accidentally empty the tanks in flight, not to worry.  The door has external clips that can't be opened from inside the plane.  But, what about the toilet vacuums that operate when you flush the toilet.  Did you ever think that it might suck out your insides?  I've never read about that happening so I assume you are safe.  But, who would search for stuff like that to read about anyway.  And...come to think of it, when a plane takes off it weights a certain amount which is the plane itself, all the people and all the stuff in the cabin including the luggage.  So, how could it gain, or lose weight no matter how many times everyone goes to the bathroom during a flight.  You may get lighter after using the bathroom, but the plane will gain what you lost.  Everything should be Even/Steven.  See....nothing to worry about.  Now the only thing that could change may be the smell in the cabin!   So...remember a nose clip when you travel!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.