Airsickness bags, as everyone knows, are proof that some people will collect anything. Airsickness bags are proof, too, that enough people aren’t embarrassed to talk about their collections that there is always a list of top-ten websites on the subject. So here’s the list of top-ten websites for collectors of airsickness bags and their friends, however few.
The Airsickness Bag Virtual Museum
American Steve “Upheave” Silverberg’s site backs its claim of 2,806 exhibits currently in its virtual museum by posting an image and (often excellent) commentary for all. Here’s what it has to say about an Aegean Airlines airsickness bag illustrated with numbered dots: “Finally, an incredible bag that gives you something to do: Connect-the-dots! The only problem is, the connected dots form a drawing of the female reproductive system.” Steve also claims, although we haven’t tried this yet, that if you contact him he will send you a free three-sample Airsickness Bag Collectors Starter Kit.
Kelly’s World of Airsickness Bags
Does American Bruce Kelly have the world’s largest online collection of airsickness bags? Perhaps. Does he deserve proper respect for developing his interest as a result of barfing into the bags while flying as a passenger aboard bush planes in rural Alaska? Absolutely. Among his newest acquisitions is a Norwegian Air Shuttle, bag labeled: “In a while will feel fine”.
Bagophily
Britt Paul Mundy’s site is extremely useful for learning about the world of baggists, as collectors of airsickness bags almost universally call themselves. Not only does it list the world’s top 76 baggists (which, you’ve got to assume, is just about all of them), but also details the many non-airsick purposes the bags can be put to (unequivocal goodbye notes, for one), and a link, for anyone who wants to go more deeply into the subject than even a dedicated collector might think necessary, to major airsickness bag makers.
Homer’s Airsickness Bags
This Danish site, by Thomas Homer Goetz, of Copenhagen, is short on text. But it does include images of some airsickness bags not seen on other sites, including one, from the Aero Club Zwickau, in Germany, that seems to show a pair of planes in such deep dives that all aboard are likely being reminded of what they had for their most recent meal.
Baghecht
From a group of German collectors, the images here make it a good site for checking out the limited edition airsick bags Virgin Atlantic produced back in 2004 for people who like the idea of contemporary art that’s in your face, literally. The site also includes a collection of airplane life jackets, which you hope they didn’t slip into their carry-ons the same way you can an airsickness bag.
Rune’s Barf Bag Collection
Created by Swedish bagist Rune Tapper based on the belief that to get a lot of people to visit a website you have to offer pornography, free music downloads, or something really strange, Rune’s Barf Bag Collection confirms that Scandinavian nights can be really long. The site’s latest acquisition is a bag, from Taiwan-based Eva Air, printed with a message that is easy to puzzle over: “Please treasure resource and use sparingly.”
Federico Mandrile Barf Bag Collection
Federico Mandrile’s site is in Italian, so is more or less unreadable to most of us. I was, however, lost for some time in the contemplation of a mind that would include among a collection of this type a gallery of thirty-six, apparently identical, plain white bags.
David Shomper’s Barfbag Collection
Boulder, Colorado-based David Shomper claims that while his airsickness bag collection may not be the world’s largest, it is the world’s highest. After looking at the site, one is inclined to agree. It is one of only a few airsickness bag sites, for instance, to offer original poetry on the subject. Among Shomper-created verse is this:
There once was a baggist from Boulder,
Whose collection took up a huge folder.
His wife soon rejected it,
And later ejected it,
So he finally went out and he sold her.
Anan’s Airsickness Bags Collection
This site can seem a bit confusing, very possibly because it is written in English and Japanese. But worth the visit is the multi-tasking evident in the Qantas airsickness bags, which were also plainly meant to serve as film-processing envelopes, in the days when people still used film. For instance, you could learn, while bent over with your head between your knees, that processing a role of 36 exposures cost $5.95, Australian.
The Vomatorium
This site looks like it hasn’t been updated since about 1998. I wasn’t really finding myself engaged until I came to: “The Amazing Adventures of Bob the Really Boring Barf Bag,” which is when I decided it was probably worth consideration. And I was feeling it even a little more when I got to the FAQ section and learned that the site creator doesn’t collect used airsick bags because they tend not to fit flat in albums.
Haven’t gotten enough of airsickness bags and airsickness bag collectors? Here’s everything you always wanted to know, but were afraid to ask.
Featured photo donated to Rune’s Barf Bag Collection by Mark Wilson.
