Originally Posted by Daze
I certainly do consider which side of the plane the sun will be on when
selecting seats, if I have a choice.
I understand this practice goes back to trans-Atlantic steamship passages, where the best cabin was away from the sun and therefore from the US, Portside Outbound, and Starboard Homeward. Hence the word POSH, which still describes desireable accomodations.
Popular etymology has it that posh is an acronym for Port Out, Starboard Home. Supposedly, this acronym was printed on first-class tickets issued by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company going from England to India. The port side on the trip out would have the coolest cabins (or alternately the cabins with the best view). The same would be true of the starboard cabins on the return trip. From this origin, sprang the usage of the term meaning swank, elegant, or fashionable. Unfortunately for this excellent story, no tickets with Posh stamped on them have been found and company records reveal no sign of the phrase.