<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Eastbay1K:
Last Sunday, the plane shook for about 10 seconds, the seatbelt sign went on for "turbulance" and then the cart blocked the aisle and the cockpit door opened for lav visit by the cpt. Anyone else notice this technique? There was no turbulance afterwards and the seatbelt sign came off shortly after the cpt's return to the cockpit.</font>
I would consider a crew-initiated burst of turbulence as extremely unlikely, almost to the point of impossibility. If anyone did this while I was in the cockpit, they'd certainly be hearing about it later. Regardless, there's really no need for that. The captain can use the infamous "we've had some reports of turbulence" and turn the seatbelt sign on at any time. Even if Channel 9 is on, we often do get reports of turbulence through the ACARS from Dispatch. While 99%+ of the reports of turbulence calls are genuine, I have also seen this used after the FAs call because too many people are in the galleys, preventing them from working.
In all likelyhood, it was simply coincidental. The captain probably decided it was a good time to go back, since the fasten seat belt sign should deter people from getting up in the first place.