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People have been pinching (that’s “stealing” for us Americans) the salt and pepper shakers from Virgin Atlantic for years. And no wonder…they’re shaped like planes and are adorable!

Wilbur & Orville

Humourously (you see what I did there?) named Wilbur and Orville, the little plane-shaped spice pots, usually offered in either silver, gold or black (but also with a limited edition run of red during December 2017), have become so popular in the past almost twenty years that the bottom of them even now say, “Pinched from Virgin Atlantic” (which, by the way, is a genius advertising campaign).

This post isn’t a diatribe about whether or not you should steal them – that’s up to you and your conscience. This one is simply how you DON’T want to steal them.

Don’t do it this way

Joe and I had a quick visit to London a couple of years ago and took Virgin Atlantic both ways, using our Delta miles. We had only been on Virgin Atlantic one time before, and it was YEARS ago – way before I was brave enough to steal salt and pepper shakers (although at the time, I really, really wanted to. Joe, always the more goody-two-shoes of the two of us, talked me [who’s always been easily swayed to good] out of it).

I’m older and wiser now. And yeah, significantly more brazen, too (especially since I know for sure they don’t mind). So I took them and threw ’em into my computer bag.

Bad move.

Y’all, learn from my mistake.

Remember that Orville and Wilbur are salt and pepper shakers. That means they have salt and pepper in them. And if they’re just thrown into a pocket or a bag or whatever and land face down (well, nose down), salt or pepper will pour out of them. And then you’ll have a mess to clean up.

If I were you, I would remove the salt and pepper from them first. They’re easy to open. Just pull the nose off each one and pour the salt and pepper out. You can even rinse them in the lavatory first.

And THEN pinch them 😉

My hero!

Joe took Virgin Atlantic on his solo trip to London and Wales a few months ago. He flew Upper Class on one of their A330-300s and even made use of their Revivals Lounge at London Heathrow.

Anyway, he asked me if there was anything I wanted while he was away. I told him if Virgin Atlantic gave him any color salt & pepper shakers besides black, to pinch them for me.

Mission accomplished (AND he emptied them out in the lav because of some advice he read on a travel blog called Your Mileage May Vary…)

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary