Today I would like to illustrate an anecdote which I encountered on the flight back to SG.
There was a middle-aged man sitting diagonally in front of me across the aisle. He must be unwell because he had a lot of phlegm to clear. Every time he needed to clear the phlegm, he will make the iconic noise of bringing the phlegm to his oral cavity and i couldn't help but notice him dealing with his phlegm many times.
The first time, he spitted his phlegm into the sanitary bag which comes with each seat. After that, he proceeded to read the newspapers provided. For a few times after that, he will spit into the newspaper he is actually reading and continue reading like nothing happened. I also noticed he will used his finger to clear the remnants of his phlegm from the edges of his mouth and wiped his finger on the edge of his seat and the flight blanket provided. One other passenger later asked to read his copy of newspapers and he readily lent it to him. The other passenger went on to absorb all the information in the newspaper without making much of a fuss.
I didn't think I will believe this story if someone else told me about it but I have witnessed it for myself now.
