Total Eclipse eye mask the coolest inflight invention in ages

FLIGHT attendants will be able to know exactly what you're thinking - even while you're asleep - with this new device. Find out what it is.

Total Eclipse

REMEMBER the days when you'd fall asleep on a flight only to miss your meal? Well this new invention could solve the common mile-high frustration.

Flight attendants will know what passengers want, even while they're snoozing, with the 'Total Eclipse' eye mask.

While it blocks out light, it also has an erasable writing surface, so travellers can share their requests e.g. they'd like to be woken up for food. It essentially turns your face into a billboard.

The idea was sparked by inventor and mechanical engineer, Jason Lichtman, CEO and founder of Eclipse Products LLC.

"I travel a lot and I've been frustrated by missing airline meals and drinks, especially when they don't serve them as often as they used to," Lichtman told the Airline Passenger Experience Association. "I realised it is all about communication or the lack thereof.

"The flight attendant just needs to know what you want. And if you had a sleep mask on that said, 'I'd like to be woken up for meals', they would wake you up or 'Do not disturb', they wouldn’t disturb you - unless, of course, they absolutely needed to."

"What better place to put a billboard, than on your face?"

While it doesn't look comfortable, it has a foam and fleece lining to make it softer.

The masks are available online but Lichtman hopes to make them available at airports or on planes.

Just keep those messages nice - and hope other cheeky passengers don't erase them!