#3-Bussickness

Why Don’t Kids Get “Bussick?”

carsick

Georgie told me that when he was a little kid, he often got completely barfy in the car, especially on long trips and especially on curvy road and especially if he was reading.

I have always wondered why kids can get carsick in a car, but almost no one ever gets “bussick” on a bus. If you have a theory, please comment below.

bussick

Comments from my Readers & Friends

    • Thanks, Aquia. I admire your name. I have never met anyone named Aquia. I am guessing it is pronounced ah-KEE-ah. Am I right?

  1. Car sickness is caused by your eyes and ears arguing about whether you are moving or not. That argument will cause you to feel nauseous.I think if you are in a bus, it is much harder to get “bussick” because the bus is not shaking enough to cause that argument.

    • I completely agree about bus vs. car movement.
      But you know I like words. Is it “nauseous” or “nauseated”? Here’s what Grammarly says:
      Even though nauseous and nauseated are often used to mean feeling unwell, many purists insist that nauseous means “causing nausea” while nauseated means “feeling sick.” Casually, it is probably OK to use both words to mean feeling ill. However, in more formal situations, use each word correctly.

  2. I have been bussick before. A bunch of times. It happens when I read on the bus. I feel like I’m going to throw up. I have never, though!

  3. Maybe because A bus is bigger so it does,nt rock around too much and bus drivers drive slower then car drivers.

    • I asked my science teacher, and he said your comment makes a lot of sense because of the “physics of larger vehicles.”
      Cool…

  4. There’s more air in a bus so it’s easier to breathe, which makes it harder to get “bussick”. Also, in my experience, cars have a weird smell that give you a higher chance to get carsick. Busses don’t.

    • I like your theory about more air. But some buses do smell bad…especially if the sweaty football team has used it to come home from a game the night before you ride it to school!

  5. Some of my friends do get bussick and have to sit in the front. ONe of them, he only gets bussick in traffic.

  6. I think kids don’t get bussick because it’s not as hot and crowded as it is in a car. And it’s to loud to tink about getting sick. I’m homeschooled so I haven’t been on a school bus since I was in kindergarden, but that’s my theory!

  7. Maybe because a bus is larger you don’t feel the bumps. Anyway, on a bus, you’re having too much fun to notice you’re feeling sick.

  8. If you tried, in fact, you would get “bussick”. The reason you get carsick is that the sensors of motion in your ear become confused, because of the eyes telling you that you are not moving because the book is not moving, and the sensors telling the brain that you ARE moving. It’s like when you spin around really fast and get dizzy.

    The same would happen on a bus, except that the bus normally moves slower than a car, so it takes longer.

    Try closing your eyes in a car or bus. You know that you’re moving, and when you’ve stopped, those are the sensors in your ear. Cool, right?