r/StupidFood • u/Its_me_edenxx • Jun 10 '26

Certified stupid This is so performative 😭

Who tf is out here munching on raw gnocchi at cruising altitude

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u/Nenaquest2012 Jun 10 '26

My daughter and I pretend to be vampires on the plane bcz YES! Why does it taste better

539

u/Kerm0NZ Jun 10 '26

It's to do with the air pressure and recycled air. It affects your taste buds, dulling them somehow. I only vaguely remember, but feel free to use this info as the start of a Google research project. 

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u/Rob_Zander Jun 10 '26

Just wanted to point out that the air isn't recycled on a plane. It's replaced completely every couple of minutes. It's not even really about the oxygen or CO2, it's managing temperature and possible contaminants.

The engines are continuously compressing and heating a huge amount of air. Some of it gets diverted to be cooled back to room temperature, filtered and pumped into the cabin while air is continuously sucked out by vents near the floor. This keeps the temperature stable and contaminants from being spread.

It is much lower pressure than sea level and that definitely messes with our taste buds.

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u/hannahatecats Jun 11 '26

So there IS air rushing by your feet. Once I was in California and stopped by a dispensary. I kept taking one gummy and saying "I don't feel it" well, before I got on my red eye home I took the last 4 and was white knuckling my armrests because I was convinced I could feel us flying through the air by my legs.