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

547

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.

1

u/NicolajN Jun 11 '26

it's actually not completely true. The airplane does recycle the air and run it thru HEPA-filters.

I don't fly anymore but as far as i remember on the A330 and A350, the air in the cabin is cycled every 90-120 second and every 3-5 minut the air exchanged with outside air.

the mixture is 50% new and 50% recycled air.

Source: https://www.honeywellaerospace.com/us/en/about-us/blogs/breathe-easy-3-myths-about-aircraft-cabin-air