Why People Act Like That on Planes

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Emotions can run high in the skies. Why wouldn’t they?

First, here are four new stories from The Atlantic:

• Have you listened lately to what Trump is saying?
• A moral case against the Israeli hostage deal
• The money always wins.
• A sort-of-common, very strange cat trick

Fear of Flying

An airplane is an odd environment: You’re buckled into a flying piece of metal hurling through clouds, sitting in very close proximity to strangers, who may need to shuffle into an aisle every time you have to pee. You’re a member of a temporary, placeless mini-society, following both explicit and unwritten rules distinct from those on Earth. No wonder, then, that some. They consume . They swear by rituals (ginger ale and a neck pillow, anyone?) to exert a modicum of control in an environment otherwise totally stripped of it. Most flyers are quiet and courteous to their fellow travelers, even if they’re exhausted or cranky, but some—a small but disruptive cohort—use their time in the friendly skies to act out.