Note: This article pertaining to Disgusting Find in the Seat Pocket Aboard an Airplane was originally published on Thursday, December 3, 2015 at 9:35 in the evening and has been updated.
Aboard the airplane on my short flight to Washington some years ago, I reached for the official monthly magazine of the airline so that I may work on the crossword puzzle — and the disgusting find in the seat pocket was what I found on the cover of the magazine and shown in the photograph at the top of this article.
Disgusting Find in the Seat Pocket Aboard an Airplane
I suppose the former owner of that used gum was doing a favor by putting it back in the plastic packaging from whence it came before it was chewed; but as you can see in the photograph, some of it escaped…
…and not included in the photograph is the remainder of the chewed gum divided into two blobs which stuck to the upper right corner of the front cover of the magazine. Fortunately and thankfully, I did not touch any of it.
Final Boarding Call
To the person who thought that sticking used gum in the seat pocket aboard an airplane was a good idea: well, it is not a good idea.
Instead, take your used gum and put it in your pocket. What’s that? It might get all gooey and mess up the inside of your pocket? You would rather the next passenger in front of you enjoy the experience instead? How generous of you…
…and besides, members of the flight crew aboard the airplane have access to all sorts of conveyances for that used gum: napkins could work; but you could also ask for a bag of miniature pretzels, eat them, and then put your used gum in the empty bag.
You can even give your used gum to a member of the flight crew, and he or she will take it from you and dispose of it — free of charge. Imagine that.
I can hear it now: why didn’t members of the ground crew responsible for cleaning the aircraft between flights catch that gum? I thought about that; but then I wondered: should the cleaning crew inspect every magazine to ensure that they are free of debris?
Fortunately — at least, for this particular issue — an increasing number of airlines no longer have a published physical magazine that awaits passengers aboard airplanes; so an incident such as this one should happen less frequently.
I am certain that someone — perhaps you — will impart a far more disgusting discovery in a seat pocket…
Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.
