Food for thought: Airline beverages
Bloody Mary Mix by Otterman56 on Flickr
Have you ever noticed that people drink a heck of a lot of bloody mary mix on airplanes (or tomato juice)? and ginger ale too? Perhaps you are one of these people; I am. Oh I could resolve to get some water, or a cup of tea, but for some reason when the flight attendants start making their rounds I just get a hankering for something canned, spicy, and full of vegetable-y goodness.
I’ve noticed other people make similar choices. I’ve tried to imagine that these people have a club pack of mini-tomato juice cans resting on their fridge shelves, nestled between the milk and a six pack of American beer. I’m not so sure. I rarely drink the stuff when I’m not on the plane.
Perhaps this predilection for specific beverages is due to a subconscious desire by passengers to alleviate some of the physical discomforts of air travel. After all, bloody mary mix is hydrating (think salt and water) as well as healthy (hard to get your vegetables far from home). Ginger ale, on the other hand, is a bit less healthy, but has the benefit of calming a queasy stomach.
I think that most of the driving force behind these choices has to do with novelty. We drink bloody mary mix on airplanes for the same reason those ridiculous plastic trays make us hunger for honey roasted peanuts. We eat special foods for special occasions and air travel merits its own snack cuisine.
On a similar note, President Obama recently asked the astronauts in the International Space Station if they still drank Tang? Do you still drink Tang? You probably would if you took a trip to outer space…I wonder if Virgin Galactic has that in stock?
Bottoms up!
