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Being on a plane is not likely to feel great—no matter what you bring aboard with you.
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Back in 2017, Kelly Conaboy had it out for the neck pillow: “This half-ovate, toilet-seat cover-esque object reigns as King of Travel Accessories, while failing miserably at its intended sole use,” she wrote. One of the many compelling arguments in her essay is that the neck pillow resembles “the first-ever stone pillow used by Mesopotamians in 7,000 BC”; “Seems like we should not still be using a pillow that looks like the first-ever stone pillow used by Mesopotamians in 7,000 BC, but that’s just my opinion,” Conaboy writes.
Even if your thoughts on travel neck pillows aren’t as strong as Conaboy’s, you may relate to the experience of shelling out for one travel convenience or another, hoping it will make your time in the sky a little bit easier. (I don’t have a neck pillow or a sleep mask myself, but I do meticulously prepare my in-flight Spotify playlists—a different type of sleep aid.) The truth is that flying is weird and uncomfortable, no matter what you bring aboard. Perhaps all that’s left is to give in.
On Travel Habits
Against the Travel Neck Pillow
By Kelly Conaboy
This useless accessory has one job—which it fails at.
The Guilt-Free Pleasure of Airplane Movies
By Lenika Cruz
Amid the endless tiny indignities of air travel, only one true retreat remains.
The Carry-On-Baggage Bubble Is About to Pop
By Ian Bogost
Airplanes aren’t made for this much luggage.
Still Curious?
Other Diversions
P.S.
I recently asked readers to share a photo of something that sparks their sense of awe in the world. Katya Sabaroff Taylor, age 80, from Tallahassee, Florida, shared this image of the heart of a hibiscus flower grown in her garden. “I often photograph flowers in my garden because of their intricacy, delicacy, majesty, vivid coloration, and organic beauty,” she wrote.
I’ll continue to share your responses in the coming weeks. If you’d like to share, reply to this email with a photo and a short description so we can share your wonder with fellow readers in a future edition of this newsletter or on our website. Please include your name (initials are okay), age, and location. By doing so, you agree that The Atlantic has permission to publish your photo and publicly attribute the response to you, including your first name and last initial, age, and/or location that you share with your submission.
— Isabel
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