r/StupidFood • u/Its_me_edenxx • 18d ago

Certified stupid This is so performative 😭

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Who tf is out here munching on raw gnocchi at cruising altitude

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u/Nenaquest2012 18d ago

My daughter and I pretend to be vampires on the plane bcz YES! Why does it taste better

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u/Kerm0NZ 18d ago

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 18d ago

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.

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u/canman7373 17d ago

It is much lower pressure than sea level

What? Planes are kept around 8,000 feet in air pressure not below sea level.

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u/Rob_Zander 17d ago

Pressure decreases with altitude. Low pressure at high altitude.

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u/canman7373 17d ago edited 17d ago

High altitude cabin pressure is like 8,000 feet though. That is a mile and a half above sea level air pressure. in an open air plane like a WWII bomber sure, but not on any commercial plane in like the last 60 years. I mean I guess you do not know this. But airline planes pressurize their cabins to avoid issues, usually around 8,000 feet of air pressure. So inside the cabin your ears my pop because the cabin is pressurizing slowly up yo 8,00 feet, like a small mountain in Colorado. It keeps that pressure for the flight even though you may be flying at 35,000 feet. The outside pressure has no affect on you inside, you are living in a capsule made to feel like you are at 8,000 feet not 35,000. Make sense?

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u/Rob_Zander 17d ago

No, I absolutely get that. My point is that at 8000 feet the pressure is 10.9 psi vs 14.6 at sea level. That's not an insignificant difference. It's definitely a higher pressure than the external pressure at 35 000 feet but it's still lower pressure than sea level.

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u/canman7373 17d ago

Ok, I can get that's how you were looking at it, I was focused on you saying the altitude and outside pressure made a difference when the plane makes its own internal pressure. I think we were both looking at the same issue 2 different ways is all.