Early yesterday morning, I headed to the airport to catch a flight out of town. After clearing security, I headed to the news stand to pick up a couple of magazines – paying face value for magazines is one of my traveling vices. And speaking of vices…
When I reached the magazine rack, I noticed that they stocked not only the usual collection of celebrity gossip rags, business and finance publications, and sports magazines… They also had a healthy dose of “adult” magazines, including Playboy, Penthouse, Hustler, and Club.
This all got me to wondering about their target audience. Since they stock this stuff, it seems clear that there’s a demand for it in the airport. Perhaps they’re after business travelers who buy it “for the articles” and are planning on “reading” it at their destination. 😉
Regardless, I couldn’t help but think of the poor travelers who get stuck next to someone who sees fit to enjoy their purchase on the plane. I’m sure it’s happened before.
On that note, let’s get to the roundup…
JLP talked about the importance of money matters in marriage (yes, I’m sometimes prone to alliteration).
Jeremy is soliciting tips for visiting Las Vegas on the cheap.
FMF asked for feedback on the best fundraisers you’ve ever seen. Back before we moved, our kids’ school raised about $50k every spring with their “Spring Fling.” Not a bad chunk of change for a school festival.
JD published a tutorial for building an effective budget.
MBH talked about the importance of having access to cash in a pinch. For more on the topic, check out my article on keeping cash on hand, which has drawn nearly 70 comments.
Pinyo talked about improving your investment performance.
Finally, over at Credit Addict, I talked about (another) Citi credit card being potentially compromised.
I personally would never buy a mag like this in the airport — it’s far cheaper to subscribe, after all. However, if you don’t like what someone else is reading on a plane, DON’T LOOK! Yes, I realize that plane’s can be pretty tight quarters, but YOU can choose where to put your eyes. If you can’t control yourselves, that’s your problem.
Flying back from Seattle a few weeks ago, and a college age kid starts reading a playboy he just bought while we’re waiting for them to start boarding…
People can read whatever they want, I guess, but they really should be more considerate of the people around them…
I was making a connection in Philadelphia 15 years ago, and the guy in front of me at the magazine shop was not only going to purchase one of these magazines, but was flipping through the pages while waiting in line to it. He’d also opened and consumed half a pack of (still-unpurchased) gum while waiting in line. He was also wearing sunglasses. Apparently the word of the day was “obnoxious”.
I have experienced the discomfort of having a male passenger in my seating row reading porn. It was a NY to L.A. flight and somewhere over the Midwest, he pulled put an editorially driven adult publication. I think it was Penthouse Letters.
While he did his utmost to fold the magazine into fourths, so only one column was facing up at the time, it was still disquieting for a number of reasons. Firstly, so I’ve learned, there are graphic photos that accompany the stories and letters. Secondly, when the pages need to be turned, the magazine must be opened a bit more fully. For these two reasons I caught far more glimpses of naked male and female flesh than I planned.
Most importantly, this experience was so uncomfortable because of the effect that reading erotica had on the passenger. He was wearing summer weight work trousers–probably a polyester blend–that were not particularly form fitting. Therefore, as he grew more and more excited, his erection was notably twitching down the leg of his pants.
The worst aspect of whole scenario was when he got up to use the restroom. He inched his way from the window seat to the aisle while facing me and the other person in our row. Moving right in front of me, his engorgement was quite large and clearly visible. Thankfully, when he returned from the restroom, he seemed to have calmed down.
I suspect he was some sort of exhibitionist because: (1) he was reading porn on a plane, (2) it would have been easy enough to put blanket on his lap while seated, and (3) he seemed to be flagrantly displaying his erection by facing us as he left our row.
For the avoidance of doubt, I am not a prude. I have watched adult films in the privacy of my home. I’ll even admit that when my fellow passenger left the row, the obvious size of his erect manhood spawned a licentious thought in my brain. However, his behavior remained inappropriate, and a less open-minded person would have reported him to the flight attendants.
I’m hoping that this was my first and last brush with porn on a plane, but with the internet coming to flights, perhaps it isn’t.
Next time you sit down in your airplane seat and feel something sticky on the armrest… you’ll know what it is!
When I enlisted in the US Navy, 160 of us shipped out from Birmingham Alabama on the same day. At least half of all enlistees purchased one of those magazines at the airport to read on the plane. I didn’t buy one myself, just because I knew they would all get pitched in the trash as soon as we got to Great Lakes. There were some mighty unhappy people on that plane sitting next to an enlistee who was getting his last glimpse of a woman for the next 2 1/2 months. The stewardesses were at a complete loss for what to do.
Now that it’s been over 10 years, it seems pretty funny to me.
You’re going to get so much crazy SE trafic on this post. Just you wait.
I’d say it’s far, FAR more likely that you’ll sit next to someone watching a movie with a sex scene in it than sit next to someone reading a porn magazine. In all my years of frequent travel, I’ve never seen someone whip out a porn magazine.
Somewhat related, I hear that some organization(s?) is making protesting because of an airline’s plan to offer internet access but not block porn sites on planes. If someone wanted to watch porn on their laptop, you would certainly not need internet access to do it.
Seems like you wouldn’t really want to break the ice with someone like that.
It might be an interesting exercise, if you find yourself sitting next to someone enjoying thier purchase on the plane, to lean over their shoulder and make innocent comments about the “models” in the photos.
I’d think this would either make the person so uncomfortable that they store the magazine or, if nothing else, at least break the ice.
Those mags been around the airport for a while. Yeah, I would be embarrassed just sitting next to someone “reading” it.
James: Yep, moot point… That’s why “for the articles” was in quotes, as was “reading.” I was just trying to be a bit less direct.
I would hazard a guess that it isn’t purchased to read on the plane, nor is it often purchased “for the articles.” I’m sure most of it is used in the hotels of men traveling to help with self-gratification. Or is that a moot point?
man… i’d be embarrased to just purchase that anywhere in public, let alone at the airport.