The comedian Adam Conover has made a name for himself by upturning cultural norms and assumptions. His myth-busting television show, “Adam Ruins Everything,” is in its third season on TruTV.
Mr. Conover’s episode on air travel led him to some interesting findings. “I, like so many people, a few years ago got sucked into the frequent flier-mile game,” he says. “I started getting credit cards and trying to figure out how to maximize my miles. And now I’m switching to all cash-back because I have recognized what a labyrinthine scam it is. The airlines have devalued all of their miles for economy travelers to such an extent that if you’re just the average person going to visit your family a couple times a year on an economy ticket, you’re going to earn so few miles it would take you decades to ever earn one of those mystical free first-class flights.”
Another thing he learned while researching the episode is the illusion of the so-called Golden Age of flying. “Everyone uses ‘Mad Men’ as an example. You know: Don Draper taking his elegant cross-country flights, and the stewardess bringing him a neat scotch, and he looks all classy.
“We dispel that image by sharing what flying really looked like back then. In the ’60s planes flew a little lower than they do now. In the ’30s and the ’40s, they flew much lower to the ground. It was a horrible experience. There was a lot more turbulence and it was a lot more dangerous. People were much more likely to die in a plane crash. But the cabins were also full of the smell of cigarette smoke and fuel fumes because they weren’t as good at separating the fuel fumes.
“The main reason that barf bags are on planes today is because the cabins were constantly full of the smell of jet fuel and cigarette smoke, and there was so much more turbulence, so people were just constantly throwing up.”
Here’s what he can’t travel without:
Nintendo switch
“There is nothing better than getting to just dig in and seriously play a video game for a six-hour flight from New York to L.A. ‘Into the Breach’ is a wonderful strategy game where you play that you are trying to stop an alien invasion. But of course, ‘Zelda: Breath of the Wild’ and ‘Super Mario Odyssey’ are just two of the most superlative games ever made, and so when I have time to completely lose myself in those, it’s really, really a joy.”
Fidget spinner
“I find that I have a lot of suppressed energy when I’m on a plane for a long period so when I’m holding a fidget spinner, being able to play with it and just sort of run my hands over it helps me out quite a lot; it helps me relax. I’ve gotten into an Uber and then said, ‘Oh wait, hold on one second,’ and run back in to get the fidget spinner because I knew I would need it on the plane.”
Drawing materials
“My domestic partner, Lisa Hanawalt, is a cartoonist and the designer of BoJack Horseman. I’ve noticed when she’s in a situation where she’s trying to distract herself with her hands, she just has a sketchbook to draw in, and I started doing that too. Now the problem is that I’ve run out of stuff to draw on a plane, so I’ve drawn the back of the head of the person sitting in front of me about five or six times. Those are some of my best pieces. Lisa looks at these and goes, ‘Oh my God, you’re a very good artist.’ Maybe I’ll do a gallery show one day of the drawings of the backs of people’s heads.”
Audiobooks
“I find that a really restful, relaxing way to spend time on a plane is to listen to an audiobook while drawing. I use the Libby app to check out audiobooks from my public library. Right now, I’m listening to “Evicted,” by Matthew Desmond, which is a really incredible set of stories of poverty in Milwaukee, and about the underreported epidemic of eviction that is contributing to the cycle of poverty. The cool thing is, it’s the rare piece of nonfiction that isn’t just dumping the policy problem on you. It’s incredibly, beautifully reported personal accounts of individual families and what their lives are like on a day-to-day basis.”
