# That armrest is mine, asshole. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 5, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-armrest-is-mine-asshole/643107 "2012-12-05T19:00:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-armrest-is-mine-asshole/643107/101 "2012-12-06T18:18:20Z")
> [@Foxy40](#): > > When you lean back, you give the person behind you even less space. For the couple of inches it gives you, I’d rather not inconvenience the person behind me and I would prefer the person in front of me do the same. Thank you for being considerate of your fellow travellers. We appreciate it. And thank you for not thinking it’s ridiculous to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Bouncer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@Bouncer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bouncer)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-armrest-is-mine-asshole/643107/102 "2012-12-06T18:19:35Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Yeah, when I deplane the Caribbean awaits. I don’t care if you slobber on my shoulder. The three bloody Mary’s pre boarding help. Screw you. I mean that in the most jealous way possible. 😛 Regards, -Bouncer- ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-armrest-is-mine-asshole/643107/103 "2012-12-06T18:23:38Z")
Maybe I’m weird. Wait, I AM weird. Anyway, maybe I’m weird in yet another way. I’ve never found that airplane seats are more comfortable when I recline in them. It’s a minor change in position, which is sometimes welcome, but the upright position and the reclined position and all positions in between seem equally uncomfortable to me. And this is one of the few situations where being short is a bonus instead of a drawback. If the person in the seat in front of me reclines, I don’t get crushed knees. It’s mildly annoying if I’ve laid out a game of solitaire, but nowadays I’m generally reading or playing with an electronic device. Last month I had to take a trip to New Mexico, and was flying with my daughter, so I dragged the Skymall catalog from the seat pocket and we made fun of some of the offerings, and their prices. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-armrest-is-mine-asshole/643107/104 "2012-12-06T18:28:28Z")
Has anyone tried Knee Defender? [www.kneedefender.com](http://www.kneedefender.com) > [@](#): > > Knee Defender™ is also valued by airline passengers with small children, “road warriors” who need to work while flying, and any traveler who simply does not like being hit by a reclining airplane seat. I’m curious if it actually works and if it doesn’t get you punched in the nose. ---
**Author:** ![Bouncer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@Bouncer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bouncer)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-armrest-is-mine-asshole/643107/105 "2012-12-06T18:29:46Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Last month I had to take a trip to New Mexico, and was flying with my daughter, so I dragged the Skymall catalog from the seat pocket and we made fun of some of the offerings, and their prices. SkyMall is where it’s at!!! Where else am I gonna find wireless mice that look like sports cars (with working headlights, Hello!) or gravity defyer shoes with springs and such! Regards, -Bouncer- ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-armrest-is-mine-asshole/643107/106 "2012-12-06T18:31:27Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > I wonder how often people go postal on airplanes due to being treated like cattle? As a veteran of more than 1,100 flights…not very often. Not very often at all. In all that time I never once saw a person bitch enough that they got into trouble over it. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-armrest-is-mine-asshole/643107/107 "2012-12-06T18:34:12Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > Someone too cheap to pay for United Economy Plus? [Here’s a pic from my flight from JFK to Atlanta in Economy Comfort.](http://64.136.20.22/3266255_m.JPG) Does Delta warn you that unless you’re missing your left leg, this seat is not comfortable at all no matter how much padding they put on the exit door? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-armrest-is-mine-asshole/643107/108 "2012-12-06T18:36:16Z")
_nm_ ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-armrest-is-mine-asshole/643107/109 "2012-12-06T18:41:52Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Has anyone tried Knee Defender? [www.kneedefender.com](http://www.kneedefender.com) > I’m curious if it actually works and if it doesn’t get you punched in the nose. These indeed work. There was a piece of This American Life wherein a tall guy described using them on a plane. The guy acknowledged using these is an asshole move, but he reckons people just figure the seat is broken if it won’t recline, and it wouldn’t occur to them that the person behind them is using a decline-thwarting gizmo. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-armrest-is-mine-asshole/643107/110 "2012-12-06T18:50:20Z")
Yeah, I heard that story, too. I’m the same height as the reporter who used them and fly about 100k miles a year. I’m tempted… ---
**Author:** ![FrancisCastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b4bc9f/32.png) [@FrancisCastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrancisCastle)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-armrest-is-mine-asshole/643107/111 "2012-12-06T19:07:14Z")
I had a great flight when I was with my 5yo. He’s so tiny, it’s like I had almost 2 seats to myself! ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-armrest-is-mine-asshole/643107/112 "2012-12-06T19:11:25Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > And every since I heard people whining about bashed knees, I’ve started ogling people’s legs every time I walk to the restroom on a plane. I travel frequently for work on all sizes of planes. Not a single knee squished against the seats. > [@LawMonkey](#): > > This entire thread, and no one mentions the dudes whose balls are so massive that they need to spread their legs at a 120-degree angle? Maybe those guys only take public transport, I dunno. You two are talking about the same people. They spread their legs because that’s the only way they fit. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-armrest-is-mine-asshole/643107/113 "2012-12-06T19:27:29Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > [Here’s a pic from my flight from JFK to Atlanta in Economy Comfort.](http://64.136.20.22/3266255_m.JPG) Does Delta warn you that unless you’re missing your left leg, this seat is not comfortable at all no matter how much padding they put on the exit door? Ah yes, the stump seat. I’ve sat there a few times, back before Economy Plus existed, when airline staff would take pity on me and try to find me an exit row. (One’s radar should always go off when an exit row window is still available hours before a long flight.) It really is the definition of mixed blessing. Yes, you don’t have someone reclining into your knees but you either have to sit diagonally or wedge one of your legs up against that big weird hump sticking out of the exit door. Whatever engineer designed that seat layout for those planes should be condemned to only fly sitting in that seat. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-armrest-is-mine-asshole/643107/114 "2012-12-06T19:29:56Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Yeah, I heard that story, too. I’m the same height as the reporter who used them and fly about 100k miles a year. I’m tempted… I bought some a while back, but have never used them. They are technically illegal / against the airlines’ rules, so one would have to be discreet, and they only work on certain planes / seats. Personally, I find it easier to simply tap the person on the shoulder and apologetically explain that my knees are right up against their seat. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-armrest-is-mine-asshole/643107/115 "2012-12-06T19:31:02Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > I wonder how often people go postal on airplanes due to being treated like cattle? Not that often. Because the fact is, if you pitch a fit these days, chances are you’re not getting on that plane. I wanna get on my plane and go somewhere. So I suck it up and deal, like everybody else. The people I hate the most are the ones that just don’t listen. I can deal with a lot of shit. But the last flight I was on there was this horrible family who repeatedly laughed in the face of the stewardess who told them to sit down before takeoff, don’t get up before landing, etc., and then turn around and obviously gabber about her and all of the other passengers in their heathen lingo. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for heathen lingo. In the right time. And in the right place. They sounded like a bunch of fucking turkeys. Gobble, gobble, gobble, we’re too goddamn important to listen to the rules. I wish they had been thrown off the goddamn plane. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-armrest-is-mine-asshole/643107/116 "2012-12-06T19:55:54Z")
My secret weapon against self-centered assholes…my 11 year old autistic son. Haven’t used him yet (by switching seats with him)…but I have come close. Usually me or my 16 year old son has to bear some of his vigorous activities when he is seated behind (or beside) us during our flight, but I am “willing” to share his vigorous activities with someone else who is in need of an adjustment to their self-centered activities. Once, I have given a warning that I will do just that if the SCA kept his antics up. The message was received and the offender relented. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-armrest-is-mine-asshole/643107/117 "2012-12-06T20:08:27Z")
I fly about once every five years or so. What’s the deal with rolling bags put in the luggage compartment sideways? What does that mean? I have no idea if I’ve narrowly escaped being murdered or not. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-armrest-is-mine-asshole/643107/118 "2012-12-06T20:16:09Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I fly about once every five years or so. What’s the deal with rolling bags put in the luggage compartment sideways? What does that mean? I have no idea if I’ve narrowly escaped being murdered or not. It means instead of head-in, they get stuffed in lengthways so they take up the space you could fit 2+ bags in, and some unlucky person has to reach up in there and reshuffle everything because someone was being a lazy, unthinking asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-armrest-is-mine-asshole/643107/119 "2012-12-06T20:17:58Z")
The armrest question is tough, since there are 4 armrest for 3 people. But everyone should get at least one. As for reclining, I suspect the “unselfish” people who don’t recline to spare the knees of the person behind them wouldn’t recline anyway, even if the seat behind them was empty. They just love the “holier-than-thou” feeling. The degree that coach seats recline is minor and, unless you’re over 6’ 6", you have no right to complain. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-armrest-is-mine-asshole/643107/120 "2012-12-06T20:22:54Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > I bought some a while back, but have never used them. They are technically illegal / against the airlines’ rules, so one would have to be discreet, and they only work on certain planes / seats. Personally, I find it easier to simply tap the person on the shoulder and apologetically explain that my knees are right up against their seat. I’ve had mixed results with that. It’s the people who just recline all the way back, I can literally feel their back through the seat, so they must feel my knees who drive me crazy. What I do is read my newspaper in such a way that the page is flopping down on top of their head, just kind of tickling it enough to be annoying so they can’t sleep and they usually recline forward a couple of inches. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-armrest-is-mine-asshole/643107.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-armrest-is-mine-asshole/643107.md?page=7)