Bizarre Plane Tales: From Recorder Solos to Roosters and Toenail Clipping

Air travel often feels like a theater of the absurd, where the cramped confines of a plane bring out humanity’s quirkiest behaviors. A recent Reddit thread in the "r/delta" forum sparked a lively discussion when a user asked, "What’s the weirdest thing to happen to you on a plane?" The question unleashed a flood of bizarre tales from passengers who’ve witnessed everything from musical performances to barnyard chaos at 30,000 feet.

One traveler shared a photo of a passenger serenading the cabin with ‘Amazing Grace’ on a wooden recorder during landing. "He waited until the end of the flight, thank goodness," the user noted, calling it the strangest in-flight moment they’d ever seen. But that was just the opening act. Other Redditors chimed in with their own wild stories. A woman was spotted eating spaghetti and meatballs from a plastic grocery bag, while another passenger stowed a rooster in the overhead bin—until it broke free. Cluck and cover, anyone?

Personal grooming took center stage in some accounts. One user recoiled as a man in first class flossed his teeth with the intensity of a dental surgeon, while another witnessed toenail clipping not once, but three times on different flights. Then there was the passenger changing a baby’s diaper on a seatback tray, leaving the cabin with an unforgettable aroma. And let’s not forget the woman cradling a life-sized doll head with messy hair—no explanation provided.

Travel expert Gary Leff told WTFNewsRoom that planes are a microcosm of clashing customs. "Flying’s affordable now, so you’ve got all sorts of people with different expectations packed into a metal tube," he said. He emphasized respecting personal space, noting that your seat is your sanctuary—not a stage for hygiene routines. Etiquette expert Jacqueline Whitmore echoed this, urging passengers to keep socks on if they ditch their shoes. "Bare feet in public? That’s a germ festival waiting to happen," she warned.

From Trump impersonators grinning in first class to passengers ignoring headphone cues to chat, these stories highlight the unpredictable nature of air travel. Leff summed it up: "Humans are strange creatures." Whether it’s stress, fear, or just quirky habits, planes seem to amplify our oddities. So, next time you board, brace for a show—recorder solo optional.