The Real Reason We All Love To Order Ginger Ale On Planes

No one is really sure why, but ever since ginger ale and airplanes have both been around, they’ve gone hand in hand. I can’t remember why I first ordered ginger ale on a plane as a kid, but since then, the only other drinks I order on planes now are packed to the brim with booze. Some people still have a fear of flying.

Redditor muki_mono began a revolution when she asked the world of Reddit for their thoughts. “I always see people drinking ginger ale on planes, but almost never off them. I drink the same thing on planes than I do on solid ground, and it’s not ginger ale, but I keep feeling like there’s something everyone else is in on and I’m not.”

It’s magic sky juice.

As you can imagine, the thread erupted with a barrage of epiphanies, explanations and assumptions, all entertaining or informative. One Redditor referred to ginger ale as “magic sky juice,” while another pondered on the relativity of ginger ale, simply stating, “it’s just sort of…tradition.”

Most people believed that it helps settle an upset stomach, and frankly, I tend to agree with them. It’s settled my stomach more than once, especially as a child. That being said, there were some people slightly more qualified than your average Redditor who have a different opinion.

Sherry Ross, M.D., from Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, believes that, “It’s not the ginger providing the relief. . . You’re buying into the power of suggestion. We’ve learned from our mothers and grandmothers, who brought us ginger ale and chicken-noodle soup when we were sick as kids, that ginger ale works. . .Those types of foods have powerful messaging to our brains and that alone makes us feel better.”

As it turns out, it’s not the ginger in ginger ale that makes us feel better, but rather it’s a combination of nostalgia and a placebo effect.

I’m still getting ginger ale on every plane I board ’til the day I die.