Weirdest Things Found in an Airplane Seatback Pocket

The underappreciated and oftentimes overlooked seatback pocket reveals so much about the passengers who flew before you—sometimes too much. Once the main cabin door closes, people use the pockets for a variety of purposes, including a trash can, a bookshelf, a medicine cabinet, and even a wallet, but it’s the items they leave behind that make all the difference once you’ve taken your seat.

We gathered comments from our fans and followers on Facebook and Twitterto create this gallery of common items one might encounter in-flight. But the list isn’t complete, and we need your help. If you’ve flown a bit in your life, it’s more than likely you, too, have encountered something lurking in the pocket in front of you. We want you to tell us what you’ve come across, or better yet, take a photo of whatever it may be the next time you fly and send it to us for future publication (read on for further instructions).

Dirty Diapers

A stinky, dirty diaper shoved into a seatback pocket would come as an unwelcome surprise to even those who spend their lives cleaning up after infants, especially 30,000 feet in the air with no escape. One reader made this unfortunate discovery, and received very little sympathy from the flight attendant, who refused to remove it and blamed it on the cleaning crew.

Dirty Diapers

Air Sickness Bags

Though it's not uncommon to find these paper safety nets for our stomachs tucked neatly in the seat back pocket, few of us expect to find them already filled. And yet several of our readers have encountered the literal leftovers of someone else's journey. One reader was even greeted with, "sucks to be you," written on the bag. Sadly, it was a very true statement.

Medical Supplies

It's important to keep your medications with you at all times, which is why it's surprising that so many prescriptions, pills, and pharmaceuticals end up in airplane seat pockets. Of all the over-the-counter remedies our readers have encountered, the scariest by far is a hypodermic needle one reader discovered, giving you even more reason to look before you reach.

Food/Gum

Though the airline may be charging an arm and a leg for food these days, it hasn't deterred people from leaving the remnants of their snack behind. One reader found a half-eaten rotten apple, while another discovered cookie crumbs. Several other readers also complained that already-chewed gum is a frequent culprit on flights, occasionally even destroying in-flight magazines with its sticky nature. Heaven forbid it gets anywhere near your hands.

Books

It's easy to forget your reading material in the pocket in front of you, which is probably why so many of our readers find abandoned books, including everything from romance novels to scientific journals. And as two of our readers discovered, it's one thing to find a fancily-bound script of "Beauty and the Beast," and an entirely different matter to uncover a copy of "You'll Never Make Love in This Town Again." Here's hoping the poor soul who left behind the latter book was on his/her way to a new town.

Used Tissues/Garbage

Many seatback pockets have served as a personal trash receptacle for people trapped by the lighted seatbelt sign, but few passengers share the feeling that someone else's trash is their treasure. And our readers are fans of this sentiment, especially those who discovered crumpled, used tissues. Just another reason to pack hand sanitizer.

Money

Imagine you innocently go to reach for the Sky Mall Magazine, but instead are rewarded with a wad of cash or a $500 check, as one reader discovered. Finding money can be about as exciting as hitting the jackpot in Vegas, especially when it's in an unexpected place like an airplane, and many of our readers are big winners. Not to mention, you can now afford to buy something from the in-flight magazine, like that Big Foot Garden Yeti Sculpture you've been eyeing.

What about you?

What other weird, gross, or just plain crazy items have you found in a seatback pocket while flying? Leave a comment below, or to submit your photos, send us an email with no more than three images attached.

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In .gif or .jpg format
No larger than 2MB
Family friendly
Original, non-copyrighted images
Virus-free

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