ANYONE who has ever travelled on a long-haul flight know they are probably the most boring things ever invented even with the myriad of in-flight entertainment packages on offer. Being stuck in a metal box 36,000 feet in the air for more than 10 hours can do strange things to your mind as there's not really an awful lot you can do to pass the time. A game of French cricket down one of the aisles would be an absolute hoot as would a first class v economy game a of rugby.
But I'm not sure the cabin crew would take too kindly to it, particularly if the flight crew left their posts in the cockpit to join in. "Next goal scorer gets to fly the plane," is a phrase that none of really want to hear as we cruise high above the shark infested waters of the Indian Ocean. Read More: Greens four day week is a great idea - if your job is pointless Knowing my luck, I'd probably score an own goal trying get out of the way before being ushered into the cockpit by a laughing captain and handed his pilot's hat.
Thankfully, in real life it is far more orderly and we have to instead just contend with a variety of films and good books to while away the hours. But it appears that this is not enough for the social-media obsessed generation, who have now taken stupidity and attention-seeking to a whole new level. There is now, apparently, a new travel trend, known as “raw-dogging”, where passengers spend long hours mid-air just staring straight ahead.
The longer you do it, the tougher you have allegedly proven yourself to be. Some also avoid eating or drinking and some even say they won’t get up at all, even to use the toilet. Read More: Kate Forbes has hit the ground running on CalMac and A9 Increasing numbers of young men – and it is mostly athletic-looking young men – are posting videos of themselves on board, staring at the in-flight map or the safety instructions card, vowing to use the “power of the mind” to get them through.
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland recently joined the trend, posting that he had got through a seven-hour flight with “no phone, no sleep, no water, no food” and had found it "easy". But health experts warn that more extreme versions of the trend can pose serious risks. The term “raw-dogging” may have rather dubious origins, but increasingly it is used for anything being done without protection or support.
For these men, the appeal seems to be the opportunity to prove their resilience and self-control. But Dr Gill Jenkins, a GP who also works as a medical escort in air ambulance work told the BBC: “They’re idiots”. Read More: It's time for the Fat Controller to run shambolic ScotRail "The whole thing about the risk of long-haul flying is that you’re at risk of dehydration.
If you’re not moving you’re at risk of deep vein thrombosis, which is compounded by dehydration". It is hard to disagree with the good doctor on this one But it shows the lengths that some folk will go to in order to gain a few likes on social media. Plus, photographing yourself with a mobile phone while actually doing it means you've already failed the task anyway.
Haaland could also find himself being disciplined as I'm sure the club doctors and nutritionists will have laid out an in-flight plan for the squad to follow which he clearly has ignored. Being bored on a plane is no cause for celebration and is not heroic - anyone who has ever flown with a toddler can testify to that..
