The other day, I found a reason (as one does) to consult "Dreams: Hidden Meanings and Secrets," a guide to the unconscious mind first published in the 1940s. "To drink tomato juice," reads one entry, "predicts travel by airplane."
Sure, that makes sense. Many of us associate tomato juice with airplanes. Consider the following statistic, drawn from the data of my own life: In the past year, I've consumed at least half a dozen cans of tomato juice while cruising at 35,000 feet, and zero cans of tomato juice while at any other altitude. Here's another: According to Lufthansa, more tomato juice is served in-flight, gallon-wise, than beer. Meanwhile, on terra firma U.S.A., beer sales are several orders of magnitude larger than tomato juice sales. (We buy about as much tomato juice in this country as Keystone Light.)
Clearly I'm not the only member of the Mile High Tomato Club. But why is tomato juice so popular in-flight?
