So I’m back and I will jump right into it. I was sitting on Turkish Airlines flight today from Turkey when I wondered in my head if I would be allowed to take the awesomely soft pillow and blanket with me as a souvenir and as a good addition to my collection of camping items for my car. I hesitated because upon landing I donned my yarmulke after a 3 day hiatus due to my fear of being openly Jewish in a Muslim country- and I didn’t want to prove the stereotype that Jews were in fact cheap.
But it got me thinking about “free item etiquette” things like soaps and shampoos from hotel rooms, that towel from your local motel 6 or the plastic pillows from that international flight which are already filled with your drool and dandruff. What are we allowed to take and what goes overboard.
One look at my bathroom would show you that I do go overboard with soaps and shampoos from hotels, I haven’t used a regular sized soap in years, but I never take items from the maids carts, I just dump in all the stuff from my room or friends rooms. I think its stealing to take from the cart, but if its in the room for your use, why not?
By the way- Turkish airlines have the best pillows, but going 11 hours without any food sucked big time.
By the way- I am off to a wedding- but I will bust out mad posts this coming week to satiate your appetites- I have some videos and loads of photos as well.
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{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
Yes, I think it’s stealing, unless the pillows and blankets are disposable. I’m pretty sure the blanket is definitely not disposable; not sure about the pillow (maybe they just change the cover?)
But in any case, the soaps and things in the hotel room is for you to use as you please and you can do whatever you want to do with them; like, you have the right to eat them if you so desire. But the soaps on the cart are not yours to do whatever with (unless you need them for your room… here it’s a gray area. But you should be taking like one for your room and not to take home, even if that’s what you end up doing.)
The bottom line is, airline pillows and blankets are not hefker, so it’s stealing.
I’m just going to go out there and say, “THIEF! STOP THIEF! He’s got the airline pillow. SECURITY! Catch that man!” If only they knew about all the soaps and conditioners you took from Turkey. The scene of the security running after you for taking the pillow just seems so funny.
Pillows and blankets are not replaced nor washed between flights. They are full of whatever the previous passenger was carrying. Best case scenario dandruff, worst case scenario lice, flu or other virus/bacteria. And you actually WANT that stuff? Sheesh.
Glad to hear you’re back in one piece. I have to agree with “yuck”, I NEVER use those items on flights, I have enough by leaning my head against a headrest that probably had thousands of lice filled / B.O. individuals leaning against it since the last time it was shampooed or simonized (probably never).
As far as soaps and shampoos in motels, they aren’t the best quality either. At most, I’ll take pens, I probably took some ashtrays back when I was a smoker.
Looking forward to some funny stuff from your trip.
Yo, go for it. I took an icebox once from some hotel.
Not proud of it. just that i did it.
I wondered that on the way over here. I liked my blanket and pillow but figured they probably wash them.
I agree with YUCK. Those airplane pillows and blankets gross me out to the max because really, unless you work for an airline, you have no clue what they do with the used ones. And the possibilities are really nothing I want to even imagine.
That pillow must have been really comfortable for you to want to take it with you beyond the flight…either that, or you’re just a klepto.
Every single time ive gotten a pillow or blanket on a flight, I’ve taken it with me. I always stuff them into my carry-on, usually a back pack.
I’m almost certain they trash them b/c both have tags that say they are not machine washable and you can tell they are not very expensive.
Any who, i’ve been taking them for years, even before I was religious or even jewish.
And as for the free soaps/shampoos… my mom taught me how not to forget that. She even makes out with any plastic cups or anything else “consumable” provided by the hotel room.
Although I suppose someone with a kippah doing it would seem stereotypically jewish cheap… even if everyone else does it.
In other news, anyone ever think it silly that people randomly say shalom to you when they see you wearing a kippah? Freaked me out the last time i went through airport security and the guy probing me with the baton right around my crotch to find my belt is like “shalom!”
I just kinda stare back like… seriously? and then reply “sup?”
You should have used your word talents and asked the stewardess. That would make for great standup!
I would take the headphones but the last time I went on a plane was with ELAL and they got smart and made the plugs at the end of it two pronged instead of the usual one.
Hehe, thanks to frumsatire, they’re going to start frisking passengers for pillows. Forget about smuggling in drugs-let’s catch those pillows!
Now we know the real reason airlines are starting to charge a fee for a pillow & blanket, its to cover pilferage from people like Hesh
Well over a year ago there was a Wall Street Journal article by Tara Parker Pope (health columnist now working for NYTimes) who investigated how frequently the pillows/blankets are changed/washed.
US Airways told the WSJ that it washes blankets every five days. That’s better than ATA Airlines, which said it washed blankets every 30 days or “as needed.’’ American Airlines replaces the pillow cases every night, but only removes soiled or damaged blankets.
Tip for travelers: You know you’re getting a new or freshly washed blanket if it’s wrapped in plastic.
Remember: drool doesn’t show up so it is not considered “soiled.” I’ve seen people change their baby’s diapers using the blanket as a changing table.
Airlines charging for blankets or pillows may not be such a bad idea if it means you are getting an unused product. Of course, it’s a whole lot cheaper to bring your own from home.
Alert! For any of you crashing at Heshy’s place, find out the origin of any blanket or pillow he may offer you! lol
I bring plastic bags with me, and use them to wrap and take home any soap or shampoo that we’ve used–the hotel/plane/whatever will just throw out opened toiletries anyway, and that’s baal tashchit (that is, it violates the prohibition against wastefulness).
One hotel I stayed in (somewhere in Yerushalayim) used to leave chocolates on the pillow every morning. Mmmmm. Now that’s something I wouldnt mind walking away with.
Man…. when I flew back Turkish Airlines from Israel to Chicago the steward stole my pillow. My steward guy hated me. I had to explain to him 20 times he couldn’t open the foil on my meal and heat it up… but he did anyway so I had to chuck it. I dropped my pillow in the aisle and he took it from me…. not to mention my flight was delayed 4 hours because we had to wait for a flight of 100 people from Saudi Arabia coming back from the Hajj.
At least the muslim woman sitting next to me felt bad and kept offering me her Halal food.
I heard Turkey isn’t so unfriendly towards Jews.. no? I mean there’s Chabad shluchim there….
There’s no leave a comment thing in the original post, so I just want to thank Wesley for the shul recommendation. I’ll be up there for shabbos and will try to check it out, if I can get the rest of the clan to head over.
What about yarmulkes in shul, I used to trade my crappy ones for the good ones from bar mitzvah circa 1959. I love the old crocheted ones. But aren’t the yarmulkes just for people who don’t usually wear one? I wonder if they knew I was taking all the good ones.
Once, I saw a guy in shul wearing a tallis, made from an ELAL blanket. He said he tied on his own tzitzis.
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Who gives a shit what people here think? Are you a Jew or a journalist? If you want to know whether you can steal from the airlines al pi Halacha, ask a Rav — preferably, not the one that will start his answer with “Well…”. Otherwise, from “ethical” point of view, the pillow is in your ticket — you paid for it. So, by taking it you won’t do damage to anybody.
“But the soaps on the cart are not yours to do whatever with (unless you need them for your room… here it’s a gray area. But you should be taking like one for your room and not to take home, even if that’s what you end up doing.)”
You are not allowed to take or borrow something that is not yours without asking even if you know that the owner would not object (Bava Metzia 43). See, this is the perfect example. A Jew doesn’t ask other people “do you think this is stealing if…” — he consults with Halacha. I don’t care what size and fashion of yarmulke you wear and what color your tzitzis is: if you believe Jews got Torah from G-d at Sinai, it’s stupid to ask people on their opinion on Halacha, unless they are halachic authorities. You wouldn’t ask some random jerk-off losers for a medical advice, would you (I hope not)?
‘In other news, anyone ever think it silly that people randomly say shalom to you when they see you wearing a kippah? Freaked me out the last time i went through airport security and the guy probing me with the baton right around my crotch to find my belt is like “shalom!”’
It’s more freaky when you’re walking to shull on Shabbos morning and meet some crazy evangelical lady with X-ian bible and beads who starts acting all friendly towards you. Or some old crazy black dude that probably think he is a descendant of a lost Israeli tribe, who starts muttering some nonsense and blessing you.
I am wondering if you are the ganev that keeps stealing the toilet papers from public bathrooms? Oiy the humanity! Thanks to your kind, I am packing 8 spare sheets in my billfold just in case. Last week I accidentally wasted 8 bucks cause it was dark and I took from the wrong side.