A video of a woman on a plane who found herself stuck sitting next to a passenger wearing a device shaped like a toilet seat cushion on his head has gone viral on TikTok.
The clip of the contraption worn by the man, who is none other than the woman's newlywed husband, was shared by 29-year-old Alyssa Fernandez from her TikTok account @alyssanicolefernandez. The video has had 4.8 million views since it was posted on January 6.
Fernandez told Newsweek that the cringe moment was captured on November 25 in 2023 on an American Airlines flight, while returning home from their honeymoon in Auckland, New Zealand, to Dallas, Texas, where the couple are based.
A message across the latest viral clip says: "You're stuck in economy on a 15 hour flight, but your husband bought a super cool and not at all embarrassing toilet seat cushion head strap contraption so you can sleep sitting straight up like a lunatic."
The footage shows Fernandez on a plane, seated next to her husband who is wearing the intriguing item, which is called the "Face Cradle" and was purchased at the airport, the wife told Newsweek.
As embarrassing as it may look, the device in the latest post would be handy for many passengers, with 48 percent of Americans having reported that they "generally cannot sleep on planes," according to a 2014 survey from Expedia, the travel booking website.
Less than a fifth (15 percent) of those surveyed were reported to "always or sometimes" use medication or alcohol to help them sleep on a plane, while 80 percent "never" do, the survey found.
'He's Gonna Sleep Well'
Fernandez told Newsweek that her husband used the latest sleeping device, which is "not actually a toilet seat cushion", throughout their flight.
"He actually bought me one too that I used throughout the flight and it was very comfortable and can be used in multiple different positions," she said.
The Face Cradle features two memory foam pillows that each come "with internal frames that provide spring support." The contraption allows users to sleep in various positions while sitting up, from resting their face on the side to facing downward on the top pillow, so that "your weight is evenly held like a hammock," according to its product description on Amazon.
Users on TikTok were amused and impressed by the creative contraption used to sleep on a plane.
Owen said: "Man is sleeping in a jigsaw trap. fair play though."
User llpl33 wrote: "Yooo that looks like he's gonna sleep well!"
User kayonetheus noted: "it's only embarrassing for the first 6 hours, after that i'd be offering him money to buy it from him."
Tim agreed, saying "I would laugh foe a minute then ask where he got it."
NickthepeanutEater said: "Leave the King alone. If he wants to sleep on a poopie pillow, let him. He's living his best life."
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Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in travel and health.
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