"Traveling With The 99%": 8 Essential Items To Traveling In Economy Class

2. Headphones/Sunglasses

Yes, we already put a music device as the first item, so why give headphones their own slot? Because the utility of a good pair of headphones, in conjunction with a dark pair of shades, extends far beyond their actual function as a sound-producing device. They are, in fact, your first line of defense against the many, many things on an airplane that conspire to prevent you from getting even a minute of sleep. From crying babies to the captain getting on the PA to let you know that you can see the hospital where he was born out of the left-side windows, an airplane can sometimes seem like nothing more than a massive collection of annoyances. No, random lady, I don't think it was worth it for you to poke me awake for 4 ounces of Diet Coke. Luckily, there's an international symbol for "don't look at or talk to me," and it's the combination of big headphones and big sunglasses. And although wearing dark sunglasses inside, say, a bar hasn't stopped being an exceptionally douchey move, you can choose to look at it in this one example only as a favor to the other passengers. After all, as much as you're blocking out the rest of the world, you're also sparing them from having to stare into your bleary, psychotically bloodshot monster eyes. Because if the baby sees that, he's going to start wailing like he has colic again, and nobody on the plane wants that. [photo via]