TikToker’s turbulence Jell-O hack will help you feel safer flying

Ever been on a plane where the turbulence has you fearing for your life? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. But now Influencer Anna Paul has shared a pilot’s Jell-O tip to help conquer those pre-flight nerves.

Fear of flying, or aviophobia, is an anxiety disorder that approximately 40 percent of people suffer from — despite the fact that commercial air travel is considered incredibly safe in the US.

In fact, professor of atmospheric science Paul Williams said that only three percent of the atmosphere has light turbulence at flight cruising levels, and only one percent has moderate turbulence.

Nonetheless, statistics tend not to mean much in the face of a phobia, and certainly not when your plane starts experiencing turbulence mid-flight.

Luckily, influencer Anna Paul has a handy Jell-O trick she learned directly from a pilot that should put some anxious thoughts to rest.

In the scenario that Anna presented, her little cup of red Jell-O represents “the air that you’re flying in,” with a small clump of napkin filling in as the plane.

The napkin was subsequently stuffed into the middle of the Jell-O, as Anna Paul explained, “That is you flying through the sky. There’s pressure from the bottom, pressure from the top, from the sides — pressure coming from everywhere.”

The influencer then goes on to showcase what happens when a plane encounters turbulence. Simulating the experience by gently hitting the top of the Jell-O, the red jelly begins to shake with the napkin inside bobbing about.

“You feel the plane shaking, but [the plane] is not just going to fall down,” Anna said. “It’s stuck in there because there’s pressure coming from the bottom and the sides… so you can just chill there, you’re just wriggling in jelly.”

To be a little more specific for those still confused, The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has described turbulence as “air movement created by atmospheric pressure, jet streams, air around mountains, cold or warm weather fronts, or thunderstorms. It can be unexpected and can happen when the sky appears to be clear.”

There has also never been a plane crash from turbulence, which should reassure some nervous flyers. A majority of injuries caused by turbulence come from not wearing a seatbelt.

So, next time you’re feeling anxious about getting on a plane, buckle up, do some breathing exercises, and think of yourself as sitting safely in a little cup of Jell-O.

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