Image via YouTube.
On Sunday, Aug. 24, one United Airlines passenger used a device called the Knee Defender. One tossed glass of water and a diverted flight later; the world would never be the same.
Granted, that might be the hyperbolic way of looking at the latest and rather ridiculous airline controversy, but it certainly feels that way with the ongoing discourse surrounding the seemingly innocuous item.
RELATED: Passenger Fight Over Knee Defender Forces Landing
Here we will dive in, get our hands dirty amid the muck and substance of the Knee Defender, giving you all the info you need to really irritate that passenger in front of you.
In the beginning:
For the uninitiated, all of the hubbub started this past Sunday when one passenger aboard United Flight 1462 from Newark, New Jersey to Denver decided to employ a Knee Defender, preventing the passenger in front from reclining.
The Associated Press reports on what happened next: "A flight attendant asked him to remove the device and he refused. The woman then stood up, turned around and threw a cup of water at him, the official says. That's when United decided to land in Chicago."
As quickly as you can toss a cup of water, the company that makes Knee Defender had what would later be a viral news story for its peculiar device.
All of this has us wondering, Elaine?
The Device:
Friends, travelers, people with fragile knees: here is the device for which you have been looking.
Those inclined can head on over to the Knee Defender portion of GadgetDuck.com, a website we assume is welcoming quite the traffic this week.
The pair of defenders will run you $21.95, but it may take some time before you can place your order. As of this writing, the checkout button came with this warning: "Our shopping cart / check-out system has been moving slowly at times due to unexpectedly heavy demand."
Of course, you may just want to see one in action, which, spoiler alert, isn't all that action-packed.
Here is a video posted to YouTube that illustrates how easy and hilariously devious the Knee Defender is to use:
Lastly, you can ditch the Knee Defender and use that overpriced bottle of water you bought at the airport. Lifehacker's Adam Pash posted a way for flyers to prevent the dreaded knee tap with a simple water bottle back in 2009.
The Elephant on the plane:
Before we grab our stuff from the overhead and depart this controversy plane, we do have to offer there are issues if you plan on plunking down money on the Knee Defender.
First, the device isn't universally accepted by airlines. CNN's Karla Cripps reports, United, along with "major U.S. airlines," prohibit the Knee Defender. The same can be said for Air Canada, WestJet, Qantas and Australia's Virgin. That twenty bucks may be better used on two fingers of whiskey instead.
Second, and this is purely my own opinion, you are bringing a polarizing device into a volatile situation, so use wisely, because errant cups with water may be headed your way.
There is hardly a more depressing and emotional gathering of people on otherwise happy holidays than in the airplane cabin. First, you walk past first-class passengers who seem to be lying on queen-sized beds. Then you head into a cabin of crying babies and Internationally approved hygiene practices. You then cram your plus-size body into an undersized seat, only to once again hear the words, "We have ourselves a full flight, passengers."
That's when you wait the 30 or so minutes to savor the one luxury afforded the weary traveler: the two inches of comfort gifted by your reclining seat. But wait, the passenger from behind decided you, of all the paying customers, did not deserve that accommodation.
Those free water and peanuts suddenly look like projectiles.
Go ahead and use the device, but you have been warned. This is hardly the environment to shot call.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
