Do you ever feel like you like Tomato juice better in an airplane? There's a scientific reason for that!

German airline Lufthansa commissioned a study that looked at the reasons for why people would choose to drink tomato juice up in the air when they normally wouldn't drink it. What they found is amazing: we perceive flavors differently, not because of the altitude, but because of the air pressure conditions in aircrafts.

The researchers found that smell and taste detection thresholds are higher under low pressure. In normal pressure, people said tomato juice was described as earthy and musty, but under low pressure, it was sweet. The takeaway is that our perceptions of the taste of salt, sugar and herbs is weaker at airplane-levels of air pressure. 

Lest you think this was a silly experiment, the findings helped Lufthansa change their menus to take advantage of this so that people enjoy their airplane meals better.

(Source)