It’s not unusual for humans to assume that we know the answer and, therefore, not ask a question. But while a lot of the time we might be right, sometimes this can create some embarrassing and confusing situations when we’re not.

One Redditor shares precisely this kind of story. Due to a misunderstanding, this man on a flight was assumed to be mute, to which he accidentally committed. However, when his plane landed and he got a call, he only remembered his situation a few moments too late. Read the full story down below!

More info: Reddit

Avoiding talking to your fellow plane passengers is nothing unusual, but if you pretend to be mute, it’s wise to do it thoroughly

Image credits: Valentin Perret (not the actual photo)

A guy on a plane was eating a dry cracker and was unable to talk when his seat neighbor decided to start a chat

Image credits: Erik Odiin (not the actual photo)

The guy’s gestures made the other man assume his neighbor was mute, and he was very proud when he could help him out by ordering a drink

Image credits: Longxiang Qian (not the actual photo)

After a little while, the poster realized he had accidentally committed to pretending to be mute and decided to just go with it

Image credits: Hanson Lu (not the actual photo)

By the time the plane landed, the guy had forgotten about his situation and answered a phone call from his brother

Image credits: tfoust10

The man sitting next to him was confused and disgusted by the poster’s act while he embarrassingly waited for a chance to get off the plane

This story occurred a while ago, but to the OP, the memory is still as fresh as if it happened yesterday. 

The man was on a short flight from Dallas to San Antonio when he decided to snack on a very dry Biscoff cracker, which literally left him speechless as he had nothing liquid to help it go down. Unaware of the poster’s situation, his seat neighbor decided to make some small talk at that exact moment.

Unable to answer, the man motioned to his throat to show that he was trying to swallow his food and couldn’t answer. But suddenly, the man in the next seat turned red and quickly apologized as he was struck by the realization that his neighbor was probably mute.

The OP still planned to explain what happened once he could, but after this fellow passenger got him a drink he was gesturing for when the stewardess came, he realized he had just crossed the point of no return. Seeing how proud the man felt, the author didn’t want to make him feel stupid and was now accidentally committed to the act.

As their plane landed, the poster got a call from his brother. Forgetting his situation momentarily, he answered the call and started talking, only to remember he wasn’t supposed to.

Turning his head, he saw the other guy looking at him with absolute disgust. The OP felt the embarrassment rush through him, and the minutes until he could leave the cabin felt like an eternity.

People in the comment section were very amused by the story. They were making jokes and sharing some stories of their own. While the author replied that these smiles didn’t make the situation worth it, they made him feel better.

Image credits: Chris Brignola (not the actual photo)

To get more details on the story, Bored Panda reached out to the poster tfoust10, also known as Tyler Foust, and asked him a few questions, which he was glad to answer.

Tyler shared that while his story did, in fact, get a lot of attention, he’s better known online for his one non-intersecting line art creations. “My art career got kicked off on accident when some people discovered some doodles I made to pass the time during grad lectures,” said the author, leaving this other funny story for another time.

Returning to his TIFU story, Tyler explained that he posted it as he always thought it was funny and wanted it to be documented somewhere. “I was happy that my very awkward moment could make people smile and laugh,” said the man, admitting that he wasn’t sure how it would be received when he posted it.

When asked if, after realizing what he had accidentally committed to, the author still thought of approaching this differently, he answered that while there was a consideration to clarify the situation, he felt that with 30 minutes left of the flight, his seatmate might as well have lived with his assumption. 

Tyler also said that a small part of him liked not having to speak for the duration of his flight, adding, “I figured there would be no harm in letting him have that moment.”

The thing that the author of the post took away from this situation was that if you commit to being mute on an airplane, you should think this through. In addition to having water with your crackers, “Don’t sit in the very back of a plane, don’t take your phone off airplane mode until after you exit the plane.” 

But if you do find yourself in such a situation, Tyler suggests clarifying it before you’re too deep. “If your seatmate finds common ground by stating that he had a family member that became aphasic after a stroke, then you missed that window. Good luck.”

Image credits: Thomas de LUZE (not the actual photo)

Whether intentionally or by accident, pretending to be mute is rarely the best option if you feel like avoiding conversation on your flight. Fortunately, Ask A Concierge has a few tips on approaching this better.

First, everything begins with being polite. Explaining that you have to work in combination with a pleasant smile can work wonders. 

You can also just leave it with an open-ended goodbye, like “I hope you have a nice flight,” or reply with one-word answers, indicating that you’re not up for a chat and giving them a hint to catch on.

Next, you can always turn to your own activities or onboard entertainment. Pop in your earphones, listen to music, watch a movie, play some games, or simply read a book. This will surely show that you’re busy, and most people won’t interrupt.

Lastly, if you have an aisle seat, you can use the opportunity to make frequent toilet trips and hope they find another activity while you’re away. And if that doesn’t work, you can always pretend to be sleeping, which is a signal that most will get.

In the end, there are many reasons why someone would not want to chat during a flight. There are many ways to avoid these conversations, but sometimes, some dry crackers might just take the control out of your hands, and you may be unwillingly left having to pretend to be mute for the rest of your flight. 

What did you think of this story? Do you have any similar funny stories to share? Come down to the comments and type away!

People in the comments were very amused by the story and made jokes regarding it

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