WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.459 Imagine sitting down at a slightly run -down 00:00:04.459 --> 00:00:07.280 municipal airport diner. You order a standard, 00:00:08.019 --> 00:00:09.960 maybe slightly overcooked cheeseburger with a 00:00:09.960 --> 00:00:12.080 side of fries. Right, just a very basic lunch. 00:00:12.220 --> 00:00:14.080 Exactly. You eat it, you wipe your mouth with 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:16.500 a paper napkin, and then the waitress hands you 00:00:16.500 --> 00:00:20.120 a bill for $400. Oh, wow. Yeah, in any normal 00:00:20.120 --> 00:00:22.280 scenario, you would probably call the authorities. 00:00:22.379 --> 00:00:24.679 Right, you'd be furious. But the crazy part is, 00:00:24.820 --> 00:00:28.730 every single weekend, thousands of people eagerly 00:00:28.730 --> 00:00:31.829 pay exactly that much for a basic diner lunch. 00:00:32.170 --> 00:00:34.009 And they actually consider it a fantastic bargain. 00:00:34.189 --> 00:00:36.289 Which is just wild to think about. It really 00:00:36.289 --> 00:00:39.429 is. Welcome to The Deep Dive. Today, our specific 00:00:39.429 --> 00:00:42.390 mission is to explore a single, incredibly fascinating 00:00:42.390 --> 00:00:45.630 Wikipedia entry about a piece of aviation slang 00:00:45.630 --> 00:00:48.750 known as the $100 hamburger. It's such a great 00:00:48.750 --> 00:00:50.929 topic. It's amazing. It's a term that perfectly 00:00:50.929 --> 00:00:53.450 captures the intersection of passionate hobbies, 00:00:54.070 --> 00:00:57.939 bizarre economic realities, and the deep -seated 00:00:57.939 --> 00:01:00.200 human need for a really good excuse. It truly 00:01:00.200 --> 00:01:02.880 is a perfect microcosm of human behavior. Because 00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:04.920 when you first hear the term, it sounds entirely 00:01:04.920 --> 00:01:07.500 culinary, like a luxury meal. Right, like some 00:01:07.500 --> 00:01:10.120 wagyu beef with gold flakes or something. Exactly. 00:01:10.420 --> 00:01:13.040 But as we comb through this entry, it becomes 00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:16.019 abundantly clear that this is absolutely not 00:01:16.019 --> 00:01:18.920 about food at all. Not even a little bit. No. 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:22.659 It is entirely about psychology, the complex 00:01:22.659 --> 00:01:25.319 mechanics of justification, and, you know, the 00:01:25.319 --> 00:01:27.500 elaborate lengths we will go to in order to give 00:01:27.500 --> 00:01:30.400 ourselves permission to experience pure joy. 00:01:30.900 --> 00:01:33.319 OK, let's unpack this. If you hang around general 00:01:33.319 --> 00:01:35.939 aviation pilots, and we're talking about the 00:01:35.939 --> 00:01:38.560 folks flying the small private single engine 00:01:38.560 --> 00:01:41.379 propeller planes, you will inevitably hear someone 00:01:41.379 --> 00:01:43.620 say, hey, I'm going out for $100 hamburger this 00:01:43.620 --> 00:01:46.079 weekend. Yeah. It's a very common phrase in that 00:01:46.079 --> 00:01:47.980 world. It is. And according to the entry we were 00:01:47.980 --> 00:01:52.180 looking at today, this is a very specific, codified 00:01:52.180 --> 00:01:55.799 piece of aviation slang. The definition is beautifully 00:01:55.799 --> 00:01:58.680 simple. It's basically the excuse a general aviation 00:01:58.680 --> 00:02:01.700 pilot uses to go fly. And the anatomy of the 00:02:01.700 --> 00:02:04.840 trip has three strict parameters. First, it involves 00:02:04.840 --> 00:02:07.480 flying a relatively short distance, usually less 00:02:07.480 --> 00:02:10.219 than two hours round trip. Second, you land at 00:02:10.219 --> 00:02:13.139 a nearby airport and eat at the little restaurant 00:02:13.139 --> 00:02:15.759 attached to that airfield. And third, you fly 00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:19.360 home. That's it. That is the entire mission profile 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:22.449 of the $100 hamburger. And what's really fascinating 00:02:22.449 --> 00:02:25.449 here is the mechanics of the excuse itself. You 00:02:25.449 --> 00:02:27.969 have to ask, like, why does a pilot need an excuse 00:02:27.969 --> 00:02:29.629 to fly in the first place? Yeah, you'd think 00:02:29.629 --> 00:02:32.590 the flying is the whole point. Exactly. If you 00:02:32.590 --> 00:02:34.569 have gone through the rigorous training to get 00:02:34.569 --> 00:02:36.530 your pilot's license and you have access to an 00:02:36.530 --> 00:02:39.270 airplane, why not just proudly announce to your 00:02:39.270 --> 00:02:42.009 family, I'm going to go fly an airplane for two 00:02:42.009 --> 00:02:44.729 hours because flying is an incredible feat of 00:02:44.729 --> 00:02:46.210 human engineering. And I want to look at the 00:02:46.210 --> 00:02:48.699 clouds. Right. Just own it. But human nature 00:02:48.699 --> 00:02:51.639 just doesn't work like that. We often feel this 00:02:51.639 --> 00:02:54.900 bizarre underlying guilt when we engage in an 00:02:54.900 --> 00:02:57.639 activity purely for the sake of solitary enjoyment, 00:02:57.939 --> 00:03:00.759 especially when that activity requires significant 00:03:00.759 --> 00:03:03.740 time and money. Which flying absolutely does. 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:06.960 It really does. So we feel a psychological pressure 00:03:06.960 --> 00:03:09.379 to attach what behavioral scientists might call 00:03:09.379 --> 00:03:12.240 a utilitarian alibi to the activity. We have 00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:15.879 to say, I'm not just burning fuel for fun. I 00:03:15.879 --> 00:03:19.180 am executing a practical mission. I am procuring 00:03:19.180 --> 00:03:21.539 lunch. Wait, I have to push back on this whole 00:03:21.539 --> 00:03:24.539 guilt idea. Are pilots really feeling guilty 00:03:24.539 --> 00:03:27.919 or is this just like an inside joke that got 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:30.280 out of hand? How do you mean? Well, let's be 00:03:30.280 --> 00:03:32.479 honest. If you have the disposable income to 00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:35.539 rent or own a Cessna, I highly doubt you're losing 00:03:35.539 --> 00:03:38.539 sleep over the cost -benefit analysis of a cheeseburger. 00:03:39.379 --> 00:03:41.159 Isn't it just a fun destination marker, like 00:03:41.159 --> 00:03:43.099 a reason to pick a specific heading on the compass? 00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:45.620 That's a fair challenge, yeah. Yeah. But I would 00:03:45.620 --> 00:03:47.759 argue it's not necessarily about financial guilt. 00:03:47.860 --> 00:03:49.900 It's more about social friction and purpose. 00:03:49.979 --> 00:03:51.740 OK, social friction. Tell me more about that. 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:54.580 Well, if you tell your spouse or your friends 00:03:54.580 --> 00:03:56.759 that you are disappearing for four hours on a 00:03:56.759 --> 00:03:59.419 Saturday just to float around in the sky, it 00:03:59.419 --> 00:04:02.120 feels indulgent. It feels entirely self -serving. 00:04:02.219 --> 00:04:05.020 Oh, I see. But if you frame it as an errand, 00:04:05.419 --> 00:04:08.539 even incredibly inefficient, ridiculous errand, 00:04:09.039 --> 00:04:11.759 it changes the social dynamic. You are giving 00:04:11.759 --> 00:04:15.060 the flight a tangible, socially recognizable 00:04:15.060 --> 00:04:17.639 objective. That makes a lot of sense. Yeah. And 00:04:17.639 --> 00:04:19.720 the Wikipedia entry actually notes a brilliant 00:04:19.720 --> 00:04:23.319 detail here. This specific piece of slang is 00:04:23.319 --> 00:04:26.819 categorized under metaphors referring to food 00:04:26.819 --> 00:04:31.189 and drink. Oh, wow. Metaphors. Yes. That categorization 00:04:31.189 --> 00:04:33.529 is the giveaway. It highlights that the hamburger 00:04:33.529 --> 00:04:37.129 isn't a literal culinary objective. It's a metaphor 00:04:37.129 --> 00:04:40.149 for the journey. It is the MacGuffin of the pilot's 00:04:40.149 --> 00:04:42.839 weekend. The McGuffin. I love that. And that 00:04:42.839 --> 00:04:44.420 makes total sense when you frame it like that. 00:04:44.920 --> 00:04:47.100 It totally disguises the pure joy of the hobby 00:04:47.100 --> 00:04:50.500 as this mundane, everyday errand. Precisely. 00:04:50.579 --> 00:04:52.220 It actually reminds me of the mechanical watch 00:04:52.220 --> 00:04:54.360 industry, or even like the sneakerhead community. 00:04:54.639 --> 00:04:57.759 People will spend $10 ,000 on a mechanical dive 00:04:57.759 --> 00:04:59.879 watch that is technically less accurate than 00:04:59.879 --> 00:05:01.800 the smartphone in their pocket. Oh, absolutely. 00:05:01.939 --> 00:05:04.220 And they justify it by talking about the craftsmanship 00:05:04.220 --> 00:05:06.420 of the escapement mechanism, or how they need 00:05:06.420 --> 00:05:08.939 it for scuba diving, when in reality, they just 00:05:08.939 --> 00:05:11.810 love the romantic idea. of the watch. Yes the 00:05:11.810 --> 00:05:15.610 utility is just the cover story. Right or the 00:05:15.610 --> 00:05:17.870 guy who spends his entire Saturday morning washing 00:05:17.870 --> 00:05:20.629 and waxing his vintage sports car and then tells 00:05:20.629 --> 00:05:22.810 his partner you know I should probably drive 00:05:22.810 --> 00:05:25.550 this out to the county line just to test the 00:05:25.550 --> 00:05:28.379 tire alignment. Right, the alignment, sure. No, 00:05:28.379 --> 00:05:29.699 you don't care about the alignment. You just 00:05:29.699 --> 00:05:31.899 want to go for a scenic drive on a winding road. 00:05:32.139 --> 00:05:35.040 Exactly. It's the exact same psychological mechanism 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:38.939 just at 3 ,000 feet. The stated purpose is secondary 00:05:38.939 --> 00:05:41.379 to the experience of the machine. Which really 00:05:41.379 --> 00:05:44.500 makes you wonder about the actual food. I mean, 00:05:44.860 --> 00:05:47.639 is the burger even good? That is the real question. 00:05:47.740 --> 00:05:50.720 If you are flying to a tiny municipal airstrip 00:05:50.720 --> 00:05:54.060 in the middle of nowhere, are you getting a Michelin 00:05:54.060 --> 00:05:56.879 star dining experience? or is it literally just 00:05:56.879 --> 00:05:59.339 a prop? You're eating a dry overcooked patty 00:05:59.339 --> 00:06:02.220 on a stale bun, but it tastes like absolute freedom 00:06:02.220 --> 00:06:04.560 because you flew a plane to get it. I strongly 00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:06.939 suspect the quality of the burger is inversely 00:06:06.939 --> 00:06:08.740 proportional to the quality of the flight. Oh, 00:06:08.759 --> 00:06:11.839 for sure. Right. Like if the air is smooth, the 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:14.860 communications with air traffic control are crisp 00:06:14.860 --> 00:06:18.699 and the landing is a literal greaser. That is 00:06:18.699 --> 00:06:22.339 going to be the best tasting mediocre diner burger 00:06:22.339 --> 00:06:24.899 of your life. Absolutely. But, you know, as we 00:06:24.899 --> 00:06:27.040 start talking about the actual reality of these 00:06:27.040 --> 00:06:30.040 flights, this brings us to a rather glaring contradiction 00:06:30.040 --> 00:06:32.839 in the name itself. Oh, absolutely. The economics. 00:06:33.959 --> 00:06:35.560 Because I don't know if anyone listening has 00:06:35.560 --> 00:06:38.339 checked the price of aviation fuel lately, but 00:06:38.339 --> 00:06:40.920 surely flying an airplane costs a whole lot more 00:06:40.920 --> 00:06:43.420 than $100. If we connect this to the bigger picture, 00:06:43.839 --> 00:06:46.980 the $100 hamburger is actually a historical artifact. 00:06:47.230 --> 00:06:51.529 It's a linguistic fossil frozen in a very specific 00:06:51.529 --> 00:06:54.269 economic era. A fossil. That's a great way to 00:06:54.269 --> 00:06:56.350 put it. Yeah. The text explains that the $100 00:06:56.350 --> 00:06:58.529 figure originally referred to the approximate 00:06:58.529 --> 00:07:01.389 total cost of renting or operating a light general 00:07:01.389 --> 00:07:03.490 aviation aircraft, something like a standard 00:07:03.490 --> 00:07:06.810 Cessna 172, for the exact amount of time it took 00:07:06.810 --> 00:07:09.089 to fly that round trip. So back in the day, the 00:07:09.089 --> 00:07:11.889 fuel, the rental time, the whole operation genuinely 00:07:11.889 --> 00:07:14.230 clocked in at around $100. Yes. It was literal. 00:07:14.430 --> 00:07:17.660 That is wild to think about. But the data drops 00:07:17.660 --> 00:07:20.459 some cold, hard reality on us regarding where 00:07:20.459 --> 00:07:23.360 things stand today. It points out that increasing 00:07:23.360 --> 00:07:26.620 fuel prices, among other things, have drastically 00:07:26.620 --> 00:07:29.120 driven up the hourly operating costs for most 00:07:29.120 --> 00:07:31.980 airplanes. Oh, tremendously. It specifically 00:07:31.980 --> 00:07:35.660 notes that renting a Cessna 172 now costs anywhere 00:07:35.660 --> 00:07:39.339 from $95 to $180 U .S. dollars per Hobbs hour. 00:07:39.660 --> 00:07:42.480 And that includes fuel. But still, that math 00:07:42.480 --> 00:07:44.990 gets aggressive quickly. It really does. And 00:07:44.990 --> 00:07:47.250 we really should pause here to clarify what a 00:07:47.250 --> 00:07:49.689 Hobbs Hour is because that concept is crucial 00:07:49.689 --> 00:07:51.810 to understanding the underlying stress of the 00:07:51.810 --> 00:07:53.910 pilot's mindset. Yeah. Please explain the Hobbs 00:07:53.910 --> 00:07:56.050 Hour. So the Hobbs Meter is an instrument in 00:07:56.050 --> 00:07:57.990 the aircraft that measures the exact amount of 00:07:57.990 --> 00:08:00.230 time the engine is running. It is not just the 00:08:00.230 --> 00:08:02.129 time you spend magically soaring through the 00:08:02.129 --> 00:08:04.209 air. Oh, so it's not just flight time? No, not 00:08:04.209 --> 00:08:06.490 at all. It's the time you spend starting the 00:08:06.490 --> 00:08:08.589 engine on the ramp. It's the time you spend taxiing 00:08:08.589 --> 00:08:10.569 to the runway. It's the time you spend sitting 00:08:10.569 --> 00:08:12.850 there idling, waiting for air traffic control 00:08:12.850 --> 00:08:15.310 to give you clearance for takeoff. Just burning 00:08:15.310 --> 00:08:18.800 money on the tarmac? Exactly. The meter is relentlessly 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:21.779 ticking that entire time. It's literally the 00:08:21.779 --> 00:08:24.480 taxicab meter of the sky. Precisely. And what 00:08:24.480 --> 00:08:26.959 drives that meter cost up isn't just the price 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:30.279 of aviation gasoline, or Avgas, it's the hidden 00:08:30.279 --> 00:08:32.620 economics of the aviation industry. Like what 00:08:32.620 --> 00:08:34.899 kind of hidden economics? Well, general aviation 00:08:34.899 --> 00:08:38.240 fleets are aging. Many of these Cessna 172s were 00:08:38.240 --> 00:08:41.759 built in the 1970s or 80s. Maintaining them to 00:08:41.759 --> 00:08:44.519 strict federal aviation administration standards 00:08:44.519 --> 00:08:48.379 requires highly specialized, incredibly expensive 00:08:48.379 --> 00:08:50.259 labor. Right, you can't just take it to the local 00:08:50.259 --> 00:08:53.779 autumn camp. Exactly. Then you factor in skyrocketing 00:08:53.779 --> 00:08:56.379 insurance premiums for aircraft operators. All 00:08:56.379 --> 00:08:58.759 of that overhead gets baked directly into that 00:08:58.759 --> 00:09:01.590 hourly Hobbs rate. So let's do the actual math 00:09:01.590 --> 00:09:03.149 here. Let's say you're on the higher end of that 00:09:03.149 --> 00:09:06.590 spectrum. Renting that Cessna 172 costs you $180 00:09:06.590 --> 00:09:10.830 per Hobbs hour. A typical $100 hamburger trip 00:09:10.830 --> 00:09:13.769 is a two -hour round trip. That means our pilot's 00:09:13.769 --> 00:09:16.370 spending $360 just on the rental and the fuel. 00:09:16.610 --> 00:09:19.029 Just for the plane, yeah. Add in the actual cost 00:09:19.029 --> 00:09:21.490 of the lunch at the diner, plus a tip for the 00:09:21.490 --> 00:09:24.750 waitress, and you are looking at nearly a $400 00:09:24.750 --> 00:09:28.100 hamburger. It's tragic, honestly. It is a bit 00:09:28.100 --> 00:09:30.240 tragic. Inflation hasn't just come for our groceries. 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:33.259 It has absolutely devastated our slang terms. 00:09:33.379 --> 00:09:35.559 It really has, and it highlights the shifting 00:09:35.559 --> 00:09:38.000 accessibility of general aviation as a hobby. 00:09:38.360 --> 00:09:41.000 When it was truly a $100 trip, it might have 00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:43.200 been an accessible weekend activity for a middle 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:45.539 -class hobbyist. Yeah, totally manageable. But 00:09:45.539 --> 00:09:49.039 as that cost creeps up toward $400, the psychological 00:09:49.039 --> 00:09:51.700 weight of the excuse has to radically change. 00:09:52.379 --> 00:09:54.899 This is where a concept called mental accounting 00:09:54.899 --> 00:09:57.259 comes into play. Mental accounting. OK, what 00:09:57.259 --> 00:10:00.360 is that? It's this idea that people compartmentalize 00:10:00.360 --> 00:10:02.539 their money into different mental buckets to 00:10:02.539 --> 00:10:06.340 justify spending. The pilot puts the $360 flight 00:10:06.340 --> 00:10:09.440 cost into the hobby bucket and the $15 diner 00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:12.080 bill into the food bucket. Oh, that is so sneaky. 00:10:12.419 --> 00:10:14.659 Right. By keeping them separate, they don't have 00:10:14.659 --> 00:10:17.460 to admit they just paid nearly $400 for a single 00:10:17.460 --> 00:10:20.259 cheeseburger. But eventually, if the Hobbs rate 00:10:20.259 --> 00:10:22.980 gets high enough, that cognitive dissonance becomes 00:10:22.980 --> 00:10:25.720 a lot harder to ignore. Yeah, the math just doesn't 00:10:25.720 --> 00:10:28.840 work anymore. Exactly. The utilitarian alibi 00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:31.519 starts to buckle under the sheer weight of the 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:35.059 receipt. But humans are masters of rationalization. 00:10:35.720 --> 00:10:37.919 When the math breaks down, when a $100 flight 00:10:37.919 --> 00:10:41.179 suddenly becomes $400, you can't justify it with 00:10:41.179 --> 00:10:43.759 a dry patty anymore. No, you really can't. The 00:10:43.759 --> 00:10:45.960 reward at the end of the line has to scale up 00:10:45.960 --> 00:10:49.139 to match the cost. We see this happening geographically, 00:10:49.279 --> 00:10:50.580 which is one of the most interesting parts of 00:10:50.580 --> 00:10:53.039 this whole concept. The entry gives us these 00:10:53.039 --> 00:10:55.559 incredible regional examples of how the menu 00:10:55.559 --> 00:10:57.960 has evolved. Yeah, the geographical variations 00:10:57.960 --> 00:11:00.519 are fascinating. Let's look at California, for 00:11:00.519 --> 00:11:02.919 example, specifically the San Francisco Bay Area. 00:11:03.759 --> 00:11:05.600 Pilots there aren't just getting burgers anymore. 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:08.620 It mentions they fly short distances up to a 00:11:08.620 --> 00:11:11.179 place called the Nut Tree in Vacaville, or they 00:11:11.179 --> 00:11:14.139 fly down to Harris Ranch in Selma. And the crucial 00:11:14.139 --> 00:11:16.769 detail here... They often upgrade their meals 00:11:16.769 --> 00:11:19.669 to steaks. Which is a brilliant psychological 00:11:19.669 --> 00:11:22.549 pivot. It's a perfect example of the escalation 00:11:22.549 --> 00:11:25.009 of commitment. Right, because you can tell yourself, 00:11:25.309 --> 00:11:28.070 I didn't just spend $400 on a burger. That would 00:11:28.070 --> 00:11:30.529 be ridiculous. I flew in for a premium steak 00:11:30.529 --> 00:11:33.809 dinner. Exactly. If the base cost of the trans 00:11:33.809 --> 00:11:37.649 court has skyrocketed, the destination must artificially 00:11:37.649 --> 00:11:40.990 inflate in prestige to maintain the balance of 00:11:40.990 --> 00:11:44.620 the excuse. It has to feel worth it. Right. A 00:11:44.620 --> 00:11:47.320 steak feels like an event. Flying to a massive 00:11:47.320 --> 00:11:49.940 cattle ranch in Salma for a steak dinner feels 00:11:49.940 --> 00:11:52.279 like a genuine adventure that is worthy of the 00:11:52.279 --> 00:11:55.340 exorbitant fuel costs. It rebalances the mental 00:11:55.340 --> 00:11:58.059 accounting. It completely reframes the trip. 00:11:58.179 --> 00:12:00.679 It does. But what's really compelling here isn't 00:12:00.679 --> 00:12:03.059 just the culinary upgrade from ground beef to 00:12:03.059 --> 00:12:06.360 sirloin. It's how this individual solitary excuse 00:12:06.360 --> 00:12:09.379 starts to morph into something much larger. Okay, 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:11.480 here's where it gets really interesting. Let's 00:12:11.480 --> 00:12:13.700 jump from the coast of California all the way 00:12:13.700 --> 00:12:15.820 over to Perth, Western Australia. This is my 00:12:15.820 --> 00:12:18.779 favorite example. So good. The entry introduces 00:12:18.779 --> 00:12:22.519 us to a phenomenon called the Rado Bun Run. And 00:12:22.519 --> 00:12:24.960 the origin story for this is just fantastic. 00:12:25.080 --> 00:12:28.159 It involves a group of pilots who, on Good Friday, 00:12:28.679 --> 00:12:30.960 realized they had completely run out of hot cross 00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:33.080 buns. Which, you know, if you know anything about 00:12:33.080 --> 00:12:35.639 Easter traditions, is a minor culinary crisis. 00:12:35.740 --> 00:12:38.200 A total crisis. But because it was Good Friday, 00:12:38.580 --> 00:12:40.720 all the local bakeries in Perth were closed. 00:12:41.070 --> 00:12:43.809 So what do they do? They realize the closest 00:12:43.809 --> 00:12:47.269 open bakery is located off the coast on Rottnest 00:12:47.269 --> 00:12:49.350 Island. Naturally. So they fire up their plane 00:12:49.350 --> 00:12:51.570 engines and fly across the ocean to an island. 00:12:51.759 --> 00:12:54.740 just to secure hot cross buns. It is the ultimate 00:12:54.740 --> 00:12:58.139 absurd manifestation of the $100 hamburger mentality. 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:01.379 It really is. It's taking a minor domestic inconvenience, 00:13:01.600 --> 00:13:04.100 a lack of seasonal pastries, and using it as 00:13:04.100 --> 00:13:07.360 the perfect unassailable excuse to execute a 00:13:07.360 --> 00:13:09.600 complex aviation mission. Honey, we're out of 00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:11.840 buns. I have to take the plane. Exactly. But 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:13.879 look at what happens to this story over time. 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:17.379 The text notes that this initial, somewhat selfish 00:13:17.379 --> 00:13:20.320 pursuit of Hot Cross Buns has now evolved into 00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:23.679 an annual charity event. Wait, really? From an 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:26.820 excuse for a joyride to a literal charity run? 00:13:27.399 --> 00:13:30.299 That is quite the leap. It is, and it represents 00:13:30.299 --> 00:13:32.779 a profound cultural evolution within the aviation 00:13:32.779 --> 00:13:36.299 community. What begins as a solitary pilot trying 00:13:36.299 --> 00:13:38.720 to justify their expensive hobby to themselves 00:13:38.720 --> 00:13:42.419 transforms into a collective tradition. It becomes 00:13:42.419 --> 00:13:45.200 a group activity. Exactly. This is the power 00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:48.039 of social validation. When an entire group of 00:13:48.039 --> 00:13:50.480 pilots does it together, the activity is no longer 00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:53.480 an eccentric, expensive excuse. It becomes a 00:13:53.480 --> 00:13:55.919 sanctioned event. Wow. Oh, yeah. By turning the 00:13:55.919 --> 00:13:58.620 Rato Bun Run into a charity event, They have 00:13:58.620 --> 00:14:01.580 engineered the ultimate unimpeachable alibi. 00:14:01.860 --> 00:14:03.740 You can't criticize the expense of the fuel, 00:14:03.899 --> 00:14:05.899 the wear and tear on the aircraft, or the frivolity 00:14:05.899 --> 00:14:08.000 of the flight, because now it's for a good cause. 00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:11.539 It is the perfect marriage of passion and justification. 00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:14.679 That is so incredibly smart. It completely insulates 00:14:14.679 --> 00:14:17.059 the hobby from any outside judgment. And this 00:14:17.059 --> 00:14:19.179 whole phenomenon isn't just some secret pilot 00:14:19.179 --> 00:14:21.279 code either. It's spilled over into mainstream 00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:23.440 culture. Oh, absolutely. The entry mentions that 00:14:23.440 --> 00:14:25.159 this concept was actually featured in the New 00:14:25.159 --> 00:14:27.809 York Times under the amazing headline cleared 00:14:27.809 --> 00:14:30.929 for lunching. Such a great headline. Which preys 00:14:30.929 --> 00:14:32.669 that even people who have never set foot in a 00:14:32.669 --> 00:14:35.190 cockpit, who have no idea what a Hobbs meter 00:14:35.190 --> 00:14:40.610 is, can appreciate the sheer delightful absurdity 00:14:40.610 --> 00:14:43.490 of the concept. Because the underlying human 00:14:43.490 --> 00:14:47.480 element is universally relatable. We all create 00:14:47.480 --> 00:14:49.840 these frameworks of permission for ourselves. 00:14:49.840 --> 00:14:53.379 Oh, 100%. We all invent elaborate hurdles to 00:14:53.379 --> 00:14:55.639 jump over just to do the things we want to do 00:14:55.639 --> 00:14:58.379 anyway. The pilot's framework just happens to 00:14:58.379 --> 00:15:00.399 require clearance from an air traffic controller 00:15:00.399 --> 00:15:03.720 and an understanding of aerodynamics. Think about 00:15:03.720 --> 00:15:05.559 your own hobbies for a second, you know, as you're 00:15:05.559 --> 00:15:08.200 listening to this. If you had an airplane fully 00:15:08.200 --> 00:15:11.379 fueled and waiting on the tarmac right now. What 00:15:11.379 --> 00:15:13.820 is your specific food item? Oh, that's a great 00:15:13.820 --> 00:15:16.539 thought experiment. Right. What is the one incredibly 00:15:16.539 --> 00:15:19.159 niche, highly specific craving that you would 00:15:19.159 --> 00:15:22.220 use as your ultimate excuse for a two hour flight? 00:15:22.740 --> 00:15:24.740 Are you flying three states over because there's 00:15:24.740 --> 00:15:26.740 a diner that makes a specific kind of blueberry 00:15:26.740 --> 00:15:29.399 pancake? Or maybe a specific barbecue spot in 00:15:29.399 --> 00:15:32.659 Texas. Exactly. Are you flying to the coast just 00:15:32.659 --> 00:15:34.759 to get a dozen oysters from a shack on the pier? 00:15:35.409 --> 00:15:37.809 It really makes you think about what your ultimate 00:15:37.809 --> 00:15:39.990 destination would be if the journey itself was 00:15:39.990 --> 00:15:42.690 the entire point. And that really is the crux 00:15:42.690 --> 00:15:45.710 of the $100 hamburger. The destination is completely 00:15:45.710 --> 00:15:48.370 arbitrary. The food is arbitrary. It doesn't 00:15:48.370 --> 00:15:50.769 actually matter. Not at all. The true commodity 00:15:50.769 --> 00:15:53.009 being purchased isn't protein or carbohydrates. 00:15:53.370 --> 00:15:56.789 It is the time spent suspended in the air, disconnected 00:15:56.789 --> 00:15:59.789 from the earth, engaged in an activity that requires 00:15:59.789 --> 00:16:02.370 absolute focus and delivers absolute freedom. 00:16:02.870 --> 00:16:05.350 The hamburger, the steak, the hot cross bun, 00:16:05.669 --> 00:16:08.389 they're all just the alibi. So what does this 00:16:08.389 --> 00:16:11.250 all mean? When we look back at this brief Wikipedia 00:16:11.250 --> 00:16:13.970 entry for the hundred dollar hamburger, we see 00:16:13.970 --> 00:16:16.190 so much more than just a quirky piece of slang. 00:16:16.269 --> 00:16:18.889 We really do. We see a mirror. reflecting how 00:16:18.889 --> 00:16:21.330 we navigate our passions. It captures the shifting 00:16:21.330 --> 00:16:24.169 economy of fuel and aircraft rentals, showing 00:16:24.169 --> 00:16:27.809 us how a term born in a cheaper era stubbornly 00:16:27.809 --> 00:16:30.230 survives even when the math no longer adds up. 00:16:30.370 --> 00:16:32.429 Even if it means upgrading to a stake just to 00:16:32.429 --> 00:16:35.519 make the receipt feel justified. Exactly. It 00:16:35.519 --> 00:16:38.620 shows us the delightful human tendency to turn 00:16:38.620 --> 00:16:42.200 a solo joyride into a community tradition, or 00:16:42.200 --> 00:16:45.440 even an annual Hot Cross Bun charity event. But 00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:47.659 most importantly, it's a reminder that sometimes 00:16:47.659 --> 00:16:50.100 you just need a really good excuse to do the 00:16:50.100 --> 00:16:52.440 thing you love. Which brings us to a broader 00:16:52.440 --> 00:16:54.980 reflection about where this all goes next. We've 00:16:54.980 --> 00:16:57.200 talked about how the $100 hamburger became a 00:16:57.200 --> 00:17:00.240 $400 hamburger due to the rising costs of fuel 00:17:00.240 --> 00:17:02.059 and maintenance. Right, the inflation factor. 00:17:02.179 --> 00:17:04.420 But it makes you wonder about the future of aviation. 00:17:04.750 --> 00:17:08.049 As we move toward electric aircraft and sustainable 00:17:08.049 --> 00:17:11.349 aviation technology, the operating costs of a 00:17:11.349 --> 00:17:13.890 small plane might actually plummet back down. 00:17:14.049 --> 00:17:15.750 Oh, that's an interesting point. Yeah. Electric 00:17:15.750 --> 00:17:18.470 engines have vastly fewer moving parts, which 00:17:18.470 --> 00:17:20.869 means drastically lower maintenance, and electricity 00:17:20.869 --> 00:17:23.589 is much cheaper than specialized aviation fuel. 00:17:24.089 --> 00:17:27.549 So if flying suddenly becomes cheap again, will 00:17:27.549 --> 00:17:30.170 the $100 hamburger go back to being a literal 00:17:30.170 --> 00:17:33.509 $100 hamburger? That would be amazing. Or, stripped 00:17:33.509 --> 00:17:35.789 of the massive financial burden that forced us 00:17:35.789 --> 00:17:38.109 to upgrade to stakes and charity runs, will we 00:17:38.109 --> 00:17:41.029 have to invent entirely new psychological excuses 00:17:41.029 --> 00:17:44.049 to take to the skies? In a world hyper -focused 00:17:44.049 --> 00:17:46.730 on efficiency and productivity, what is your 00:17:46.730 --> 00:17:49.990 personal version of the $100 hamburger? What 00:17:49.990 --> 00:17:52.670 elaborate, slightly impractical excuse do you 00:17:52.670 --> 00:17:55.109 use just to give yourself permission to do something 00:17:55.109 --> 00:17:57.859 you love? That is the perfect question to leave 00:17:57.859 --> 00:18:00.440 hanging in the air. The economics might change, 00:18:00.900 --> 00:18:03.700 but the human need to justify a joyride probably 00:18:03.700 --> 00:18:06.079 never will. Thank you so much for joining us 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:08.380 on this deep dive. Whether you are driving 45 00:18:08.380 --> 00:18:10.279 minutes out of your way just to get the good 00:18:10.279 --> 00:18:12.660 drive -through fries, or you are firing up a 00:18:12.660 --> 00:18:14.859 Cessna for a very expensive steak dinner, we 00:18:14.859 --> 00:18:17.039 hope you enjoy the journey. Take care, and we'll 00:18:17.039 --> 00:18:17.799 catch you on the next one.