Joyful man in colorful unicorn pajamas with a suitcase against a violet background

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US officials want to bring back the “Golden Age of Travel” — and that starts with ditching pajamas at the airport

Views on what makes for acceptable plane wear vary by generation.

11/28/25 4:39AM

America may have gotten a little too comfortable when it comes to air travel. That’s the view of some US officials who want the public to bring back some “courtesy and class” — just as we approach the weekend part of what’s expected to be the busiest Thanksgiving travel period in 15 years.

Last week, the US Department of Transportation rolled out a civility campaign called “The Golden Age of Travel Starts With You,” a nationwide push to restore old-school travel etiquette. In an interview with Fox Business, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy urged travelers to not wear pajamas and slippers at airports, saying, “People dress up like they’re going to bed when they fly.”

Some travelers seem to be embracing the advice, from fashion-forward flyers to older passengers who favor the past norms of air travel, when looking polished was simply part of flying. But a sharp backlash followed online, with many arguing that stressful flying conditions — cramped seats, reduced amenities, chronic delays, and staffing shortages — were much bigger problems than outfits.

Indeed, airlines worldwide are shrinking legroom and narrowing seats — some as little as 16 to 17 inches wide — and with that tightening paired with a postpandemic comfort-core lifestyle, it’s no surprise that travelers everywhere are prioritizing ease over elegance.

Google Trends data shows that searches for “airport pajamas,” “airport slippers,” and “flight pajamas” have risen in both the US and globally in recent years. And if attitudes across the pond are any indication, the pajama debate might be less about manners and more about a generational divide.

Pajamas survey airplanes — Sherwood News

A YouGov poll published just this week found that 30% of respondents think wearing pajamas on a flight is acceptable, driven largely by young adults (71% of 18- to 24-year-olds). But a majority (60%) still disapprove — a response that skews older, some of whom might remember the “Golden Age” the DOT wants to revive.

Millie Giles4/15/26

The most popular male and female names in the US, according to the latest Census

New data published Tuesday by the US Census Bureau has revealed the most common names provided in the 2020 Census, in the first release to include forename data since 1990.

As described in the brief, Michael was the most popular name for males in the US, with roughly 3.5 million American men reporting having this name or a close variant. This is up from fourth place in the 1990 Census, when the top US male name was James — though there were still 3 million Jameses in 2020’s tally.

Despite a three-decade gap, Mary remained the top name for American females in both censuses, with the 2020 survey counting almost 1.8 million females with this given name. Interestingly, Mary was one of just two predominantly female names that broke the top 10 given names in the US, with the overall list dominated mostly by male monikers.

Most popular names US census 2020 chart — Sherwood News

In all, American females had far more first-name diversity than male counterparts: 16% of US males had one of the top 10 most frequent names among men, compared with 7.8% of women. Zooming out, almost 3x as many given names were needed to cover a quarter of the US female population than that of males.

Max Knoblauch & Tom Jones4/14/26

6 months after hiking Game Pass prices by 50%, Xbox determines it may be too expensive

Microsoft’s new Xbox chief, Asha Sharma, thinks the division’s recent price hikes have been a mistake, per an internal memo to employees seen by The Verge.

“Short term, Game Pass has become too expensive for players, so we need a better value equation,” Sharma’s memo reportedly read.

It’s an interesting take, given that Xbox hiked the price of its Game Pass subscription by 50% in October, before Sharma took over. The memo is a signal that Sharma’s tenure — which began in February, taking the industry by surprise — will include some big changes for Microsoft’s gaming strategy.

Whether Game Pass prices will drop is not yet clear. Last month, The Information reported that Sharma and Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters have “kicked around ideas” about potential bundles. That would fit with Netflix’s renewed gaming ambitions.

Xbox Game Pass ‘has become too expensive,’ says Microsoft’s new gaming chief in leaked memo

Millie Giles

LIFELINE

4/14/26

Will a resolve to reduce screen time see a revival of landline telephones?

For parents trying to limit their kids’ exposure to smartphones, the answer could be yesterday’s tech.

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IN THE GREEN

4/13/26

Rory McIlroy just secured a second consecutive Masters title — and the biggest prize pot to date

Winning a sixth major title in the year of a record purse, McIlroy is now the Masters’ highest-earning golfer.

Max Knoblauch4/13/26

Roblox announces age-based accounts for young users as child safety lawsuits pile up

Roblox on Monday announced its first accounts created specifically for young children and teens, furthering its efforts to increase child safety on the platform.

In June, Roblox Kids (for ages 5 to 8) and Roblox Select (for ages 9 to 15) will roll out, following the company’s global launch of mandatory age checks in January.

The new account types will feature different default settings — chats will automatically be set to “off” on Kids accounts — and limit access to games of certain ratings depending on age.

Child safety lawsuits and social media bans are piling up for Roblox, whose shares have dropped more than 30% year to date. In February, Los Angeles County sued the platform, alleging it created a “largely unsupervised online world” in which “child predators can readily locate, contact, and interact with minors.”

Roblox Introduces New Age-Based Accounts and Expanded Parental Controls for Users Under 16

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