What does “Mile high club” mean
on the Rice Purity Test?
“Joining the mile high club” is the tongue-in-cheek term for being intimate with someone on an airplane while it’s in the air. It’s rarer and more logistically heroic than it sounds — hence its spot near the end of the test.
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A late, adventurous item. Checking it is a flex.
Founded, allegedly, in 1916
Aviation folklore credits Lawrence Sperry, inventor of the autopilot, with founding the club in 1916 when his biplane was found crashed with both occupants notably underdressed. The autopilot detail is what sells the story. Whether or not it's precisely true, a century of retelling made the club an institution with no membership office and famously cramped facilities.
It's one of the rarest checks on the entire test, which is exactly why it lives near the end. Modern aircraft, modern lavatory dimensions, and modern flight attendants make it more logistics problem than romance. People who check this box tend to mention it unprompted for the rest of their lives.