Yeah I’m prejudiced, but one of of the things I love about Southwest Airlines’ inflight magazine is how far we go and how deep we drill down. Take this month’s issue, about the humble cookie. We don’t just publish recipes (though we certainly do that), we publish recipes you will absolutely have to try. Which the editors did, of course. But they also covered the gamut from history (the Civil War helped create the modern American cookie!) to booze (cookie pairings!), all while celebrating the cookie’s simple beauty as the ideal treat.
And even that wasn’t enough. Executive Editor John McAlley—who, by the way, would probably be writing bestselling books if he weren’t so busy editing Spirit—sent himself to Hawaii to interview Famous Amos himself, Wally Amos. The story contains some sour along with the sweet; the man most identified with the chocolate chip cookie is living on Social Security, struggling to handle a messy personal life, and determined to remake himself. John wrote a brilliant profile with a classic moral. Sometimes what brings a person success can also bring him down.
But the issue itself has an equally profound moral: have a cookie.
And now for the Numbers: the Girl Scouts sold 215 million boxes of cookies last year. An electric eel can power 10 light bulbs. And the @ symbol is at least 477 years old.
Ponder that while you’re sniffing the milk.
Yeah I’m prejudiced, but one of of the things I love about Southwest Airlines’ inflight magazine is how far we go and how deep we drill down. Take this month’s issue, about the humble cookie. We don’t just publish recipes (though we certainly do that), we publish recipes you will absolutely have to try. Which the editors did, of course. But they also covered the gamut from history (the Civil War helped create the modern American cookie!) to booze (cookie pairings!), all while celebrating the cookie’s simple beauty as the ideal treat.
And even that wasn’t enough. Executive Editor John McAlley—who, by the way, would probably be writing bestselling books if he weren’t so busy editing Spirit—sent himself to Hawaii to interview Famous Amos himself, Wally Amos. The story contains some sour along with the sweet; the man most identified with the chocolate chip cookie is living on Social Security, struggling to handle a messy personal life, and determined to remake himself. John wrote a brilliant profile with a classic moral. Sometimes what brings a person success can also bring him down.
But the issue itself has an equally profound moral: have a cookie.
And now for the Numbers: the Girl Scouts sold 215 million boxes of cookies last year. An electric eel can power 10 light bulbs. And the @ symbol is at least 477 years old.
Ponder that while you’re sniffing the milk.