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Comment by mikeash | Hacker News Reader

If it could be demonstrated to be safe, I have trouble seeing any downside to your idea!

Probably because anaesthesia has significant risks, and even if it was safe, most people would spend the first few hours on arrival puking (a very common side effect of anaesthesia).

Even at that, you have to be able to evacuate a commercial airliner in ~90 seconds. How do you fix this?

Each person sleeps in a coffin that is also an autonomous vehicle. When the emergency alarm is raised (and the plane is on the ground), all of the coffins get dropped off the bottom of the plane and they all drive their individual passengers off to safety.

EDIT: Heck, I don't see why you couldn't also put a parachute on the thing.

It doesn't have to be an airliner; if you get to "sleep" for the whole journey, why not stretch the trip to a few days or weeks on a train or bus or boat?

Because we have just 10-15 days of vacation per year.

Unfortunately, being unconscious and relatively immobile for that long would be extremely bad for your health. People in a coma require a lot of specialized nursing care -- for example to avoid developing bed sores -- and anyone immobile for a long time risks cardiovascular problems and muscle atrophy. You can get quite deconditioned from just a week or two of bed rest.

The "stasis" approach for long trips would probably have to be something higher-tech than just regular anesthesia...

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