Travelers may be more inclined to bring their bags on board the plane with them due to seemingly exorbitant bag-checking fees, and there’s always the fear that the airline might lose your stuff. But a recent Smithsonian Channel video might convince travelers to trust the system.
The video shows how passengers’ bags (usually, mostly) land on the right plane and finally, back to their owners at the end of the trip.
The magic begins with an airline employee strapping the unique tag to your luggage, and then viewers can follow it on a Rube Goldberg-worthy system of wheels and conveyor belts that travel within the entrails of the airport, before eventually ending with a luggage handler who will chuck your suitcase onto (hopefully) the correct plane. It’s a fascinating system that makes checking a bag almost seem foolproof. Except, of course, when it isn’t.
Watch below.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- How Selena Gomez Is Revolutionizing the Celebrity Beauty Business
- TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2024
- Javier Milei’s Radical Plan to Transform Argentina
- How Private Donors Shape Birth-Control Choices
- The Deadly Digital Frontiers at the Border
- What's the Best Measure of Fitness?
- The 31 Most Anticipated Movies of Summer 2024
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Contact us at letters@time.com