Okay, I have to start this post by giving credit to an unnamed origami-ist that sat several rows in front of me on a flight from San Diego several weeks ago. Whoever you are, nice work.

In the eternal quest of being lazy innovative, we Americans are always spending more energy to do less work seeking ways to improve our exerted effort. But, seriously, holding an iPhone for a feature length presentation is just ridiculous (pinkies cramping, carpal tunnel, you get the picture). This little hack is an easy way to create an iPhone holder on the airplane with products available in the seat in front of you.

First, reach in the pocket of the seat in front of you and pick your favorite publication to deface (SkyMall, US Airways, etc., try not to use the emergency information card that might be equivalent to saying the b word on the plane).

Tear off the front or rear cover of the publication being careful to tear neatly and cleanly. Try to pick the best picture of the four sides (front cover, front inside cover, rear cover, rear inside cover) as you will see this periphery of this page is visible during your feature.

Place the chosen side on the tray table and fold lengthwise.

Lay your iPhone in the “pocket” with the screen on, so that you can see which section of the cover needs to be removed. You can mark on the paper or just use landmarks on the page to determine the “window” for your movie. Fold the cover to mark the perimeter of the “window.”

Folding the page in half, tear out the window along folded lines.

Now insert the iPhone into the folded sleeve.

Finally, attach the assembled holder to the seat in front of you by turning the tray table lock down to hold the folded paper.

Voila you have a perfectly respectable handsfree iPhone movie viewer that didn’t cost a dime (unless you checked a bag).