According to the International Air Transport Association, an estimated 4 billion passengers will climb aboard a plane in 2017. Some will fly for business; while others will jet off to some magical destination to forget about the real world for a while. The surprising thing? Most of these passengers probably know very little about the planes that they're climbing aboard, including the following five interesting tidbits.
They're Not Christmas Lights
Have you ever watched a plane fly by at night and noticed that there is a red light on the left wing and a green light on the right? Those are not just decorations. They are, in fact, the aircraft's navigation lights. Originally used by marine vessels to help captains steer away from collisions at night, these lights are now used for the same purpose by airplane pilots. Airplanes also have a white rear-facing light on their tails so that other pilots can tell if a plane is heading towards them or away. So if you're looking out your plane's window, the last thing you want to see is a green light ahead of you that is to the left of a red light, because that means you've got an aircraft heading towards you.
RATs!
Hate the thought of having a rat on your plane? Well, if your plane was to lose power and need to make an emergency landing, you'd be glad to have the RAT (ram air turbine) on your plane. The RAT is a small emergency windmill that is deployed from the airplane's wing or fuselage when a plane loses power. By using the air rushing by the aircraft, the RAT can generate enough electricity to keep vital systems, such as the flight controls, operating so that a pilot can land the aircraft. Now, that's a rat that even a sworn rodent hater could love.
So Tasteless!
While airline food has earned a reputation for being pretty awful, it may actually not be as bad as we think. It turns out that a plane's "ambiance" may play a big part in why your meals taste so bad. Recently, a research organization in Germany discovered that a plane's cabin, which is typically pressurized to between 6,000 and 8,000 feet, can have a very negative effect on your taste buds. Why? Because your ability to taste sweet or salty items is decreased by approximately 30 percent at high altitudes. The dry cabin air can also dull your sense of smell, which can, in turn, decrease your ability to fully appreciate the flavors in your meal.
Privy Privacy
Just remember this if you ever want to shut yourself in a plane lavatory to have a meltdown -- the doors on the restrooms can never truly be locked. You see, underneath the little "Lavatory" sign on each door is a hidden bolt that can be used to lock and unlock the restrooms from the outside. This tricky little mechanism can also be used to lock the bathrooms during takeoffs and landings, so that no one can sneak in to take care of any last-minute business.
Just Breathe
In the unlikely event that you'll need to use your oxygen mask, you might be surprised to learn that your oxygen supply will only last between 12 and 20 minutes. But no worries. The only reason you'd need the mask is because when you're flying at really high altitudes, the air is thinner and there is less oxygen. So if your cabin suddenly lost pressure, this mask would provide you with the oxygen you'd need to prevent hypoxia. And fortunately, 12 to 20 minutes is typically plenty of time for a pilot to fly an aircraft down to a safe altitude -- 10,000 feet or below -- where you should no longer need the mask to breathe.
