Ever wondered what those rods sticking out of the trailing edge of an aircraft wing are? Some might think they are aerials or sensors, but actually, they are a lot simpler than that. These are called static wicks, and they are fundamental to safe flying.
An especially astute passenger will notice that these little triangles throughout the cabin line up with the wings outside the plane. If flight crew need to check the wings, these triangles let them know the best vantage points for the slats and flaps outside.
“The black triangle marks the location of what has been called William Shatner's Seat, the seat with the clearest view of the wing,” explained retired aerospace engineer Lee Ballentine after the question was posed on Q&A website Quora.
These tiny holes, also called breather holes, serve as a safety function, by making sure that the outer pane bears all the air pressure (the pressure inside the cabin is much higher than outside). This also ensures that in case the pressure difference becomes high enough, it is the outer pane that breaks off first.
Airplanes' wings are curved on top and flatter on the bottom. That shape makes air flow over the top faster than under the bottom. As a result, less air pressure is on top of the wing. This lower pressure makes the wing, and the airplane it's attached to, move up.
The first reason is your safety. If anything happens during a take-off or landing, your eyes will already be used to the day or night light outside, thus you will be able to react more quickly. Another reason for keeping the blinds open is visibility of aircraft outside.
The red flashing lights are turned on just before engine start and are turned off after the engines are shut down. Walking near an operating jet engine or turboprop is more dangerous than juggling chain saws. When ground personnel see those red lights flashing, they know the engines are running and the area is unsafe.
Strobe lights.All modern aircraft also have white flashing strobe lights on the rear wingtips. These are the flashing white lights you see if you look at aircraft in the night sky. These are for collision avoidance, simply to make the aircraft more visible.