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Airline pilot reveals the crucial reason why there’s a tiny hole in every airplane window

You’ll see them on every plane no matter where you sit or which airline you’re flying.

By

Tod Perry

panes, plane window, aviation, pilots, looking out window
Photo credit: Canva – A woman looking out of a plane window.

Have you ever been crammed into the window seat in a plane and, while gazing down at the terra firma beneath you, noticed that there was a tiny hole in the window? According to Petter Hörnfeldt, aka Mentour Pilot, a Swedish commercial airline captain, those holes could one day save your life.

In a TikTok video, Hörnfeldt explains that there are three layers to the windows on a commercial airliner. The outside window is the strongest because it was designed “to handle any impacts as well as the pressure difference between the thin high altitude air outside of the plane and a pressurized air inside,” Hörnfeldt says.

Then there is the middle layer, with a tiny hole, designed to protect the outer layer. The final layer is the one you can touch or press your nose up against to see what you’re flying over.

@mentourpilotofficial

What Are The Tiny HOLES in Aircraft Windows? #aviation #airplane #aircraft #pilot #mentourpilot ♬ original sound – Mentour Pilot

Why do airplane windows have tiny holes?

“So why the hole then? Well, because there is air between those layers. Differences in pressure and temperature would otherwise start causing forces to build up between the layers, trying to bend them inwards or outwards, which is something that we obviously do not want, since especially the inner two layers are not designed to take those kind of forces. So that little hole is put there to allow air to flow through slowly and relieve that potential pressure difference. Hence the name breather hole,” Hörnfeldt says.

pane window, window hole, looking out window, aviation, commercial airliner
The tiny hole in an airplane window. Credit: Canva

“Now, the inner window layer, the one that’s closest to you, doesn’t really need a hole because it’s fitted in a way that allows air to flow around it. But that breather hole also serves a different job, which is to make it more difficult for moisture to become trapped between the layers and start fogging up your window, stopping you from admiring the view outside,” Hörnfeldt continues.

In his most popular video, Hörnfeldt admitted that commercial airline pilots know when you’ve flushed the toilet on a plane.

Do pilots know when you flush the toilet on a plane?

@mentourpilotofficial

Do Pilots Know When You Go to the Toilet? #Aviation #Pilots #aviationtiktok #Airplane MentourPilot ♬ original sound – Mentour Pilot – Mentour Pilot

According to Hörnfeldt, pilots don’t know that you’ve flushed a toilet based on an alert, security camera footage, or a sudden power surge. They know that the toilet has been flushed because of a slight change in cabin pressurization. Airplane toilets use a special vacuum flushing mechanism to suck the contents out. The vacuum system is calibrated to the cabin air pressure. “But that flushing actually does show up on our instruments as a sudden cabin climb on our cabin vertical speed indicator,” Hörnfeldt says. “So we can see it. And it kind of makes sense, if you think about it.”

Next time you see the tiny hole in an airplane window as you gaze upon your hometown at 35,000 feet, you know that it’s not a manfcatingring mistake. It’s here to keep you safe in a cabin with a pressurized system that also knows if you used the bathroom. Aren’t airplanes just incredible?

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    https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/55203734853/in/dateposted/Astronaut Reid Wiseman, the Earth, and the moon.
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    Seeing Earth from space was life-changing for astronaut Reid Wiseman

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    Astronaut Reid Wiseman. Credit: NASA HQ/Flickr

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    The aurora australis glowing over the Indian Ocean. Credit NASA Johnson/Flickr

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    Photo credit: NASA – The Gallaudet Eleven volunteer for space research.
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    In 1958, NASA recruited 11 Deaf men to test how zero gravity affects humans

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    A 13-year-old boy has become the first person to be cured of this deadly brain cancer

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    Various brain scans. Photo credit:

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    Lucas with his mother. Photo credit: Lesja Jemeljanova via Facebook

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  • A man who wanted to ‘see music’ paired a piano with bioluminescent algae. It’s magical to watch.
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    A vortex ring of smoke floats through the air. Photo credit: Canva

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    When smoke didn’t work, the studio turned to water. Photo credit: Canva

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  • The surprisingly genius design of common zippers and why so many have ‘YKK’ on the pull tab
    Photo credit: Canva – Zipper design is genuinely genius.
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    The surprisingly genius design of common zippers and why so many have ‘YKK’ on the pull tab

    YKK stands for Yoshida Kōgyō Kabushikikaisha.

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    Between clothing, outerwear, handbags, and cushion covers, most of us have no shortage of zippers in our households. They’re so ubiquitous that we probably don’t give them much thought (until one of them stops working properly, of course).

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    Whitcomb Judson and his patent for his clasp locker device that came before the modern zipper
    Whitcomb Judson’s clasp locker device was a precursor to the modern zipper. Photo credit: Images in the public domain

    But it would take another decade for a usable zipper-like product to come from Judson’s company. They had made an automatic fastener for women’s skirts, but even that was a bust. The device jammed constantly and couldn’t be washed with the garment, meaning it had to be removed before each wash and sewn back in afterward. The company struggled to retain customers and fell into debt.

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    Gideon Sundback and his patent for his zipper design
    Gideon Sundback and his zipper patent. Photo credit: Images in the public domain

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    Sundback’s design was fairly simple, but ingenious—so ingenious, in fact, that manufacturing capabilities at the time were no match for it. He also had to design the machinery to produce the zipper.

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    Finally, the Universal Fastener Company had created a commercially viable product. They initially called it a “hookless hooker,” which, thankfully, lasted only a blip. They ultimately went with a less eyebrow-raising name: the “hookless fastener.”

    The word “zipper” actually came from B.F. Goodrich Company (yes, the tire company), after it used the fastener in rubber boots it manufactured. It called them Zipper boots, after the “zip” sound they made when used. The boots were a hit, and the name stuck—eventually becoming the common term for the hookless fastener.

    What’s the deal with “YKK” being on so many zipper pulls?

    If you check the zippers in your home, there’s a good chance you’ll find the letters “YKK” on many of the pull tabs. Why?

    YKK stands for Yoshida Kōgyō Kabushikikaisha, the Japanese company that manufactures more zippers than any other in the world—close to 10 billion each year. YKK is the undisputed G.O.A.T. of zippers.

    That story began in 1933 with Tadao Yoshida, a salesman in Japan whose company had gone under. He found a pile of unsold zippers among the company’s leftover inventory, bought them, and started his own zipper business.

    His goal was to make zippers that never failed. That foresight into how frustrating an unreliable zipper is for a consumer proved invaluable. After some setbacks that could have ended his business ambitions, Yoshida became the leading manufacturer of zippers in the world. And he kept on honing the quality and efficiency of the manufacturing process, eventually bringing every part of the process in-house.

    Red sweater with a YKK zipper closeup
    YKK zippers are seen all over the world. Photo credit: Cornischong/Wikimedia Commons

    Yoshida had created a zipper juggernaut. Today, YKK makes over 7,000 types of zippers and dominates the global zipper market. It also operates under an endearing philosophy referred to as “The Cycle of Goodness,” which basically boils down to: “No one prospers without rendering benefit to others.”

    Who knew the basic zipper had such a fascinating history?

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  • NVIDIA’s CEO realized the smartest people aren’t ‘technical.’ They have a totally different skill.
    Photo credit: via NVIDIA Taiwan/Wikimedia Commons – NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang speaking in 2016.
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    NVIDIA’s CEO realized the smartest people aren’t ‘technical.’ They have a totally different skill.

    “People who are able to see around corners are truly, truly smart.”

    Tod Perry

    Artificial intelligence promises to completely upend just about every facet of modern life, from how we work to education, medical care, and the design and manufacture of everyday goods. On a deeper level, it will also change how we see ourselves as humans, placing greater value on the uniquely human skills that no computer can replicate, no matter how powerful the server.

    One person who knows a great deal about that is Jensen Huang, the president and CEO of NVIDIA, a company that designs and manufactures chips for accelerated computing and AI data centers. Fortune has named Huang one of the world’s best CEOs for his leadership and innovation.

    Recently, he appeared on the A Bit Personal podcast with Jodi Shelton, who posed a big question: “Who is the smartest person you’ve ever met?”

    jensen huang, nvidia, ai, chips, huang speech, huang 2016
    NVIDIA CEOu00a0Jensen Huang. via Raysonho/Wikimedia Commons

    Who is the smartest person Huang ever met?

    At first, the question sounds like a softball. Of course, Huang might be expected to name someone with exceptional technical talent or a keen eye for design and engineering. He could even point to an important scientist or a tech leader, such as Steve Jobs. Instead, Huang argues that the most intelligent people today are those whose skills can’t be duplicated by AI.

    “I know what people are thinking, the definition of smart is somebody who’s intelligent solves [technical] problems,” Huang responded. “But I find that’s a commodity and we’re not about to prove that artificial intelligence is able to handle that part easiest, right?”

    He added that software engineers were once widely seen as the most intelligent, but AI is now challenging that idea.

    Huang says truly intelligent people know the “unknowables”

    “I think long term … and my personal definition of smart is someone who sits at that intersection of being technically astute but [has] human empathy,” Huang said. “And having the ability to infer the unspoken around the corners. The unknowables. People who are able to see around corners are truly, truly smart. To be able to preempt problems before they show up, just because you feel the vibe. And the vibe came from a combination of data analysis, first principle life experience, wisdom, sensing other people, that vibe. That’s smart. I think it’s gonna be the future definition of smart, and that person might actually score horribly on the SAT.”

    jensen huang, nvidia, ai, chips, huang speech, huang 2016
    NVIDIA CEOu00a0Jensen Huang speaking in 2023. via Wikimedia Commons

    The podcast’s Instagram post received hundreds of comments. “This is a very smart answer to make everyone sound like they have a chance of being smartest person,” one popular commenter wrote. Another joked, “Bro knows he’s the smartest person he’s ever met.”

    Ultimately, as we enter the AI era, it’s becoming clear that the edge humans have isn’t processing power, but the skills that make us most human: empathy, perception, wisdom, emotional intelligence, and the ability to read the room at both micro and macro levels. Huang understands that true human intelligence, something that can’t be created in a data center, is, for now, still the most valuable asset of all.

    Watch the full podcast interview below:

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  • Guy uses a Ziploc bag to show why some things look backwards in mirrors while others don’t
    Photo credit: Canva Photos. – Why is text reversed in mirrors?
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    Guy uses a Ziploc bag to show why some things look backwards in mirrors while others don’t

    We get it now!

    Annie Reneau

    Upworthy Staff

    Have you ever wondered why text shows up backwards in a mirror? It’s confusing to our brains because it doesn’t seem like anything else is flipped like that. If we turn our head, it doesn’t move the opposite direction in the mirror. Or does it? After all, right-handed you is actually left-handed you in the mirror. Right? (Wait, is that right?)

    Mirrors can be confusing despite not being very complicated. A mirror image is simply a reflection of what’s in front of it. But when someone else is looking at us head on, they don’t see text in reverse, so why don’t we see what other people see when we see ourselves in a mirror?

    mirrors, mirror, how mirrors work, mirror image, text in mirrors
    Woman smiling in a mirror. u200bCanva Photos.

    (If you think this is a super stupid question with a super obvious answer, congratulations. Pat yourself on the back and scootch along so the folks who don’t fully grasp the physics of mirrors can enjoy a demonstration that makes it a little easier to understand.)

    “Why do mirrors reverse text?” asks the creator behind @humanteneleven on YouTube. “You might think it’s just a property of mirrors—they flip things from left to right—but that’s not true.” He then picks up a metal arrow to show that it points the same direction in the mirror as it does in real life. So why is the text flipped when the arrow isn’t?

    He then holds up a book to show how the text on the book cover appears backwards, just like the shirt. But when he holds up a Ziploc bag with the word “HELLO” written on it, the word shows up properly.

    Why? How?

    It’s because he had to flip the book over to see the cover text in the mirror. The baggy, on the other hand, he could just hold up and see the letters through the transparent plastic, just as we see them in real life. If he flips the baggy over like he did the book, the text shows up backwards in the mirror, just like it does in real life.

    “So it’s actually not the mirror that’s flipping anything from left to right,” he says. “It’s the human.”

    People appreciated the simple, straightforward explanation and demonstrations.

    “One of the most insightful demonstrations I’ve seen. It’s simple and explains the phenomenon. Well done!”

    “While I’ve heard this explanation many times before, I’ve only recently seen it demonstrated with text-on-transparency, which is what really makes it click. Great video!”

    “Love these sorts of demonstrations. It’s a bit of a complicated one, but I love seeing how different people’s minds work when explaining simple things like this. My kid explains it with “left is on the left, right is on the right, things aren’t flipped, they are mirrored” but it’s true that you are the one who flips things and I’ve never thought of it that way before.”

    “Oh my God, I haven’t understood explanations from physics videos about why mirrors flip but this, gosh this helps.”

    Mirrors have been hilariously befuddling people in other videos as they try to figure out how the mirror “knows” what’s behind a barrier placed in front of objects.

    @sarahcoome

    this is kinda creepy ? #mirror #relatable #creepy

    ♬ original sound – Franklin Saint

    Is this something all of us should probably have learned in high school? Yes. Do all of us remember everything we learned in high school? No. Does the scientific explanation make perfect sense to everyone even if it’s explained in detail? Um, no.

    Like the reversed text question, having a simplified explanation that doesn’t fully get into the nitty gritty physics and geometry of how mirrors work is helpful for some folks.

    For those who want a bit more scientific substance to their explanations, this next video does a good job of giving a bit more detail while still keeping the explanation simple. It even uses a visual diagram to explain:

    And for those who say, “This is so basic! How do people not understand this?” here’s a video that really does get into the nitty gritty physics and geometry of how mirrors work, diving into ray and wave optics, photons, wave functions, probability, and quantum mechanics. It’s only 12 minutes, and it manages to entertain while explaining, but it certainly blows the notion that understanding mirrors is super simple.

    As one commenter wrote, “I thought I understood mirrors. I understand mirrors even less now. And that’s a compliment.”

    Isn’t science fun?

    This article originally appeared last year.

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