Airplanes do a lot of nonsensical things these days. Those include asking you to turn off your phone, or not shine a laser pointer directly into the pilots eyes while he's landing, causing him to crash the plane in a horrific and easily preventable tragedy.
Turning off the plane's lights before landing is, weirdly, one thing airplanes do that makes a ton of sense once you know why. The interior lights are dimmed as a precaution allowing passengers' eyes to adjust more quickly in the event of an emergency landing. Like, the kind caused by some dumbass shining a laser pointer directly into the pilot's eyes. (Who would even think of such a thing?)
“Imagine being in an unfamiliar bright room filled with obstacles when someone turns off the lights and asks you to exit quickly,” Chris Cooke, a major domestic airline pilot, tells Time.
So, basically, for the same reasons pirates wore eye patches. Who knew that mass air transit was so badass?
That means that, next time your plane is landing, you are totally justified in saying "aaarrrrr" super loudly and frightening your seatmate. Then you can helpfully explain that you read this article and they will be impressed and probably become your best friend forever or maybe the love of your life. Wow, who knew that I would help you meet your soulmate? Crazy.
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