Have you ever noticed how hectic life can be, with so much going on, that you might overlook things that are right in front of your face?

So don’t worry if you do. You are not the only one, in any case. I am the sort of person who can spend five minutes hunting for my smartphone while still holding it. In any event, I believe most of us will agree that in today’s society, being totally present in the moment is challenging, as is absorbing things that you could swear were never there only a few hours ago.

This incident occurred to me recently after a flight, leading me into a realm of unfamiliar material that I had no idea I wanted to study. When I arrived at my brother’s house after a flight, he inquired about my seat on the plane. I’m sure you’ll agree that it was a very standard query, yet it triggered a fact-finding journey that lasted over an hour.

The long and short of it is that when I told him my seat was in line with the airplane’s wings, he suggested I must have been sitting under a black or red triangle sticker placed directly over my window. I informed him that I had not. There’s no way I could have missed the sticker over my window. Not to add that I had never seen such a sticker before, and I fly frequently.

I was convinced he was tricking me, but after some internet investigation, I discovered he was speaking the truth. There are black or red triangle stickers on the inside of airplanes—four of them, in fact—and since I took the effort to study what they represent and what they symbolize, I suppose it can’t hurt to share the information.

Helpful

While they may appear minor to passengers (if you notice them at all), triangles may be useful tools for flight attendants and pilots. The markings on the wings point to the front and back.

According to Travel + Leisure, when the wings need to be examined, pilots and flight attendants utilize the aforementioned triangles as pointers to determine the precise location. This information is especially useful when inspecting the wing’s moving components, such as the flaps and slats, for signs of ice accumulation.

This information is valuable.

Not only that, but the stickers can also help those who are prone to motion sickness. Because the wings represent the center of a plane’s gravity, sitting near to them puts you in the middle of the seesaw; thus, you feel the least movement.

Basically, picking a location near one of the stickers can help customers have a smoother, less bumpy flight. Have you seen these stickers before? Did you know what their primary purpose is? Please let us know in the comments.