MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT FLYING

There are many misconceptions about flying, the guys at Mental Floss clear things up for us.

We all know that, if someone fires a gun in an aeroplane and it pierces the cabin, disaster is imminent. It'll cause the aircraft to depressurise and plummet to the Earth as a bunch of passengers get sucket out of the gaping hole.

Also, pilots are unnecessary as, in this modern day-and-age, the AutoPilot can do it all. Those pesky pilots are just there to play cards and sleep off their hangovers.

We also know that the masks that drop down from the overhead compartments deliver oxygen in case of an emergency. This will help the passengers to avoid suffering from apoxia and gives the pilot time to descend to a height where humans can breathe more easily.

Well, if you agreed with all of the above, you'd be wrong.

You see, a single bullet fired from a gun would leave such a small hole in the cabin that the aircraft would easily be able to accommodate and repressurise.

As efficient as AutoPilot systems are, they still need a pilot to tell them what to do. Not to mention the fact that the pilot still needs to take off and land the plane, perform essential manoeuvres on the ground and during any unexpected emergencies in the air. They're legends.

Also, oxygen masks don't actually contain oxygen. It's too dangerous because it's flammable, and any spark of flame could cause the plane to explode.

It's facts like these that make this episode of Mental Floss' Misconceptions show interesting. So, if you want to learn something new to impress that 'special person' you've got your eye on, then you should press play. Heck, if they love aeroplanes, they'll think you're the best thing since vacuum toilets...