Why Are Cabin Lights Dimmed During Takeoff and Landing?
By Julia Hammond
Read time: 3 minutes
October 14, 2025
Updated: October 14, 2025
Friday, October 31, 2025
Thursday, October 23, 2025
Why Are Cabin Lights Dimmed During Takeoff and Landing
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Commercial flying is one of the safest forms of travel. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), of the 40.6 million flights in 2024, there was only one accident per 810,000 flights. Nevertheless, an analysis from aircraft manufacturer Airbus shows that the takeoff, approach, and landing stages of a flight are statistically when the most incidents happen. Thankfully, clearly defined rules are in place to keep passengers and crew safe. One aspect of these precautionary protocols concerns lighting — you may have noticed that the cabin lights are dimmed before takeoff and again as the crew prepares for landing. Ever wondered why? We’ll explain below.
Your Eyes Need Time To Adjust if It’s Dark
If you walk from a brightly lit space into a dark one — such as when you first walk into a movie theater — it takes a moment for your vision to adjust. In fact, sometimes it takes much longer than a moment — that process, known as dark adaptation, can require as much as 20 to 30 minutes. As light levels recede, photoreceptor cells in the retina called cones and rods become more light sensitive, enabling you to see better.
In the event of an aircraft evacuation, your eyes will need to similarly adjust, especially if it’s dark outside. Therefore, in order to balance out the light levels within and outside the plane, it makes sense for the cabin lights to be dimmed. This gives your eyes a chance to begin to adjust while you’re still on the plane, so that if an emergency evacuation is called for, you have more effective vision as you exit the aircraft.
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Exit Lights Are More Visible in a Dim Cabin
Of course, if you are asked to evacuate the plane, you’ll need to find your way to an emergency exit. One of the features of an aircraft that helps you do so is a line of lights that illuminate the aisle. In the event of a smoke-filled cabin, for instance, the floor of the aircraft is likely to be where visibility is greatest, which is why the lights are embedded into it.
Interestingly, in situations when your vision is impaired, studies show that up to 83% of your wayfinding ability is lost. A smoke-filled cabin can therefore seriously impair a traveler’s ability to safely evacuate, meaning that every single precaution that can be taken to counteract this disadvantage should be in place.
Though passengers are instructed to note the position of the nearest exit row during the crew’s safety briefing, this information may not register, or it may be forgotten in the event of an emergency. Emergency exit lights play a crucial role in helping passengers reach the exits as quickly as possible — and they will be easier to pick out if your eyes have already adjusted to a dim cabin.
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You’ll Be Better Able To See What’s Happening Outside
In addition to dimming the cabin lights, sometimes you’ll find that crew members also instruct passengers to open window shades, at least in certain seats, which allows all those on board to better see what’s going on beyond the aircraft windows. On a routine flight, this means that travelers in a window seat will be able to enjoy the view, but really it’s safety that drives this.
These regulations ensure the cabin isn’t as brightly lit and are also useful in extraordinary circumstances when it could be beneficial to know what’s going on outside the aircraft. This may be especially advantageous if the plane is on the ground but the need to steer clear of a part of the aircraft effectively puts an emergency exit out of action.
Featured image credit: Santiago Urquijo/ Moment via Getty Images
Thursday, October 16, 2025
The Fascinating History of Mail
For many of us, sending and receiving mail is a routine part of our daily lives. But this seemingly mundane task has quite an interesting history. Postal systems have existed for nearly as long as humans have communicated through writing. Egypt holds the distinction of pioneering the earliest documented state-sponsored postal service, which dates all the way back to 2400 BCE, with the oldest known postal document dating back to 255 BCE. Initially used by pharaohs, emperors, and kings to disseminate information across their domain, postal systems eventually broadened their scope to transmit messages among religious and educational institutions.
แျွแ်ုแ်แို့แกแแ် แกแျားแ ုแกแွแ် แ ာแို့แြแ်းแဲ့ แ ာแแ်แံแြแ်းแ แေ့แ แ်แแแกแုแ်แกแွေးแွေแกแแ် แแ ်แုแာแြแ ်แแ်แါแแ်။ แါแေแဲ့ แီแို แျแ်းแแ်แွแ်แိုแ်แာแแ ်แုแောแ် แ ိแ်แแ်แ ားแွแ် แกแแ်แါแှแဲ့ แแိုแ်းแောแ်แံแှိแါแแ်။ แ ာแို့แ แแ ်แွေแာ แူแားแွေ แေးแားแို့ แ แแ် แแ်แွแ်แာแဲ့แกแျိแ်แแแ်းแ แှိแာแဲ့แြแါแแ်။ แงแျแ ်แိုแ်แံแแော့ แိုแ်แံแกแแ့်แြแ့် แ ာแို့แ แแ ်แို แ แแ် แแ်แောแ်แဲ့แော แแแแုံးแိုแ်แံแกแြแ ် แှแ်แแ်းแแ်แားแှိแါแแ်။ ၎แ်းแแ် BCE 2400 แုแှแ ်แกแီးแွแ် แ แแ်แဲ့แြီး၊ แိแှိแားแော แกแြီးแုံးแ ာแို့แှแ်แแ်းแแ ်แုแแ် BCE 255 แုแှแ ်แกแိ แှိแေแแ်။ แแแแฆးแ ွာแွแ် แ ာแို့แ แแ ်แို แာแို၊ แုแแ်แျားแှแ့် แ แ ်แူแြီးแျားแ แိแိแို့แိုแ်แံแกแွแ်း แแแ်းแกแျแ်แกแแ်แျား แေးแို့แแ် แกแုံးแြုแဲ့แြแแ်။ แောแ်แိုแ်းแွแ်แော့ แคแ แแ ်แို แုแားแေးแกแွဲ့แกแ แ်းแျားแှแ့် แแာแေးแกแွဲ့แกแ แ်းแျားแกแြား แแแ်းแေးแို့แေးแกแွแ် แแ်แံแျဲ့แွแ် แกแုံးแြုแာแဲ့แြแแ်။Relay stations were established along messenger routes to expedite the delivery of information across vast distances. As these systems evolved to become more efficient and inclusive, the opportunity to send messages via formal postal services was eventually made available to private individuals.
Since the earliest days of royal postal services, mail has been delivered via nearly all possible means: It’s been carried by couriers on foot, horse and wagon, mule, bicycle, train, steamboat, plane, motorcycle, and even dog sled. Here are more fascinating facts about the history of mail and how it has evolved over the centuries to keep us all connected.
The Pony Express Operated for Just 18 Months
In the 1800s, mass migration westward via the Oregon Trail, the arrival of Mormon immigrants in Utah, and the California gold rush all played a role in the need for swift and reliable mail service beyond the Rocky Mountains. The Leavenworth and Pike’s Peak Express Company, which eventually became the parent company of the Pony Express, galloped in to fulfill this need in 1859.
Covering more than 1,900 miles in just 10 days, the Pony Express ran between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California. With horse-changing stations posted at 10- to 15-mile intervals along the route, each rider was able to cover an average of 75 to 100 miles before passing the reins to the next.
However, it wasn’t long before the completion of the transcontinental telegraph system brought an end to the Pony Express. Although the equestrian delivery service looms large as an enduring symbol of the rugged American Old West, it really only ran from April 1860 to October 1861.
แแแแ แြแ့်แှแ ်แျားแกแွแ်း แกိုแီแွแ်แแ်းแြောแ်းแှ แกแောแ်แแ်แို့ แူแกแျားแกแြား แြောแ်းแွှေ့แေแိုแ်แြแ်း၊ แူแာแြแ်แแ်แို့ แော်แแ်แျူแာแแ ်แြောแ်းแာแူแျား แောแ်แှိแြแ်းแှแ့် แแ်แီแို့แီးแားแွแ် แွှေแွေ့แှိแှုแြောแ့် แြแ ်แေါ်แာแော แွှေแူးแกแြောแ်းแกแာแို့แแ် แော့แီแောแ်แျားแกแแ်แွแ် แျแ်แြแ်แြီး แုံแြแ်แแော แ ာแို့แแ်แောแ်แှုแแ ်แုแกแွแ် แိုแกแ်แှု แိုแိုแြแ ်แာแ ေแဲ့แแ်။
Leavenworth แှแ့် Pike’s Peak Express Company แုแေါ်แော แုแ္แแီแแ် 1859 แုแှแ ်แွแ် แိုแိုแกแ်แျแ်แို แြေแှแ်းแแ် แ แแ်แုแ်แောแ်แဲ့แြီး แောแ်แိုแ်းแွแ် แုံแီแกီးแျွแ်း (Pony Express) ၏ แူแแိแားแ ုแုแ္แแီแกแြแ ် แြแ ်แာแဲ့แแ်။
แုံแီแกီးแျွแ်းแแ် Missouri แြแ်แแ်แှိ St. Joseph แှ แ แแ်แြီး California แြแ်แแ်แှိ Sacramento แို့ แာแแ်แกားแြแ့် แแ แแ်แกแွแ်း แ,แแแ แိုแ်แျော် แกแွာแกแေးแို แြแ်แแ်းแဲ့แแ်။ แแ်းแြောแ်းแแ ်แျှောแ်แွแ် แแ แိုแ်แှ แแ แိုแ်แกแွာแกแေးแိုแ်းแွแ် แြแ်းแြောแ်းแ แแ်းแျား แแ်แောแ်แားแြီး แြแ်းแ ီးแူแแ ်แฆးแ ီแแ် แောแ်แแ ်แฆးแံ แြแ်းแกแ်แီ แျแ်းแျှ แแ แိုแ်แှ แแแ แိုแ်แกแိ แ ီးแแ်းแိုแ်แဲ့แแ်။
แို့แာแွแ် แแ ်แျိแ်แแ်းแှာแแ် แแ ်แျှောแ်แแ ်แျှောแ် แแ်แောแ်แေแော แกแေแိแแ် แแ ်แျှောแ်แแ်း แแ်แီแแแ်แ แแ ် (transcontinental telegraph system) แြီးแုံးแာแแ်แှแ့်แกแျှ แုံแီแกီးแျွแ်း แ ာแို့แแ်แောแ်แှုแแ် แกแုံးแแ်แိုแ်แแแ်။
แုံแီแกီးแျွแ်းแแ် แกแေแိแแ် แกแောแ်แောแ်แိုแ်းแแိုแ်းแွแ် แဲแဲแံ့แံ့ แာแแ်แျော်แေแော်แแ်း แแ်แแ်းแกแ แိแ်แแှแ်แဲ့แါแူး။ แกแြแ ်แกแျแ်แกแ 1860 แြแ့်แှแ ် แงแြီแแှ แ แแ်แြီး 1861 แြแ့်แှแ ် แกောแ်แိုแာแแွแ် แกแုံးแแ်แဲ့แါแแ်။
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Mail Service Went International in 1874
Headquartered in Bern, Switzerland, the General Postal Union was established when 22 countries signed the Treaty of Bern on October 9, 1874. The organization was formed with the intent of unifying the multitude of international postal services into a single postal territory and establishing regulations for international mail exchanges.
In 1878, the group’s name was changed to the Universal Postal Union to reflect its fast-growing global membership. Today, the UPU has expanded to 192 member countries and not only sets the guidelines for international mail exchanges, but also serves to advise, mediate, and act as a liaison in postal matters, making recommendations for growth and providing technical assistance as needed.
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People Mailed Fruit, Eggs, and Even Children
Starting January 1, 1913, people were able to send parcels that weighed more than 4 pounds via the U.S. Post Office’s parcel post service. Prior to that, Americans had to rely on private, unregulated express companies to transport their packages.
The service was used primarily by rural farm families to ship their goods, and around 300 million parcels were mailed during the first six months of operations, spurring box manufacturers to design boxes capable of carrying the wide variety of items consumers wanted to ship. Some of these first packages included items such as apples and eggs, but other resourceful customers took advantage by “mailing” their children, because the cost of postage to have a child chaperoned to their destination by a postal worker was cheaper than a train ticket. However, only a few children were “mailed” via the postal service before the postmaster established regulations prohibiting the practice.
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Each Digit of Your ZIP Code Has a Meaning
The 1963 introduction of Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP) codes in the United States aimed to streamline the mail sorting process for faster delivery. Two-digit numerical codes originated during World War II, when post offices faced staffing shortages; the first digit denoted the city, while the second denoted the state.
Those two-digit codes evolved into the five-digit ZIP codes we know today. The first digit represents a broad geographical area, from 0 in the Northeast to 9 in the West; the following two digits designate the code of a central post office facility in that region; and the last two digits represent small post offices or postal zones.
In 1983, the ZIP+4 code was introduced to further increase the precision of mail sorting by adding a hyphen and four more numbers to the five-digit ZIP code. These additional numbers serve to identify specific delivery routes that can represent houses on one side of a street or even a particular building that receives a lot of mail.
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“Snail Mail” Still Isn't Obsolete — Yet
The prevalence of letter writing began to fade in the 19th and 20th centuries as the telegraph and telephone became widely available. Over the past three decades, the convenience of email, texting, and other forms of digital communication have caused another steep drop in the sending and receiving of “snail mail.” A 2021 survey found that 37% percent of Americans hadn’t written a personal letter for more than five years, while 15% of adults reported that they had never written one.
But the sending and receiving of handwritten messages continues to endure on a smaller scale; in fact, the U.S. Postal Service noted an uptick in handwritten notes and cards during the pandemic as people sought to connect during an uncertain and isolating time. In addition, volunteer organizations have used postcard-writing programs to help grassroots groups foster community and encourage people to vote.
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