Planes changed the way that people travel. Before the advent of the airliner, getting across the ocean involved catching ships and waiting around. With airplanes people could make it from New York City to London in less than a day. This was unheard of. Tourism actually became a thing. Prior to air travel tourism was nothing like the industry it is today. People would never be able to travel as far as they do today in such a short period of time. Planes really did change the landscape of the world. Many nations’ economies today rely partially or totally on the visitors they get from around the world. The crazy thing about all of this is that today we almost take it entirely for granted. Of course you can get be in Tokyo by tomorrow…as long as you have the money! But leisure isn’t the only thing that benefited from air travel. Planes changed the way that wars are fought. Air battles became a thing. Before the World Wars there was no way that you had to worry about being bombed from above except for maybe an occasional spy balloon. These are 25 Strange Facts About Planes And Flying You Might Not Be Aware Of!
Featured Image: Kuster & Wildhaber Photography via Flickr
Freelandia was a not-for-profit airline that started in 1973. It offered waterbeds and other quirks, but went broke in 1974.
Source: wikipedia, Image: pixabay In 1994 an Aeroflot (Russian national airline) captain let his son sit at the controls during a flight. The boy turned off autopilot and the plane crashed killing 75 people.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia There is actually a guide for freefalling out of an airplane without a parachute.
Source: greenharbor.com, Image: Vaughan Leiberum via Flickr In 1955 when Jack Graham blew up a plane to kill his mother he was only charged with one count of murder even though 44 people died. This is because blowing up airplanes was not yet a federal crime.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia Your chance of dying in a car crash is 1 in 5,000. Your chance of dying in a plane crash is 1 in 11 million.
Source: curiosity.com, Image: pixabay 
