Nowadays air travel is nearly as common as taking a bus or train, but some mysteries continue 35,000 feet in the air. Airlines don’t want you to know certain things about flying, but these secrets can help you be an informed passenger.

• A smartphone won’t bring down the plane. A phone has never caused a plane to crash.
• Sometimes flight attendants keep meals for themselves so passengers don’t get their first choice.
• Water on a plane is not consumable
• The Pilots eat different meals from everyone else on the plane. It’s not really encouraging, but that’s because there is a chance of food poisoning.
• It’s common for neither pilots nor co-pilots to turn on their airpline mode on phones.
• Even if there is a security threat onboard, the pilots will not open the cabin door.
• Doctors on planes can get upgraded if they volunteer to help a sick traveler.
• If oxygen masks are set, prepare for flat diving…

• Seatbelts on planes are not just for keeping you safe, but for keeping all pieces of your body together in case of a deadly crash.
• It is a common occurrence for lighting to strike a plane.
• If you want to take your pet on a flight think twice – While pets are waiting to be loaded, they can be sitting out on the ramp in sweltering heat or freezing temps with loud plane noises.
• The chimes you hear during a flight are actually a secret code, but it’s typically nothing scary.
• The emergency oxygen mask only lasts about 15 minutes.
• Airplane lavatories can unlock from the outside.
• Flight attendants don’t get paid until the plane doors are closed.
• The tray tables are oftentimes the dirtiest things on an airplane.
• Your flight attendant could probably deliver a baby.
• Some flight attendant programs are harder to get into than Ivy League schools.

Want to read some more fun stuff? Here are 20 Tips for Keeping Safe While Traveling.