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Matchanu t1_jdvbdhl wrote

Out of curiosity, what did you previously think their purpose was?

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Hedfuct82 t1_jdvct63 wrote

Replying to Matchanu (#2,391,076)

Yeah, I don't recall ever not knowing they were for planes. Some kids are just more curious than others and I must have asked what they were for. Or I knew the long standalone red beacons were for planes, and just figured the ones on top of building were for the same purpose.

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artisnotsubjective t1_jdvgslf wrote

Wait till you learn about those red/white balls on high voltage power lines...

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Veritas3333 t1_jdvkiqs wrote

Fun fact: the castle at Disney world was specifically built one foot shorter than the height that would require a red light at the top.

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TryPokingIt t1_jdvl9wi wrote

And the series of three multicolored vertical lights at road intersections are meant to control traffic flow

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Frox333 t1_jdvuwiq wrote

In addition, stop signs are octagons that are colored red

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Shoopdawoop993 t1_jdvxla3 wrote

TIL that the red lights at the back of motor vehicles across the globe are called "tail lights" and are used to help drivers of low flying automobiles avoid collisions with other otherwise hard to see cars.

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Sunsparc t1_jdw4nv6 wrote

This is the case for any structure that exceeds 200ft above ground level. You'll see them on top of radio and cell towers as well.

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Waffleman75 t1_jdweji4 wrote

I've know this since I was a kid. How old are you OP?

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Larkson9999 t1_jdwgv7a wrote

Tall towers are painted red and white to help them stand out better against a blue sky during the day too. And beacon lights at the top are required in cities normally over 100ft but after 300 ft you also need side light beacons too. Some towers are specifically built to be 295ft tall so they can save money on maintaining three lights.

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Psych_Crisis t1_jdwt5f8 wrote

I worked in radio for awhile, and at night we had a procedure where the board operator (the only person in the building over night) checks the transmitters periodically to make sure they're operating within certain specs. After dark, you also have to check a little indicator for the lights on the tower.

One night the indicator said the lights weren't on. I called the chief engineer and woke him up. He advised me on power cycling the whole thing, and said "if the lights don't come back on, you're going to be spending some time on the phone with the FAA." Luckily, they did. Learned something about my job that night, though.

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hooptyboots18 t1_jdxdkj6 wrote

And we climb those tall towers to change those bulbs.

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Gold-Difficulty6557 t1_je00phk wrote

Yet, people still seem to fly right into buildings; and strangely many high profile people at that. 🙄

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citizenjones t1_je03p7f wrote

That thing sure is tall. Look, it has a light on it so planes and helicopters don't hit it.

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LillyPip t1_je0xobq wrote

Replying to Shoopdawoop993 (#2,394,451)

I asked my dad as a child what the lights on towers were for, too. He said ‘so planes don’t hit the towers’. Then I asked what the towers were for, and he said ‘to hold up the lights’. That messed with my head for years.

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