For some, cars are like a second home as the place we spend time getting from work, home, and everywhere else every day.
But no matter how familiar you think you are with your vehicle, you can still discover unnoticed features even years later. For one motorist, they became curious about the small dots located around the car windscreen.
The inquisitive mind took to the internet to see if anyone online could shed some light on the issue. Posting on a Reddit discussion forum, one person asked: "What are those little black dots that surround my windshield for?"
While they seem unimportant, these dots actually serve a necessary purpose as driving without them would actually be quite dangerous, reports The Mirror. It turns out that they help to regulate the windscreen's temperature to keep it from cracking and possibly breaking while on the road.
One response simply responded: "Glass doesn't like sudden temperature change. Black gets hot. Less black gets less hot. No black gets no hot. It spreads out the hot."
For a more technical explanation, a statement on the Autoglaze website reads: "The black dots, or dot matrix, actually help distribute temperature evenly to lessen optical distortion or lensing.
"This happens when the frit band (the solid black one) heats up much faster than the windscreen's glass, creating an optical distortion that makes either straight lines look curved or bowed inwards toward the centre.
"Those 'gradually sinking' black dots help lessen this phenomenon by dissipating the heat and spreading it out evenly."
But this isn't their only purpose as they also help "preserve the urethane sealant used to bond the glass to the frame", meaning your windscreen stays firmly glued in to place.
The statement adds: "They serve as a contact point between the glass and car frame. They create etches on the surface, making them rougher so the adhesive can stick better to the glass.
"Frits are also there for aesthetic purposes. If you look closely, the contrast between the dark band and the transparent glass can look too obvious even when viewed from afar.
"Creating a halftone pattern or dot-matrix allows a gradual decrease in size, making the transition much more subtle and easier on the eyes."
Commenting on the revelation, one Reddit user said: " That is brilliant and simple. So simple that it isn’t believable but so believable that it can’t be that simple!"
Another user added: "Ok, that makes sense. But why is it on the windshield, rear windshield, and quarter glass, but not on the operable windows?"
A third user said: "I am stunned at the amount that I have learned about frit today."
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