A video simulation showing the air traffic density over a 24 hour period above Europe.

Note to self: Never fly again.

When I was a kid, I always loved going to airport cafes, many of which allowed you to plug your headphones into small boxes where you could listen to the air traffic communications as they occurred. Though I never learned to fly (and in all honesty, HATE flying), I was always curious as to what exactly was going on between the pilots and ground control. So years have passed and never did I imagine I’d be able to listen to pilot to ground communication over the internets, but hey, it *is* the future. LiveATC is a great little community site for aviation enthusiasts, aviation students and flight-sim enthusiasts to monitor live communication from various airports around the world, letting you know exactly how French pilots communicate with Korean air traffic controllers and what exactly angry pilots sound like when their takeoff spot gets scooped up by millionaires in private jets.

Hear more: Live air-traffic communications

I just found a few more reasons never to set foot in another airplane. In August of 2006, a cargo flight enroute to Minneapolis from Calgary slammed headfirst into a fast moving lightning and hail storm, at 35000 feet. The resulting damage looks intense, with the cockpit windows mostly cracked and the radome of the airliner blown apart. After partially losing electricity and radar, the pilots declared an emergency, returning to Calgary in what is reported as an uneventful landing. How the pilots landed this thing I’ll never know.

See more: Hail storm at 35000 feet