If living in the time to come has taught us anything , it ’s this : that no matter how smart you think you are , you’realwaysjust one well - placed social spiritualist post away from having your creative thinker blown by some all basic life skill or fact that has somehow passed you by .

In the last year alone , for example , we ’ve hadcontroversyover where the right topographic point to store cetchup is;minds blownover how the “ I am not a robot ” exam account for sneaky golem ; diets pass by the discoveries of what lead intoallspice , paprika , andparmesan ; and , to the horror of elder Millennials everywhere , a need to explainwhat screensavers were for .

Now it ’s the turn of the frit – which , as we ’re indisputable you already know , is the name for one of those little dots around the edge of your car ’s windscreen .

Made from sunbaked - on ceramic key that ca n’t be removed , these funky spot , plus the bighearted inglorious “ frit band ” that they clot into , serve three chief function : complex body part , prophylactic , and aesthetic .

So , first of all , the frit banding is life-sustaining for simply keeping the windshield attached to your car . Seems like a tall social club for a line of disgraceful paint , we know , but it ’s in reality a pretty clever and multi - utilisation stripe : not only does the grating ceramic rouge provide a better , more grippy aerofoil for the urethane sealant connecting the windowpane and the vehicle frame , but it also protects that glue from the ultraviolet light that would otherwise break it down .

“ The modernistic windshield is a marvel of engineering , and dare we say one of the most underappreciated constituent of a fomite . Part of that engine room involve how the windscreen is bonded to the frame , ” explains ablog postfrom North Carolina - based bodyshop DeDona Tint and Glass .

“ While the inward facing side of the frit appropriate adhesive to bond to the meth , the outbound facing side of the frit acts as a carapace against ultraviolet illumination radiation for protect the adhesive bond , which would otherwise be weakened by continual pic to direct sunlight . ”

But that is n’t the only orderly while of science going on . The frits are also a refuge feature : the battery-acid ground substance , as the pattern of ever - smaller spots dissolve into the center of the jury is cognise , also helps reduce an optic optical aberration known as “ lensing ” .

This force is actually take care mostly during the creation of the windscreen , one engineer with Pittsburgh Glass Works toldJalopnik . To bend the glass , the window instrument panel are exposed to heat of over 700 ° C ( 1,292 ° F ) – and a thick black stripe around the edge would absorb that thermal energymuch fasterthan transparent meth .

But a astute heat gradient like that would causeuneven refractile indicesacross the windscreen – making straight lines look curved or bowed towards the midpoint of the glass . Since driving is easier when you may see by rights , the dot matrix is a clean solution to stop this effect from occurring : by allow a smoother transition from black to transparent , they dissipate the warmth more evenly across the screen .

eventually , the frits are there to – well , just to look nice . The set covers up the glue sequester the windscreen to the human body ; the dot ground substance makes for a more subtle change between the frit stripe and the screen ; and , in more modern cars that may have the so - call “ third visor frit ” , they can also stop the Sunday from peep in between the visor and blind you on the road .

So , there you have it : the frits . Not just a senseless pattern with a fishy name , but an ingenious feat of automotive engineering .

An early version of this article was published inNovember 2023 .