Home Again
We just spent a few days in Disneyland, and Disney has this technique that they use in a number of rides to invoke a sense of unease, to make you think that something bad could happen at any minute.
The power flickers on and off.
The balky generator at the Indiana Jones ride. The spooky Hollywood Tower Hotel. Either one could plunge you into darkness at any minute.
Another ride that uses this technique is a commercial airliner.
I don't know why, but every jet I've been on, as part of detaching from the gate, probably when they're switching from ground-based power to internal power, goes through this process where the TVs flicker off and on, the lights dim or go out for a second, the air conditioning stops.. and every time, I think "if this happens in mid-air, we're doomed!".
Seriously - I don't much like flying, and this doesn't help. Can't we somehow buffer the power in a plane so the passengers don't have to watch the plane's systems struggle under a brief power failure before every takeoff?