Of windshields and dots and frits.

I guess the first question is, "Why do windshields have a big black border around them?" It's the frit, an area for adhesive that shields it from UV rays. Then there's the big black dots.

Rather than a straight black edge, the dot border blends the solid band into the clear glass, says Steve Coyle at Auto Glass Specialists. Some windshields also use the dots as a third sun visor to block the Sun behind the rearview mirror where most visors don't reach.

I don't think the blending effect works, resulting in distracting, golf-ball sized dots. They look like Ben Day dots and make me think my car is a Lichtenstein painting.