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Monday, August 12, 2013

Banned: No Radio, TV, Cellphones, WiFi


The town of Bomont outlawed dancing in the movie Footloose, but the kids in Green Bank, West Virginia live with much worse: no electronics.

That's because the small town of 149 people lies in the middle of the 13,000-square mile National Radio Quiet Zone, according to the Daily Mail.

Scientists use this space to project satellites into space for research, and they can't have waves from personal electronic devices interrupting their signals. That means no radio,  TV, WiFi, cellphones or bluetooth.

Green Bank is home to the largest steerable radio telescope in the world - the Green Bank Telescope. It is arguably the most powerful satellite observing space.

To let the telescope operate without disturbances the town has completely outlawed the use of electronic transmitting devices and a policeman actually patrols the streets looking for wireless signals.

Only first responders are allowed to use radios and there's only one pay phone. Residents still have access to the internet, but at the glacial streaming pace dial-up offers.

1 comment:

  1. Haha.. dont think I could live without electricity or not Internet access.

    ReplyDelete