While major
airlines offer in-flight Wi-Fi on many flights, the signal strength can be
spotty. Airlines and aircraft makers have been striving to improve this with
the growing use of wireless devices and the number of people who don't want to
be disconnected, even 35,000 feet up.
Airplane company uses sacks of potatoes as stand-ins for passengers as
they worked to eliminate weak spots in in-flight wireless signals. They needed
full planes to get accurate results during signal testing, but they couldn't
ask people to sit motionless for days while data was gathered.
It turns out that
potatoes – because of their water content and chemistry – absorb and reflect
radio wave signals much the same way as the human body does, making them suitable
substitutes for airline passengers.
