Plane maker, Boeing has started to use potatoes instead of people for its in-flight wifi system.
Huge sacks of potatoes were placed on the passenger seats of the plane for days as wifi signal strengths were checked, reported the BBC. Boeing said that researchers claimed the potatoes interacted with the wifi signals in a similar way that people do.
"Boeing's engineers did a number of tests to ensure that passengers would get the strongest possible wi-fi signal while in the air, all while meeting safety standards that protect against interference with an aircraft's electrical systems," reported the BBC.
"You want your laptop to work anywhere it's located on your seat, [but] there can be significant signal changes just due to the location of the laptop," said Boeing engineer Dennis Lewis to the BBC.
Boeing noted that the interaction between the signal and the potatoes are very similar for the human body which makes them an ideal stand in. If they used humans they would have to sit motionless for days while the information was gathered.
The UK Potato Council said many people underestimated the humble potato's alternative uses.
"[The examples are] in paper and ink manufacturing, potato starch is used in clothing to strengthen the fibres so they don't break during weaving, and for sweetening - glucose can be extracted from potato starch," said the UK Potato Council's spokeswoman to The BBC.
"For beauty and sores - potatoes have calming, decongestant and astringent properties and raw potatoes can calm tired eyes, potato as alcohol, and potatoes can produce electricity," they added.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
