In the foothills of West Virginia exists a town where it’s illegal to own any electromagnetic device. That means there’s no cell phone reception, Wi-Fi, radio, or television. Why would any place do something like this…and not be Amish?
Simply put, this town exists to observe the wonders of space. Only here will you find the kind of technology that allows us to peer into the cosmos, with all instruments working in the way they were intended. This gives us results that only scratch the surface of our comprehension of the cosmos.
Radio telescopes work by detecting electromagnetic waves that come from distant galaxies.
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The signals are so incredibly faint that the slightest emission of radio waves from electronic devices can interfere with readings.
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That’s why cell phone towers are outlawed for miles around. No music plays on the radio, and there’s no sports on TV.
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In fact, the full boundaries of the device-free zone extend to an area roughly equal to 13,000 square miles. This region is called the National Radio Quiet Zone, and is located around the sparsely populated countryside of West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland.
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Not even gas cars are allowed in this area. Gasoline engines use spark plugs to ignite the fuel-air mixture, and electric sparks produce electromagnetic waves.
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All told, the way of life here is decidedly old school. People keep their doors unlocked, talk regularly with neighbors, and live at a much slower pace.
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It’s also become a beacon for people looking to live in a technology-free zone for health or other reasons.
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“Life isn’t perfect here,” said Diane Schou, one of the first “electrosensitive” immigrants who came to Green Bank with her husband in 2007. “There’s no grocery store, no restaurants, no hospital nearby. But here, at least, I’m healthy. I can do things. I’m not in bed with a headache all the time.”
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(source Amusing Planet)
It’s a wonder that such a place exists in America. Just imagine the funny videos that could be made by simply introducing something as simple as an iPhone to the 140 residents of this small town. Perhaps they’d just laugh at us instead. They seem to have a way of life figured out that’s quite appealing.
