Potatoes absorb Wi-Fi signals and are used to test/improve internet signals on airplanes


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. Passenger seats on a decommissioned plane were loaded with huge sacks of the tubers for several days as signal strengths were checked. Wireless signals fluctuate randomly in the enclosed space of an aeroplane cabin as people move about. This means that signal distribution is uneven throughout the cabin, with weaker and stronger connectivity in different seats.