April 10, 2017 • 11 mins
Is scattering ashes technically littering? Will circular runways be the future of airports? Can the TSA search the data in your electronic devices? In this episode, these questions are answered and only two bad puns are made.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to How Stuff Works Now. I'm your host, Lauren Vogelbaum,
a researcher and writer, here at How Stuff Works every
week and bringing you three stories from our team about
the weird and wondrous advances we've seen in science, technology,
and culture. This week, we look for answers to three questions,
might circular airport runways provide the best way to fly?
(00:23):
And unrelated, when you scatter someone's ashes? Are you actually littering?
But first, our senior editor Katherine Whitburne, along with freelance
writer Patrick Jake Tiger, explore one that ties into the
enhanced security being practiced at airports these days. If you
check your electronic devices on a flight, will your data
be searched? When you check your luggage in a US airport,
(00:49):
you're technically allowing the Transportation Security Administration to search your bags. Yes,
they can do that. But here's the other privacy question.
Can the t S A search the data inside an
electronic device they find in your suitcase? Back in March,
the Department of Homeland Security announced what it called an
aviation security enhancement for travelers coming to the US from
(01:11):
ten airports in eight Muslim majority countries. People on these
flights can no longer bring electronic devices bigger than a
smartphone as carry on items in the plane's main cabin.
That means laptop, computers, tablets, and other devices have to
be checked as baggage. Homeland Security hasn't said exactly what
terrorist threat led to the change in policy, but some
(01:31):
travelers warned that the laptop rule might have a hidden
purpose to separate travelers from their devices so that someone
can access them or even install tracking software or malware
in them. A spokesperson for the t s A says
the Department of Homeland Security is not using this new
measure to look at anyone's data. She also points out
that neither Homeland Security nor the t s A has
(01:53):
staff screening baggage in foreign airports. Even so, there's something
else to consider once travelers arrive on US, so all
of the devices they bring along, including their laptops, smartphones,
and tablets, are subject to search by officials from u
S Customs and Border Protection, which is a branch of
Homeland Security. The American Civil Liberties Union looked into the issue,
(02:13):
and they say customs agents can ask travelers for their
passwords and tours from other countries must comply, or else
they can't come into the US. American citizens don't face
that risk, but they can still be temporarily detained, and
agents can take away their devices and hold them for months.
This is a growing problem. According to Homeland Security, the
(02:33):
number of cell phone searches by border agents has mushroomed
from five thousand and twenty fifteen to twenty five thousand
and twenty sixteen, and it looks like twenty seventeen will
break that record easily. Five thousand devices were searched in
February alone, more than in all of so far, federal
courts have found that government searches at ports of entry
don't violate the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable search and seizure,
(02:57):
but the courts have imposed a fuel limitation. In twenty thirteen,
the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rule that agents can
give your phone or laptop a brief look without having
to justify themselves, but they need to have reasonable suspicion
that you've committed a crime to conduct a heavy duty
forensic search, which might include searching meta data for files
or restoring files that have been deleted. But the A. C. L.
(03:18):
You argues that those powers will still give agents too
much leeway because even a quick search can turn up
a lot of sensitive information. To combat that, Democratic Senator
Ron Widen and Republican Senator Round Paul are introducing a
law that would require agents to get a warrant before
looking through the contents of American citizens electronic devices. In
the meantime, the a c L YOU advise the travelers
(03:40):
to take us few devices and as little personal data
with them as possible when they're coming to the US. Also,
if you're curious about how anyone can best protect their
devices and data while flying, search for the Electronic Frontier
Foundations Guide for Travelers. They are another privacy advocacy group,
and it's a good guide. Next Step Stuff editor Christopher
(04:02):
Hasiotis and our freelancer Jescelyn Shields dig into Oh No,
that's terrible. They explore the emotionally and legally complex burial
tradition of scattering ashes. Somebody you love dies and it's awful.
What's worse, sometimes you're even put in charge of figuring
(04:25):
out how to deal with their remains. It's sad, it's stressful,
it's a huge responsibility, and it's unfortunately complicated. Case in point,
even if you're departed chose to have their remains cremated
and scattered in a special place they loved in life,
there are laws regulating where you can dump out and
urn full of human ashes. Of course, most people don't
(04:47):
know this or even consider the laws when dealing with
something so personal, because the popularity of cremation is relatively
new and the laws aren't often enforced. The laws about
getting rid of ashes aren't as widely known and respected as, say,
traffic laws, but more people are choosing cremation all the time.
According to the Cremation Association of North America, in nineteen
(05:08):
fifty eight, fewer than four percent of Americans chose to
be cremated, but that number is expected to be around
fifty by the year two thousand eighteen. For centuries, cremation
wasn't really done in Western countries because many churches believe
it conflicted with religious doctrine. The Catholic Church, for instance,
prohibited cremation until nineteen sixty three. These days, the Vatican
(05:29):
allows it under most circumstances, but still insists the ashes
be buried, not scattered. But many people ask that their
ashes be scattered in a place they loved after death.
And while there's a greater amount of human bone ash
being scattered around than ever before, it doesn't occur to
most of us that pouring Grandpa's ashes in his favorite
fishing river could be illegal, which it is. Although no
(05:49):
enforcement agency exists in the United States to ride around
busting people, most states do have their own scattering laws,
the particulars of which can vary wildly, and some federal
laws take press sentence over those state laws. For instance,
even though the state of Texas says you can scatter
ashes in a public waterway, the Federal Clean Water Act
prohibits scattering human ashes into freshwater bodies like lakes, rivers,
(06:11):
and streams, though in most cases it's possible to obtain
permits from both the federal and state agency. And although
you can get a permit from the U. S Environmental
Protection Agency for a burial at sea, you still have
to scatter the ashes at least three in nautical miles,
which is three point five miles or five point six
kilometers from the shore. Federal law also prohibits tossing an
(06:33):
urn full of ashes out of an airplane or helicopter,
but that's because it could hurt someone on the ground.
You also can't trespass onto anyone's property in order to
scatter ashes there unless you have written permission from the landowner,
although that's a trespassing violation that would apply regardless of
why you're on that property. And if you're looking to
unload your loved one's ashes on public land a national park,
(06:54):
say for someone who loved the Grand Canyon or Point
Doom State Park in Malibu, California, as in an iconic
scene from the ninete classic The Big Lebowski, you have
to obtain permission from the park beforehand. These days, though,
reducing a person into a jar full of ashes to
be disposed of doesn't have to be the end of
the line. For instance, the Neptune Society, the largest cremation
(07:17):
provider in the US, owns a reef off the coast
of Florida that they've turned into an underwater mausoleum. There,
people's cremated remains have been turned into concrete sculptures that
provide habitat for sea life. Jeff stab president of Cremation Solutions,
a Vermont based company that sells memorial earns and creates
keepsakes and jewelry out of Ashes. Started his company in
(07:38):
two thousand six to provide people with information about scattering
and options for crafting ashes into meaningful objects. Stab says,
so many people are afraid to scatter because they don't
know what the laws are and their loved one ends
up in an urn in the closet or in the attic.
People aren't sure how to do it, and it interferes
with the healing process. Other companies are getting creative too,
(07:59):
and will transform cremines into coffee cups. For instance, Stobs
firm cells, biodegradable earns that dissolving water, earns that can
be converted into bird houses after the ashes are scattered
urns that can be planted with a tree, and even
the popular loved One launcher, a handheld ash scattering cannon,
says Stob. People just load one of these things up
(08:19):
with the ashes, confetti and streamers, and we'll even do
it at an event with people toasting champagne. They'll blast
the ashes off a cliff or even right over the
whole crowd and everybody gets anointed. Well, there's another thing
to remember to inquire about at a memorial service. On
top of donations, flowers and dress code. What's the polight
way to ask? Uh? Just wondering are the cremated remains
(08:41):
of the deceased going to be launched into the crowd? Finally,
this week, our video producer Ramsey Youunt and freelance writer
Patrick Jake Higer again have a lighter one for us
about the future of air trap. Will circular airport runways
(09:02):
ever take off? We're accustomed to the idea of airplanes
taking off from and landing on long, flat strips of pavement,
but a consortium of European aviation researchers who are behind
the Endless Brundaway project wants to change that. The group
envisions the airport of the future as having a terminal
(09:23):
in the middle and spokes leading to a circular runway
that is two point two miles or three and a
half kilometers in diameter and has a bank surface, sort
of like a racetrack. Proponents of circular runways argue that
as such a space saving configuration would reduce the amount
of land needed for aviation, which potentially might free up
valuable real estate for other uses. They say it would
(09:45):
be more efficient since up to three aircraft could take
off or land on a circular runway at any time,
and that it can handle overall four times in the
traffic of a regular runway. Hank Hatlink, a researcher for
the Netherlands Aerospace Center, also proposed that would be safer
in a recent BBC News interview. He said that because
aircraft could take off and land from any point in
(10:07):
the circle, that could avoid tricky cross winds and capitalize
on headwinds. Additionally, circular runways could eliminate those rough roller
coaster like takeoffs. Histlink told the BBC that passengers would
experience a sensation similar to when the aircraft makes a
turn in the air. Because of centrifugical force, the aircraft
would move at a slower speed during takeoff. So far,
(10:29):
the endless runway has only been tested in simulations, but
the idea has prompted a lot of debate. Other experts
have weighed in opposing the idea, citing reasons from traction
to visibility issues and shifting winds. Also, a curved runway
will add extra steps and landing, so season pilots will
have to be trained to land tilted to ensure safety
(10:51):
of their passengers. That's our show for this week. Thank
you so much for tuning in. Further thanks to our
audio producer Dylan Fagan and our editorial Liaison's Christopher Hasiotis
and Alison louder Milk. Subscribe to now Now for more
of the latest science news and send us links to
anything you'd like to hear us cover. Plus, Hey, do
(11:12):
you have any toys from childhood that you've hung onto
or even repurchased? I'm staring at an action figure of
Egon Spangler as I type this. You can send us
an email at now Podcast pas stuff works dot com,
and of course, for lots more stories like these, head
on over to our home planet now Not how Stuff
Works dot com
Welcome to How Stuff Works Now. I'm your host, Lauren Vogelbaum,
a researcher and writer, here at How Stuff Works every
week and bringing you three stories from our team about
the weird and wondrous advances we've seen in science, technology,
and culture. This week, we look for answers to three questions,
might circular airport runways provide the best way to fly?
(00:23):
And unrelated, when you scatter someone's ashes? Are you actually littering?
But first, our senior editor Katherine Whitburne, along with freelance
writer Patrick Jake Tiger, explore one that ties into the
enhanced security being practiced at airports these days. If you
check your electronic devices on a flight, will your data
be searched? When you check your luggage in a US airport,
(00:49):
you're technically allowing the Transportation Security Administration to search your bags. Yes,
they can do that. But here's the other privacy question.
Can the t S A search the data inside an
electronic device they find in your suitcase? Back in March,
the Department of Homeland Security announced what it called an
aviation security enhancement for travelers coming to the US from
(01:11):
ten airports in eight Muslim majority countries. People on these
flights can no longer bring electronic devices bigger than a
smartphone as carry on items in the plane's main cabin.
That means laptop, computers, tablets, and other devices have to
be checked as baggage. Homeland Security hasn't said exactly what
terrorist threat led to the change in policy, but some
(01:31):
travelers warned that the laptop rule might have a hidden
purpose to separate travelers from their devices so that someone
can access them or even install tracking software or malware
in them. A spokesperson for the t s A says
the Department of Homeland Security is not using this new
measure to look at anyone's data. She also points out
that neither Homeland Security nor the t s A has
(01:53):
staff screening baggage in foreign airports. Even so, there's something
else to consider once travelers arrive on US, so all
of the devices they bring along, including their laptops, smartphones,
and tablets, are subject to search by officials from u
S Customs and Border Protection, which is a branch of
Homeland Security. The American Civil Liberties Union looked into the issue,
(02:13):
and they say customs agents can ask travelers for their
passwords and tours from other countries must comply, or else
they can't come into the US. American citizens don't face
that risk, but they can still be temporarily detained, and
agents can take away their devices and hold them for months.
This is a growing problem. According to Homeland Security, the
(02:33):
number of cell phone searches by border agents has mushroomed
from five thousand and twenty fifteen to twenty five thousand
and twenty sixteen, and it looks like twenty seventeen will
break that record easily. Five thousand devices were searched in
February alone, more than in all of so far, federal
courts have found that government searches at ports of entry
don't violate the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable search and seizure,
(02:57):
but the courts have imposed a fuel limitation. In twenty thirteen,
the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rule that agents can
give your phone or laptop a brief look without having
to justify themselves, but they need to have reasonable suspicion
that you've committed a crime to conduct a heavy duty
forensic search, which might include searching meta data for files
or restoring files that have been deleted. But the A. C. L.
(03:18):
You argues that those powers will still give agents too
much leeway because even a quick search can turn up
a lot of sensitive information. To combat that, Democratic Senator
Ron Widen and Republican Senator Round Paul are introducing a
law that would require agents to get a warrant before
looking through the contents of American citizens electronic devices. In
the meantime, the a c L YOU advise the travelers
(03:40):
to take us few devices and as little personal data
with them as possible when they're coming to the US. Also,
if you're curious about how anyone can best protect their
devices and data while flying, search for the Electronic Frontier
Foundations Guide for Travelers. They are another privacy advocacy group,
and it's a good guide. Next Step Stuff editor Christopher
(04:02):
Hasiotis and our freelancer Jescelyn Shields dig into Oh No,
that's terrible. They explore the emotionally and legally complex burial
tradition of scattering ashes. Somebody you love dies and it's awful.
What's worse, sometimes you're even put in charge of figuring
(04:25):
out how to deal with their remains. It's sad, it's stressful,
it's a huge responsibility, and it's unfortunately complicated. Case in point,
even if you're departed chose to have their remains cremated
and scattered in a special place they loved in life,
there are laws regulating where you can dump out and
urn full of human ashes. Of course, most people don't
(04:47):
know this or even consider the laws when dealing with
something so personal, because the popularity of cremation is relatively
new and the laws aren't often enforced. The laws about
getting rid of ashes aren't as widely known and respected as, say,
traffic laws, but more people are choosing cremation all the time.
According to the Cremation Association of North America, in nineteen
(05:08):
fifty eight, fewer than four percent of Americans chose to
be cremated, but that number is expected to be around
fifty by the year two thousand eighteen. For centuries, cremation
wasn't really done in Western countries because many churches believe
it conflicted with religious doctrine. The Catholic Church, for instance,
prohibited cremation until nineteen sixty three. These days, the Vatican
(05:29):
allows it under most circumstances, but still insists the ashes
be buried, not scattered. But many people ask that their
ashes be scattered in a place they loved after death.
And while there's a greater amount of human bone ash
being scattered around than ever before, it doesn't occur to
most of us that pouring Grandpa's ashes in his favorite
fishing river could be illegal, which it is. Although no
(05:49):
enforcement agency exists in the United States to ride around
busting people, most states do have their own scattering laws,
the particulars of which can vary wildly, and some federal
laws take press sentence over those state laws. For instance,
even though the state of Texas says you can scatter
ashes in a public waterway, the Federal Clean Water Act
prohibits scattering human ashes into freshwater bodies like lakes, rivers,
(06:11):
and streams, though in most cases it's possible to obtain
permits from both the federal and state agency. And although
you can get a permit from the U. S Environmental
Protection Agency for a burial at sea, you still have
to scatter the ashes at least three in nautical miles,
which is three point five miles or five point six
kilometers from the shore. Federal law also prohibits tossing an
(06:33):
urn full of ashes out of an airplane or helicopter,
but that's because it could hurt someone on the ground.
You also can't trespass onto anyone's property in order to
scatter ashes there unless you have written permission from the landowner,
although that's a trespassing violation that would apply regardless of
why you're on that property. And if you're looking to
unload your loved one's ashes on public land a national park,
(06:54):
say for someone who loved the Grand Canyon or Point
Doom State Park in Malibu, California, as in an iconic
scene from the ninete classic The Big Lebowski, you have
to obtain permission from the park beforehand. These days, though,
reducing a person into a jar full of ashes to
be disposed of doesn't have to be the end of
the line. For instance, the Neptune Society, the largest cremation
(07:17):
provider in the US, owns a reef off the coast
of Florida that they've turned into an underwater mausoleum. There,
people's cremated remains have been turned into concrete sculptures that
provide habitat for sea life. Jeff stab president of Cremation Solutions,
a Vermont based company that sells memorial earns and creates
keepsakes and jewelry out of Ashes. Started his company in
(07:38):
two thousand six to provide people with information about scattering
and options for crafting ashes into meaningful objects. Stab says,
so many people are afraid to scatter because they don't
know what the laws are and their loved one ends
up in an urn in the closet or in the attic.
People aren't sure how to do it, and it interferes
with the healing process. Other companies are getting creative too,
(07:59):
and will transform cremines into coffee cups. For instance, Stobs
firm cells, biodegradable earns that dissolving water, earns that can
be converted into bird houses after the ashes are scattered
urns that can be planted with a tree, and even
the popular loved One launcher, a handheld ash scattering cannon,
says Stob. People just load one of these things up
(08:19):
with the ashes, confetti and streamers, and we'll even do
it at an event with people toasting champagne. They'll blast
the ashes off a cliff or even right over the
whole crowd and everybody gets anointed. Well, there's another thing
to remember to inquire about at a memorial service. On
top of donations, flowers and dress code. What's the polight
way to ask? Uh? Just wondering are the cremated remains
(08:41):
of the deceased going to be launched into the crowd? Finally,
this week, our video producer Ramsey Youunt and freelance writer
Patrick Jake Higer again have a lighter one for us
about the future of air trap. Will circular airport runways
(09:02):
ever take off? We're accustomed to the idea of airplanes
taking off from and landing on long, flat strips of pavement,
but a consortium of European aviation researchers who are behind
the Endless Brundaway project wants to change that. The group
envisions the airport of the future as having a terminal
(09:23):
in the middle and spokes leading to a circular runway
that is two point two miles or three and a
half kilometers in diameter and has a bank surface, sort
of like a racetrack. Proponents of circular runways argue that
as such a space saving configuration would reduce the amount
of land needed for aviation, which potentially might free up
valuable real estate for other uses. They say it would
(09:45):
be more efficient since up to three aircraft could take
off or land on a circular runway at any time,
and that it can handle overall four times in the
traffic of a regular runway. Hank Hatlink, a researcher for
the Netherlands Aerospace Center, also proposed that would be safer
in a recent BBC News interview. He said that because
aircraft could take off and land from any point in
(10:07):
the circle, that could avoid tricky cross winds and capitalize
on headwinds. Additionally, circular runways could eliminate those rough roller
coaster like takeoffs. Histlink told the BBC that passengers would
experience a sensation similar to when the aircraft makes a
turn in the air. Because of centrifugical force, the aircraft
would move at a slower speed during takeoff. So far,
(10:29):
the endless runway has only been tested in simulations, but
the idea has prompted a lot of debate. Other experts
have weighed in opposing the idea, citing reasons from traction
to visibility issues and shifting winds. Also, a curved runway
will add extra steps and landing, so season pilots will
have to be trained to land tilted to ensure safety
(10:51):
of their passengers. That's our show for this week. Thank
you so much for tuning in. Further thanks to our
audio producer Dylan Fagan and our editorial Liaison's Christopher Hasiotis
and Alison louder Milk. Subscribe to now Now for more
of the latest science news and send us links to
anything you'd like to hear us cover. Plus, Hey, do
(11:12):
you have any toys from childhood that you've hung onto
or even repurchased? I'm staring at an action figure of
Egon Spangler as I type this. You can send us
an email at now Podcast pas stuff works dot com,
and of course, for lots more stories like these, head
on over to our home planet now Not how Stuff
Works dot com
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