MIT study: Foil hats *amplify* govt. controlled frequencies

Wow--I guess that's settled, eh? From the depts. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Media Laboratory at MIT: "On the Effectiveness of Aluminium Foil Helmets: An Empirical Study"

This group of intrepid scientists examined the efficacy of aluminum helmuts (3 home-made designs!) on the attenuation of radio frequencies:

...certain frequencies are in fact greatly amplified. These amplified frequencies coincide with radio bands reserved for government use according to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). [...] For all helmets, we noticed a 30 db amplification at 2.6 Ghz and a 20 db amplification at 1.2 Ghz, regardless of the position of the antenna on the cranium. In addition, all helmets exhibited a marked 20 db attenuation at around 1.5 Ghz, with no significant attenuation beyond 10 db anywhere else.

Conclusions? Drumroll...

The helmets amplify frequency bands that coincide with those allocated to the US government between 1.2 Ghz and 1.4 Ghz. According to the FCC, These bands are supposedly reserved for ''radio location'' (ie, GPS), and other communications with satellites. [...] The 2.6 Ghz band coincides with mobile phone technology. Though not affiliated by government, these bands are at the hands of multinational corporations. It requires no stretch of the imagination to conclude that the current helmet craze is likely to have been propagated by the Government, possibly with the involvement of the FCC. We hope this report will encourage the paranoid community to develop improved helmet designs to avoid falling prey to these shortcomings.

Thanks to my husband for sending the original Slashdot.org link :)