It was announced this morning that the FAA has finally given permission to passengers to use their personal electronics throughout the duration of their flight. I didn’t always understand why I had to shut off my phone at the beginning and end of my flight, but I did it because it was just a rule and I didn’t think to question it. I will say, however, that my pet peeve with it was having to shut it off right in the middle of my songs. Now I’m glad to learn that I just don’t have to.

The decision couldn’t come soon enough.The ill-conceived electronics ban started back in 1991 when both the FCC and the FAA restricted airplane cellphone use, largely because no one actually knew what a cellphone was, much less how they actually worked. Better safe than sorry. A year later, though, they ran actual tests to see if there there was any valid argument for their blind terror. Surprise! There wasn’t.

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