Cell phones, having become such an integral part of our lives, have come with their fair share of myths! Sometimes, I feel that it's demeaning that people come up with these things, but alas, there's not much we can do about it (other than blog!). Here are two of my favorite myths!


1. No using cell phone in a petrol pump..

I was sitting in a share-taxi, on the way to Pune. Somewhere near Vashi, the taxi stopped at a petrol bunk to fill up for the journey. I was sitting at the back, trying to find a prudent use to the plethora of time three-hour journeys force down your throat. I fished out my well-hidden cell phone from my bag and began frantically dialing friends, warning them of my trip to Pune. And suddenly, out of nowhere, comes this man (I think he was driving one of the many cars that had stopped for refueling), and told me in a stern voice, "Don't use your cell phone at a petrol pump, it can cause a fire..."

This rule really baffles me. What exactly in a cell phone can cause any harm to a petrol pump? If it was high-powered EM waves that were being transmitted that caused so much harm, then we should be made to switch off our cell phones (just like airplanes, another myth, but let's leave it for now). Cell phones are communicating with towers anyway, and I still cannot see how my cell phone could have caused so much damage to the surroundings!

One way a cell phone might harm a petrol pump is if the driver is on the phone, and is distracted, and maybe, drives off before the hose has been pulled out of the vehicle. But, I still think this is rather far-fetched!


2. Don't use cell phones outside an ATM..

This one has left me thoroughly baffled! More so, because it took place inside IIT, a campus in which reside the most brilliant technical minds of the country, and involved an IITian (who is supposed to be one of the brilliant residents).

The serpentine line outside the little cubicle made the wait look especially boring. Thankfully, my phone cried out, and with great glee, I answered it. No sooner had I got past the "Hello, what's up?", when the guy inside frantically waves from behind the glass, asking me to hang up. When I paid no heed to his request, the glass door creaked open, and he said, "Please don't talk on the phone, it interferes with the signals of the ATM".

Really? You mean, it's that easy to screw up an ATM machine? Imagine, a machine that can give you access to millions of machines all over the nation, is so weak that it cannot handle a cell phone around it? Is that the most robust set-up people think we engineers (yes, I like to call myself an engineer!) can come up with?


It's disheartening to see so little respect given to the guys who spend day and night building robust systems, so that people like you can use your cell phone in any damn place you want...