It is illegal to die in Longyearbyen, Norway — they will deport you if you're dying
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Longyearbyen, the largest town in the Arctic Svalbard archipelago, does not allow people to die there because the permafrost prevents bodies from decomposing. Corpses buried in the 1917 Spanish flu epidemic were found intact in 1998 — still carrying live flu viruses. Since the 1950s, the town has had a policy of deporting terminally ill residents to mainland Norway for their final days. The graveyard has not accepted new residents since 1950. Technically you cannot legally die there.
A town that deports its dying residents because the freezing ground keeps old bodies so well-preserved that 1917 flu viruses were still alive in the 1990s.
The Science Behind It
Longyearbyen, the largest town in the Arctic Svalbard archipelago, does not allow people to die there because the permafrost prevents bodies from decomposing. Corpses buried in the 1917 Spanish flu epidemic were found intact in 1998 — still carrying live flu viruses. Since the 1950s, the town has had a policy of deporting terminally ill residents to mainland Norway for their final days. The graveyard has not accepted new residents since 1950. Technically you cannot legally die there.
Why Your Brain Finds This Hard to Believe
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