The beauty of snow-capped peaks of an Arctic wonderland may look heavenly but as someone wisely said, everything is not what it seems. Even the picturesque town of Longyearbyen in remote Norway’s Svalbard island is built on a stringent law which the 2000 residents of the coal-mining locality has to follow. According to reports, it is illegal to die in the town and it has been banned on this island when it was discovered that bodies in the local cemetery were not decomposing because of its climatic condition.
Reportedly, since 1950, none of the bodies have been buried in the local cemetery. If someone is supposed to expire due to ill health, then the person is sent to the mainland. Not just that, even the number of births are limited in this island so almost every expectant mother is encouraged to fly to the mainland and give birth to their baby.
(Source: john6536 /Flickr)
Apparently, this place, which sees no sunlight for months, is located halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole making it the world’s most northernmost settlement in the world.
(Source: gus macleod/Flickr)
Reportedly, when the locals discovered that dead bodies weren’t decomposing in the cemetery, a law was introduced in 1950, making it illegal to die in the town. After detailed examination, scientists also found that bodies of those who died in the 1918 flu pandemic had live samples of the virus on them around 80 years later.
