Swine Flu To Cripple Internet?

Something else to worry about: too many people home sick overwhelms internet.

Telecommuting is a way of life for most businesses, as the internet keeps us connected to the office, from near and far.

With the swine flu in full swing, businesses have adopted contingency plans to allow their employees to work from home if they are sick, or at least until they get well enough not to infect their colleagues upon their return.

But in the event of a severe pandemic flu emergency, sending millions of workers home, the sheer magnitude of people logging on from their home computers could create so much internet congestion, the entire system could be crippled, a new report from the Government Accountability Office warns.

This is not merely a question of how would we all survive without Google for a few days. (Although that is a frightening prospect) Such an onslaught could imperil the financial markets and even threaten national security, the report states.

A better approach is to encourage all those sick people to get hooked on daytime TV. I hear those game shows are really good now, and the soap operas are better than any movie.