The Waffle Hose Index for the uninitiated [Link] was a moderatly usefull (and humerous) idea thought up by the US Federal Emergency Managment Aganecy (FEMA) to determine the accessability of the area after a disaster.

It takes time to get to an area, even longer if the roads are damaged, so one of the first things to do is to try and call someone local. Waffle House happens to be open 24-7, and has an unusually comprehensive emergency preparedness policy. In a lot of cases they can run for days on a limited menu without power and running water. The only reasons they would not pick up the phone is that telecommunications were down (which FEMA would want to know anyway), that the staff cant get to the resturant (which is also usefull to know) or that the resturant is gone and Amaerica is down one of its finest off-hours eating establishments.