# A tale involving gravity, urine, and a cell phone **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 10, 2003, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-involving-gravity-urine-and-a-cell-phone/180925 "2003-06-10T18:09:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e5b9ba/32.png) [@pestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pestie)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-involving-gravity-urine-and-a-cell-phone/180925/21 "2003-06-11T18:23:57Z")
Just a bit of advice for those who may have wet cell phones: I was in a similar situation once (my girlfriend, bless her heart, dropped her cell phone into the toilet). I dried it like this: get ahold of some dessicant (chemical stuff that sucks water out of the air - silica gel is one you can get at most hardware stores). Put a layer of this in the bottom of a Tupperware-type container, then a layer of paper towel, then the cell phone. Seal it up good and let it sit for a day or so. It’ll dry the phone out quite thoroughly, and much more quickly than just letting the phone sit out in the open air. It worked very well for me. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-involving-gravity-urine-and-a-cell-phone/180925/22 "2003-06-11T21:29:34Z")
Urine? Big deal. That’s nothing. I unknowingly dropped my wallet into my own waste-filled toilet, the night we were having a party, minutes before guests started arriving. The toilet prevented the flush from being successful so it just sat there, bobbing merrily in a ghastly stew of fecal matter waiting to greet unsuspecting guests who stopped off to freshen up. Several guests entered and hastily exited the bathroom before my lovely wife decided to freshen up herself. Not knowing that it was my wallet, she gathered all her strength and summoned the spirit of Miss Manners, who told her it was her duty as a hostess to fish out the wallet using a nail file. Then she fought back the hysterical giggles that kept bubbling up as she tried to compose herself for the task of innocently asking the whole party if anyone had lost a wallet. I checked my back pocket, and lo and behold, my wallet was gone. No problem, it had probably just fallen onto the bathroom floor. Hmmm, what is that look on Mrs. Giraffe’s face? Why is my wallet wet? Wait, did it fall into the toilet after the flush or… Oh no. \The horror…\ While I did not have a truly Costanza-esque wallet, it did have a lot of stuff in it. Driver’s license, social security card, family pictures, credit cards, etc. $22 which I’m proud to say I still spent. (This is why you should never, _ever_ put money in your mouth.) Ugh. Wallet and all contents got thrown away, except for the irreplacables, and the $22. Now I use a money clip, and am much happier. Urine is nothing. I’ll throw my money clip in the urinal right now. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-involving-gravity-urine-and-a-cell-phone/180925/23 "2003-06-12T16:38:44Z")
You know, I just _knew_ that last sentence would kill this thread! ::slinks away in shame:: ---
**Author:** ![Mullinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mullinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mullinator)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-involving-gravity-urine-and-a-cell-phone/180925/24 "2003-06-12T16:49:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Giraffe \* > \*\*You know, I just _knew_ that last sentence would kill this thread! > > ::slinks away in shame:: \*\* Is there anything else you’d be willing to throw into a pool of urine? I think a contest of some sort can be created from this concept. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-involving-gravity-urine-and-a-cell-phone/180925/25 "2003-06-12T17:08:48Z")
In 1997, shortly after I got my first cell phone, I found myself in a very Elvis-like predicatment. I had WAY too much to drink at a company function, and I found myself semi-conscious on the toilet. Aparently I tried to call for help, call 911, order a pizza…something. When I woke up some time later, my cell phone was in the cradle of my pulled-down boxers and pants, around my ankles. I had puked all over it. Phone, pants, legs, everything. I had to take it apart and rinse it really well, but the phone lasted me another 2 years. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-involving-gravity-urine-and-a-cell-phone/180925/26 "2003-06-12T17:44:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mullinator \* > \*\*Is there anything else you’d be willing to throw into a pool of urine? I think a contest of some sort can be created from this concept. \*\* I agree – it would be sort of like one of those slam-dunk contests, but with a urine-filled toilet bowl in place of a basket. I like it, I like it a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Brewer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@Master\_Brewer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Brewer)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-involving-gravity-urine-and-a-cell-phone/180925/27 "2003-06-12T19:45:15Z")
I can’t say that i have any person experience with this, however, i DO have a good friend who dropped thier brand new (\< 1 week old), $350 glasses into a toilet filled with his own feces. Did i mention that he has a true-blue germ phobia? Now THERE is a dilemma. Lets just say that he now has 2 pairs of $350 glasses. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-involving-gravity-urine-and-a-cell-phone/180925/28 "2003-06-12T21:16:02Z")
I’m terrified of losing my glasses in the porcelain bowl of doom. Just terrified. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-involving-gravity-urine-and-a-cell-phone/180925/29 "2003-08-08T16:08:27Z")
Had to bump this thread to ask: **Mullinator** , does your phone still work? I was just wondering 'cause… well… Sniff\_Markers just dropped her phone… and, uh, it was an expensive one with one of those full colour screens… and it made weird noises like “weeeeeee-oo-weeeeeeeeeee…” before she pulled out the battery. It’s still under warranty, but she wants to know if it has a chance of survival. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-involving-gravity-urine-and-a-cell-phone/180925/30 "2003-08-08T18:03:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by friedo \* > \*\*Unzip, reach in, search around a bit, and pull the trouser snake out for some air. No belt manipulation necessary. \*\* You have to search around? That sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Mullinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mullinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mullinator)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-involving-gravity-urine-and-a-cell-phone/180925/31 "2003-08-08T18:10:13Z")
Of all the threads I have started and participated in, I have to think this is one that needn’t have been revived. The answer to your question is yes, the phone still works. I was actually a little amazed at that piece of news. In the immediate aftermath of the dropping and drying out, I actually called the cell phone maker to inquire of their experience with phone reliability after being dropped in a toilet full of urine. They weren’t overly helpful but did say that it would have better odds of survival if not left to soak. In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have mentioned the urine and just said that I dropped it in a swimming pool or something. See the sig below for the aftermath. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-involving-gravity-urine-and-a-cell-phone/180925/32 "2003-08-08T18:18:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mullinator \* > \*\*The answer to your question is yes, the phone still works. I was actually a little amazed at that piece of news. In the immediate aftermath of the dropping and drying out, I actually called the cell phone maker to inquire of their experience with phone reliability after being dropped in a toilet full of urine. They weren’t overly helpful but did say that it would have better odds of survival if not left to soak. > \*\* Ah, thanks. I’ll let Markers know. She’s not hopeful, since she fears the electronics of the fancy full-colour screen might be dead. Oh, and FTR – she just dropped it in a clean toidy. (At the Crayons house, the toidy lid is _always_ closed to prevent just this sort of disaster. Well, that and because one cat drinks out of the toilet, the other cat flushes the toilet, and that’s just a recipe for disaster.) ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-involving-gravity-urine-and-a-cell-phone/180925/33 "2003-08-08T18:50:21Z")
Oh, I forgot to mention: Quite ironically, we have always referred to Markers’s phone as the “the Toilet Phone”, long before this incident happened, because of its [uncanny resemblance to a porcelain throne.](http://www.comparecellular.com/images/phones/image_238thumb.JPG) ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-involving-gravity-urine-and-a-cell-phone/180925/34 "2003-08-08T19:50:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by \*\*Eats\_Crayons \*\*\* > its [uncanny resemblance to a porcelain throne.](http://www.comparecellular.com/images/phones/image_238thumb.JPG) Whoa. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-involving-gravity-urine-and-a-cell-phone/180925.md?page=1)