# Could someone swallow a mobile phone?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-swallow-a-mobile-phone/702419>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 25, 2014, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-swallow-a-mobile-phone/702419 "2014-10-25T03:10:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Artemis\_Tardis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@Artemis\_Tardis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Artemis_Tardis)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2014, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-swallow-a-mobile-phone/702419/1 "2014-10-25T03:10:59Z")

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People are stupid. Sometimes, when they have their hands full they hold objects with their mouth. Everybody does that - from nails to wallets, from clothes to… mobile phones. Now, let’s say Stue Pee D. is holding his phone on his mouth. It is a small nokia phone, one of those that were popular 10 years ago. Not really a big phone, fits in the palm of Stue’s hands. He trips. And falls, face first. But the phone is in front of his face. Stue swallows his own phone.

Now… would the cellphone survive for a few minutes inside his body? Would it still be able to catch any signal? Would it RING inside of him? And if he opened his mouth… would the ringing be actually louder? and the signal?

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**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2014, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-swallow-a-mobile-phone/702419/2 "2014-10-25T04:13:52Z")

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[At least once.](http://www.nairaland.com/1418537/picture-girl-swallowed-cellphone-avoid)

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**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2014, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-swallow-a-mobile-phone/702419/3 "2014-10-25T04:17:36Z")

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I’ve uh heard prisoners will use the other end of the digestive system to smuggle them in. One would hope lube is involved.

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**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2014, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-swallow-a-mobile-phone/702419/4 "2014-10-25T04:20:59Z")

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> [@chacoguy](#):
>
> [At least once.](http://www.nairaland.com/1418537/picture-girl-swallowed-cellphone-avoid)

Um, that’s a woman in Brazil. The OP is in Brazil, and, I think, a woman. Coincidence or …? :eek:

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**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2014, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-swallow-a-mobile-phone/702419/5 "2014-10-25T08:08:16Z")

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Was she on Orange?