# My cell phone just survived a 10 story plunge **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 9, 2005, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cell-phone-just-survived-a-10-story-plunge/293689 "2005-03-09T17:51:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mullinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mullinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mullinator)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cell-phone-just-survived-a-10-story-plunge/293689/1 "2005-03-09T17:51:01Z")
I was at a breaking point in the midst of my [stair climbing saga](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=5928138#post5928138) and decided to take a break on the top floor of the parking garage. Leaning on the ledge and looking at architecture, city layout, and clouds it appears that I forgot that I set my cell phone on the ledge. Pushing off to walk away, I managed to brush it off to the ground below. It was really quite beautiful. A slowly spinning phone without a care in the world, no clue that something very hard was approaching very quickly. Meanwhile, I can’t even take joy in the Wile E. Coyote like plunge. I realize this is probably going to be a bad thing for the phone’s working condition. I did notice that it landed sort of in a bush (although being March it could be better described as a twig ball.) After rushing down the stairs (because time was of the essence I guess), I got to the ground level and found my phone, nary a scratch on it which defies all medical logic. Everything works, even the camera. I may have to move to Hollywood just so this phone can do stunt work in movies and help keep superstar phones a little bit safer. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cell-phone-just-survived-a-10-story-plunge/293689/2 "2005-03-09T18:47:57Z")
> [@Mullinator](#): > > I was at a breaking point in the midst of my [stair climbing saga](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=5928138#post5928138) and decided to take a break on the top floor of the parking garage. Leaning on the ledge and looking at architecture, city layout, and clouds it appears that I forgot that I set my cell phone on the ledge. Pushing off to walk away, I managed to brush it off to the ground below. > > It was really quite beautiful. A slowly spinning phone without a care in the world, no clue that something very hard was approaching very quickly. Meanwhile, I can’t even take joy in the Wile E. Coyote like plunge. I realize this is probably going to be a bad thing for the phone’s working condition. I did notice that it landed sort of in a bush (although being March it could be better described as a twig ball.) > > After rushing down the stairs (because time was of the essence I guess), I got to the ground level and found my phone, nary a scratch on it which defies all medical logic. Everything works, even the camera. I may have to move to Hollywood just so this phone can do stunt work in movies and help keep superstar phones a little bit safer. Umm…what **brand** cellphone, please? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![LeeshaJoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@LeeshaJoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LeeshaJoy)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cell-phone-just-survived-a-10-story-plunge/293689/3 "2005-03-09T19:20:19Z")
Get in touch with your cell phone company and see how much they’ll pay you for this testimony. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cell-phone-just-survived-a-10-story-plunge/293689/4 "2005-03-09T19:25:03Z")
What a feat for super cellphone. Actually, the things appear to be pretty forgiving. Once, I had my cellphone in my shirt pocket (not wise by the way). I was in the bathroom peeing and when I bent to flush, my cellphone fell into the toilet. :eek: :o I fished it out, ran it under some warm water using a mild soap and let it dry out overnight. I figured it was a goner. The next day I turned it on and it worked like nuttin’ ever happened. Thus far we have learned cellphones can survive a ten story fall and pee. Mine’s a Cingular. ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cell-phone-just-survived-a-10-story-plunge/293689/5 "2005-03-09T19:28:56Z")
Your phone is **Unbreakable** like Bruce Willis! My old phone must be Sam Jackson then because if you looked at it wrong the antenna would fall out. Mine was a Motorola by the way. If the damnned thing hadn’t been free I would have asked for a refund. ---
**Author:** ![Mullinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mullinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mullinator)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cell-phone-just-survived-a-10-story-plunge/293689/6 "2005-03-09T19:38:47Z")
Mine is Verizon, which apparently uses some kind of flubber in the construction process. Even the battery stayed attached. Now that I think about it, physically it’s fine but it probably puts out some kind of funky radiation that will kill me or make me grow a third ear. Of course, I could get lucky and get the superhero causing radiation. That would be pretty sweet. ---
**Author:** ![Jaade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dfb087/32.png) [@Jaade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaade)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cell-phone-just-survived-a-10-story-plunge/293689/7 "2005-03-09T20:07:43Z")
Does that mean you didn’t get to finish your stair-climbing today? How far were you? Will you start over today or just skip it until tomorrow? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cell-phone-just-survived-a-10-story-plunge/293689/8 "2005-03-09T20:22:22Z")
> [@swampbear](#): > > Thus far we have learned cellphones can survive a ten story fall and pee. Mine’s a Cingular. Do they usually pee on the way down, or afterwards? :eek: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mullinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mullinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mullinator)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cell-phone-just-survived-a-10-story-plunge/293689/9 "2005-03-09T20:25:55Z")
> [@Jaade](#): > > Does that mean you didn’t get to finish your stair-climbing today? How far were you? Will you start over today or just skip it until tomorrow? Oh, I finished, no doubts about that. Note in the story where I ran down the stairs to get to the phone. Trust me, the elevator would have been quicker but it would also have thrown off my rhythm. I have a commitment to the plan that is fairly unwavering. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cell-phone-just-survived-a-10-story-plunge/293689/10 "2005-03-10T20:00:49Z")
> [@](#): > > Thus far we have learned cellphones can survive a ten story fall and pee. Add a leisurely swim to the mix. I was at a kid’s pool party last summer. I was in my work clothes, just having fun harrasing the kids from the side of the pool when I noticed my cell phone was missing. About 10 minutes later a kid pops up at the deep end and says “Hey, I found a phone in the pool!” Yep, 'twas mine - it always did have a weak belt clip. I took out the battery and drip dried the phone. The next day all was good! Those Motorola “brick” phones are virtually indescructible. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cell-phone-just-survived-a-10-story-plunge/293689/11 "2005-03-10T20:28:45Z")
No matter how many times my brother loses his cellphone, he always finds it–in the one place he never expected it to be. Something’s going _on_ with these phones… :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cell-phone-just-survived-a-10-story-plunge/293689/12 "2005-03-11T00:06:04Z")
> [@](#): > > Thus far we have learned cellphones can survive a ten story fall and pee. Mine’s a Cingular. My boyfriend’s Motorola survived a cycle in the washing machine. I though it was a goner, but after a day or so of drying out it worked fine. That was about four months ago and it is still going strong. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cell-phone-just-survived-a-10-story-plunge/293689/13 "2005-03-11T19:09:58Z")
Well, if they designed them to withstand pee, I’d hope they would also be designed for the wash. I mean, it just makes sense.