Technabob » fall

iPhone 4 Falls 1,000 Feet from Plane and Survives

Technabob — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 13:34:54 +0000

I’ve heard my share of horror stories of people dropping their iPhone 4 out of their pocket and having the screen shatter on impact. That’s why I was amazed when I read about this iPhone 4 which was accidentally dropped out of an airplane – and survived with nary a scratch.

U.S. Air Force Combat Controller Ron Walker is a jump master, responsible for overseeing parachute jumps. As he looked out of the side of the plane to inspect the scenery before his team jumped on a recent flight, he stuck himself out of the side of the plane. Flying about 1,000 feet above the ground, and at a speed of about 150mph, the fierce draft caused a Velcro seal on his pocket to open up – and out flew his iPhone 4. As the phone flew through the air and tumbled to the ground, Walker assumed the phone was lost forever – or at least smashed to bits.

Later, he shared his story and a colleague decided to try and use the Find My iPhone app to track down the missing phone. To their surprise, the phone showed up on the map, and they tracked it to a location in the woods. Incredibly, when they found it, the phone was completely intact. Not only was the phone still functional – it didn’t have any cracks or scratches on it.

That all said, the phone was wrapped in a Griffin Motif case at the time of the fall, not just a naked iPhone. Still, it’s impressive that it could survive a 1,000 foot fall and live to make another call. Perhaps it was all the soft tree leaves and needles that cushioned the fall, or maybe it was just luck. If it was me, I’d drop my phone the 18 inches from the couch seat to the floor, and it would shatter into a million pieces. Then I’d pick it up and cut my hand.

So, depending on how you look at this story, it’s either a really good testimonial for Griffin cases, or a really bad testimonial for Velcro.

[via TUAW and iLounge]

Clock Drops Numbers, Doesn’t Care What Time It is

Technabob — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 20:04:30 +0000

Here’s a clock for people who are perpetually tardy, and want to stay that way. All of the digits on the dial of this wall clock have fallen off of the face, causing a major numeric pile-up at the bottom.

While Nextime’s Fallen Numeral clock does have a functional time mechanism, it really couldn’t give a damn about the actual time. Sure, the hands will move if you put a battery in there, but I certainly wouldn’t point them to the proper locations on the dial or that would defeat the purpose.

The clock measures just under 14-inches square and features a frosted glass background with black numerals. It’s available from Target for just $29.95.

Honda Asimo Does a Face Plant

Technabob — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 14:03:14 +0000

Some guy with a cell phone camera recorded this incident at a recent press conference showing off Honda’s Asimo humanoid robot. If you fast-forward the video clip to about 0:59 seconds, you can witness the pratfall:

Watch in horror as the brave little robot attempts to climb the stairs and instead does his best Chevy Chase impression. The best part of the clip is when the stage crew attempts to conceal the lifeless, limp body of the poor little guy. For a moment there, I had flashbacks to the famous Derek Smalls pod sequence in This is Spinal Tap.

[via Digital World Tokyo]