Please Phrase Your Response in the Form of a Question

UPDATE:  It's alive!  The sitting-in-rice-for-two-days trick worked! 

And now Fletch, the one who left the iPod in his pocket in the first damn place, is disappointed because he can't swap the broken 1 gig model out for the 80 gig one he wanted.  Aarrggh.

* * *

The category is Home Electronics and for five hundred, here is the clue:

Fletch's iPod

"OK, Alec, how about... what things are not machine washable?"

Comments

[Sara]

Not sure if this has been posted (don't have the time at the moment to read through)... anyways, I've seen a news segment on iPods, cell phones, etc going through the washer. And the tested both in a box of kitty litter for a period of 24 hours. Apparently, the kitty litter dries out the electronic device. It worked for both of them!!! I've replaced 2 iPods (due to the washing machine) before I saw this! Next time I'm going to try it.

[Mrs K]

hmm...did I get the 'hand' with my comment or did I not go through all the steps? in any case- I'm glad my suggestion worked...I wonder if that trick is like windex- it works with everything.

[Carrie]

I drove around with my iPod on my van roof for about 6 months. I had no idea it was up there...I was driving through a car wash and the person behind me chased my down after they saw it fall to the ground when I drove away. 6 MONTHS! It survived intense Houston sun and torrential downpours! A nice charge and it worked. INCREDIBLE! It must have been stuck between the slats of the roof rack. BTW - I have dropped a cellphone in a sink full of dishes and running water AND ran one through a full laundry cycle, neither came back to life. Bummer.

[the other Moira (who knew?)]

this had nothing to do with anything, but, I was just watching the grammys, and what is UP with Morris Day's hairplugs?

[Cyndi]

"What is a good example of why men should not own expensive toys, despite their love for them?"

[Julz]

for your future reference....
if you happen to drop it in a toilet, just after peeing, put it in the oven for a couple hours and it will come out good as new!

i did the bag of rice thing with my cell phone except, like a dumbass, i put the bag over the air conditioner and made my phone even more moisture-y.

[Sarah Grace]

Oh god...that blows. What's worse - destroying the iPod in the wash, or forgetting to take your kick ass Chanel Dazzling red lipstick out of your pocket and decimating it along with the entire load? Chalk both up terrible tragedies and let us never speak of it again!

[Boo]

My nephew's Ipod went through the wash and we all said it was bound to happen since he is 7 years old...his father the enginerd (no offense to engineers, it's an affectionate term in our family) thought to use cat litter for the drying process. Initially he earned points, but he lost them when he bragged about his brilliance...

[Jenny]

Hells yeah! That's a good trick to know-- always worth a try!

[Mrs. K]

yay!! do I win something!?!?! how cool that it worked for you- that's awesome. Sorry Fletch yay for Jen.

And by the way, I'm not a moron I noticed the type with the double negative thing. Sorry.

[Heather]

What is Men do the same stupid things at all ages?

[JinMD]

Whatever you do, just don't try to dry it off in the oven. Sorority sister + cell phone + toilet + preheat = bad.

Same goes for monopoly money in the microwave. Especially when said money was wet because (flammable) rum and coke was spilled on it during "drinking-opoly". Oooohhh, college...

[Jess]

$500 Momt Blanc pen. DON'T try it.

[Shannon]

Here's betting Fletch suddenly takes an interest in laundry. Totally not your fault. As i say- if you're the dumbass who leaves expensive stuff in your pockets, then you're also the dumbass who is without said expensive stuff when laundry is done. That'll teach him. But you could try the drying techniques others said and be a total hero. Just make sure he knows whose fault it was (his).

[Keri Carter]

That sucks I washed my cell phone and was told to put it in non clumping kitty litter for a couple of days to pull the water out it(to bad I already trashed it)give it a try cant do any harm.

[Kasey]

Totally agree with all the above comments on the issue with boys and their electronics. My brother's iPod fell out of his pocket as he was sitting in his car and then he ran it over. Didn't even realize it was gone until the next morning when he parked in the same spot at work and stepped on it. I think it actually worked for a few days until it completely stopped working. Aye...

[LJ]

Awww I've always wondered how much they could withstand before being nuked. I'm guessing laundry is a no brainer. That's sooooo sad. That iPod... it never saw it coming, for sure.

[Rosalind]

Might I recommend a visit to www.otterbox.com and the purchase of a waterproof case for Fletch's Ipod V2.0?

[Jen M]

*** I apologize for the words in my diatribe above that are not spelled correctly. I'm sorry to anyone that I have offended with my bad spelling. I also make words up. Sorry.***

Maybe they could make a washing machine friendly version of the ipod called the DryPod? Just a thought for Apple.

[Jen M]

Oh my goodness. A great sadness has just fallen upon me. Due to what was a quite welcome repreive from work about a week ago, I found I had much free time to spend during paid work hours (PAID!). For the last week (8 hrs/day) I have read the archives of this blog (which I now love like the child I will never have because I don't like children)(although that is a double negative, i meant it as a compliment...really. I just dont want you thinking im replacing a child i cannot have because I am barren(which I am not) with a wittily worded blog). WHOA, ok, back track to point: I have another 40 minutes left in the work day to waste, yet I just now finished reading the entirety of the blog that is Jennsylvania. Boo. Alas, this blog is like crack and I am now a fiend. Thank you for any morsel of delicious snappy goodness you can toss our way about the musings of your fab life.

[Tina]

Did Fletch suddenly lose the ability to empty his own pockets?

[Kim T]

What is....
BlackBerry,Cordless Phone, NintendoDS, Remote Control....
Let's just say that the washing machine and I are not always the best of friends! (Or as I choose to beilieve that the Washing Machine has my back and knows that some things need to be upgraded!)

[booyah]

What is the difference between retail therapy and retail punishment? About $500 in this case. Therapy is like buying a candle to cheer yourself up. Punishment is using the same $ they wasted so they REALLY learn the value of a dollar.

[Jenny]

Uh oh!

Apple is pretty cool with the warranties-- iPods automatically have them for like 2 years or something (you can go online and enter the serial number and it will tell you if it's still under warranty and how many days are left)... if it's not still covered, let it dry off, take it back and say it just stopped working, and they will give you credit towards a new one. Worked for me! =)

[Patti Mayo]

oooh...I just thought of another electronic my son doesn't mix well with...our brand new 19 inch flat screen monitor.

Envision potty training then 2 1/2 year old. And to make it easy, let him run naked. Add to the fun, packages of hot wheels on the hutch of computer desk. Run water in kitchen sink while doing dishes, which triggers small boy standing on desk, naked, trying to get at hot wheels to pee....all over brand new computer monitor.

Thankfully he missed my cell phone, new digital camera purchased after washing machine incident, cordless phone and MP3 player.

What is it with boys, electronics and wet things??

[kim]

What is, "Not my responsibility to check your pockets if I'm gracious enough to do your laundry in the first place?" I usually just find cash in my hubby's pockets, in which case I employ finder's keepers.

[dodim]

I'll take marriage counseling for $200, Alec.

[Karina in T.O]

Oh no you didn't!! But in your defense, if Fletch did his OWN laundry you wouldn't have made the mistake, no??

And in our Final Jeopardy catagory we have: What is the worst place in your home to store expensive electronics to protect them from theft?

I'll bet $1000 Alex! Answer being 'What is The oven??!!'

IBM laptop + preheating said oven to 375 = a call to the help desk, and laughter on the other end from the associate!! --luckily it was my hubby who was the associate, not the putz who put his laptop in the oven!

[Jeannine]

BINGO to the above. Good work by you - excellent call :-)

[Aphrodite]

Payback for the monkey comment?

[Dani]

Hey, if my cell could survive a dunk in the ocean two days after I got it (Never trust a boyfriend to tell you when a giant waves is coming to shore when you are not paying attention cause you are watching the progress of a tanker on the horizon) and live out its long two year cell phone life there is hope for Fletch's Ipod.

[trish]

oops!...

[Shelly]

I'm always amused when my husband washes his wallet. I come home and the contents of said wallet are spread out on the top of the dryer, soaked.

[Mrs. K]

May I suggest something incredibly stupid to try? My cell phone fell in my toilet- let's just say I picked it up before I peed and used ammonia on my hands for 2 days- but my cleaning lady told me 'put phone in lice'...in lice? no rice. she told me to put it in a bowl full of rice and leave it there for 2 days (or 2 lays)...lo and behold my phone wasn't not junked- apparently the rice absorbed all the moisture and made my phone workable again...but then again mine wasn't in water for ever and a day...but worth the try no?

[FunnyGal KAT]

For the Daily Double: "What does not make a good dog toy?"

Just ask my brother-in-law who has an iPod that still plays, but he has no idea what song is playing and has no way of changing to another one. Leave it to a pooch to break it just enough to make it annoying, but not enough to justify replacing it!

[Lulu]

My thing is pretty earrings that get left in my pocket. I take 'em out when they hurt my ears. Then, well... I forget.

[Wastin' Away]

My fiance accidentally tried this same experiment with the tv remote...always shake out the dog blanket that covers the couch BEFORE putting it in the washer!

[tutugirl1345]

I would try searching through the Apple support discussion pages about iPods exposed to water- you might actually find someone with answers as to whether it can be dried out. If that doesn't work, try google-ing it. It may take a few days, but its totally worth it if it means not spending money. If you still have AppleCare on it, you can also just give it a week to dry out and then try to pass it off as generally broken (not that I'd know anything about that...)

[The Modern Gal]

What are things that once they get ruined you start questioning why the hell they're expensive as they are?

[Cyndi]

I soaked my cell phone last year in an unfortunate water bottle incident. I opened it up and let it dry for a few days and it's worked great ever since.

[Malia]

Ah, it must be an epidemic among boyfriends and husbands to destroy their expensive Apple electronics! Two weeks ago, my boyfriend washed his iPhone. FYI, the only thing the iPhone can't do? Is survive the spin cycle.

Though, in his defense, he did dry it on the "delicate" setting.

[Peggi]

Blame it on the dogs :)

Or you can always tell Fletch you were staging an ipod intervention and showing some tough love....?

[kiki]

What is, my husband's cell phone?

(unfortunately "Gain" did not live up to its name and did nothing for the phone)

[kiki]

What is, my husband's cell phone?

(unfortunately "Gain" did not live up to its name and did nothing for the phone)

[Caroline]

Aw hell, I'm not hip (or flush!) enough to own an iPod at the moment. I did, however, wash my husband's cell phone a couple weeks ago. He was most amused, because it was MY fault for picking up HIS goddamned laundry! Agggghhh. Anyhow, after I retrieved it from the washer, I opened it up, took it apart, put it under a really powerful desk lamp for a couple days (turning it occasionally), then left it alone for a couple days. I turned it on and nothing happened. HE turned it on and it's the same old piece of shit it used to be--a barely working cell that he's dropped a million times. Is it possible to revive a similarly drowned iPod with similar resuscitative measures?

[Lisa]

ouch - in my house that would be followed with... "incidents that might require a bottle of wine and some extra loving to forget" or more typically, "incidents you blame on your children."

With no kids, you may have to break out the knee pads. Sorry.

[Patti Mayo]

Alec...can I have what is not compatible with my washing machine 1000 please?? Patti Mayo, would that be your 18 mos old son and your $700 Sony Digital Camera??

ding ding ding....

I feel your pain.

p.s. my son is lucky i didn't duct tape him to the wall...he'll be four in May...

[Carmen]

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn!

[heidi]

What is not compatible with a bathtub?

similar to my Rio MP3 player circa 1999. Don't ask. :)

Loved your book (reading the second one now) and definitely love the blog! Can't wait for book numero tres!!

[Just Laura]

Oh... No... - my heart felt like it dropped when I read the answer. I cannot fathom the depth of despair to lose your iPod.

My sis dropped hers in the pool.