Student trapped in toilet after fishing for cellphone

There now seems to be a more dangerous place to chat on your phone than on the highway. A Lebanese student studying at Ukraine's Odessa State Academy of Refrigeration (where you'd think he would have learned a thing or two about pipes and their potentially tight confines) had to be rescued from his bathroom after getting a hand stuck in the toilet. Apparently he had dropped his cellphone in the bowl (another reason that books make better, cheaper companions on the throne), made the decision to do the unthinkable, and hopefully rolled up his sleeve for his unfortunate fishing expedition. The sad sap was trapped for two hours before being freed from his unsanitary captor, and thankfully received medical attention at the end of the ordeal, which at the very least must have involved an emergency sponge bath for his arm. No word on the status of the soggy cellie, although after having soaked up toilet water for two hours, it would seem to have little value other than sentimental.

[Dolph Drake @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

For the record, I have dropped every single cell phone I have ever owned into the can. I'm cursed.

More info about that toilet throne pictured:
http://www.thegreenhead.com/cool-stuff/2005/07/herbeau-dagobert-wooden-toilet-throne.php

[Jason @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

I have seen far too many people talking on the phone while in bathrooms, which to me, is just plain wrong. Ever heard of calling someone back?

[nick @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

he should have just let go of the phone.

[Ken @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

#2 you have seen? I think we got our selves a little peeping tom here. lol J/k

[Scott @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

You'd have to amputate my arm if that were me. Some things you just can't clean.

[DM @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

"You'd have to amputate my arm if that were me. Some things you just can't clean."

That's a gross overstatement...Actually after cleaning it like 10 times, the only thing that will still disgust you is the mental image of putting your hand into the "inorganic shithole".

And FYI, your body sheds skin constantly, so in a month (?) or so the skin in your arm etc will be completely new....

Just my 2 cents

[Paul @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

oh sh*t

[lowdowndirty @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

I once dropped my phone in the toilet whilst going for a piss after a few drinks out on the town. The phone was in my shirt pocket until I bent over to lift the seat when it slid down the pan - I fished it out immediately and took the battery off which saved it (left it to dry for 24 hrs). I was lucky on 3 counts - I saved my phone; I hadn't started pissing yet; the person before me had flushed. Yes, i scrubbed my arm till it was red raw...

[Rusty Shackleford @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

How would one of the Korean "germ-free" coated phones hold up under this kind of abuse? Perhaps now you understand why they put those coatings on there. Sure you can clean your arm, but how well can you disinfect a phone that's been soaking in human waste?

[Chris @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

Hey, lowdowndirty, have you posted this same message before either at engadget or somewhere else? I could swear I've read this before.

[Shizzle @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

Small typo in the story. I believe the correct spelling in this case is "scent-imental"

[ninjaKid @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

that's what he gets for talking sh*t . . .

[yuppicide @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

Nobody ever thought maybe he put something over hand and arm before it went in the toilet?!

My hand/arm was in the toilet once in my life. It's really not as bad as it seems because there's clean water always going through.

[yuppicide @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

You know the write up on this one is hilarious.

[Steve @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

Like I'd ever use the dang thing again after that.....unless maybe it had a speakerphone function....

[DAN @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

It turns out, all he had to do was let go of the phone.

[Nkuvu @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

You know, if I did drop my cell phone in the toilet, I doubt I'd really want to hold it next to my face afterwards.

[Anthony @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

Anyone else find it ridiculous that the Ukraine has a State Academy of Refrigeration?

[Simeon @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

I was white water rafting last summer and for some reason I had my cell phone with me and it fell out of my pocket and out of the raft and floated down stream where it later got stuck in a bunch of rocks. As we were going by I saw it and was close enough to reach out and quickly grab it. It didn't turn on but after taking it apart and letting it dry it worked perfect. Its a nokia 6200 I think and it can withstand anything some other adventures include: using it as a hockey puck, playing hackey sack with it, I once ran it over, and i've dropped it numerous times.

[crysalis @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

i dunno, out of habit i always always call my friends on the crapper. they know it too, and theyve come to accept it. thats just my habit

however i have dropped my phone in before, but i wasnt even using it. it was in my hoodie pocket, it just fell in.

however, this guy is just an embarrassement to all lebanese people. im lebanese. im embarrassed.

[Psiven @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

You should have seen how pissed the rescue team was when they realised the student was trapped simply from him failing to let go of the phone.

[nicholas @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

Sorry, but my p910 wound up in the laundry where I grabbed it from the wash cycle vibrating madly from the short circuits. After a week of dry time, it's been working just fine! It does have some bizarre hiccups now and then...

[fogd00d @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

Note to self: don't hire any interns from the Odessa State Academy of Refrigeration. That's some sort engineering school, right? I guess the lecture on "water + electronics = fubar" went right over his head.

In relation to a simian IQ test, at least the banana is still useful after the monkey lets go of it.

[lowdowndirty @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

Chris, i haven't posted this before - perhaps it's an all too common occurrence, heh. There was no human waste when my phone went in but it did get a good wipe with disinfectant after it dried out. If there was sh*t or piss in there i think i'd have called it a day and pulled the chain myself...

[mike @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

tha's right ...it's too common