Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Describe The Most Absent-Minded Way They've Ever Destroyed Their Electronics

People Describe The Most Absent-Minded Way They've Ever Destroyed Their Electronics
Image by Mediamodifier from Pixabay

I hate technology. It has ruined society as a whole. But that is a chat for later. My equipment, I swear has a mind of its own.

That is why it's even more frustrating when my tech and I have fights, and I have to throw down. Of course there are times when I am just negligent and ornery. Never throw a laptop. But who isn't set into a rage when they see that damn rainbow pinwheel?

Deep breaths. Be careful with electronics, Apple, has enough money.

Redditor u/ImGeronimo wanted to discuss the evil of technology and it's consequences by asking:

What is the stupidest way you've ever ruined an electronic device?

I throw phones. I'm Naomi Campbell to walls and floors. And I have to get past it. What is funny is that I always assume the phone will survive. Trying explaining THAT to Verizon.

Pickles

season 6 happy dance GIFGiphy

"I was a cashier and was scanning items. Customer was buying a huge jar of pickles that fell on its side as I went to scan it, shattered instantly, and pickle juice immediately leaked deep within the scanner/register guts. It all shut down in a few seconds."

- urchisilver

The Drop

"My tablet was sitting on the toilet tank. It slipped from my wet hand. It would have landed on my cushioned toilet seat cover but because of my lightning fast reflexes I spiked it at the edge of the shower and shattered it."

- PhreedomPhighter

"A lot of the times you drop soft objects that you can kick back up and catch. Other times you take a penalty shot with your phone."

- MrOverlySarcastic

Be Clean

"As a child virtual pets/tamagotchis were all the rage and I loved them dearly. I had a beloved 12 in 1 that let you have a bunch of different pets instead of just 1. Well, the screen was dirty and I wanted to clean it. So, I ran it under tap water for like 5 minutes to make sure it got clean. Low and behold I learned the hard way water and electronics don't mix."

- demonardvark

WASHING MY REPLACEMENT!!!

"When I was washing my sheets I had neglected to check to make sure I had my cell phone in my pocket so I accidentally washed it and it was pooched. That wasn't my stupidest time. The stupidest time was WASHING MY REPLACEMENT a couple months later after vowing to check every time. Now If my cell isn't in sight, I don't turn on the machine."

- honeywrites

Nailed!!

mom + pop music hammer GIF by HindsGiphy

"Sat down on a nail with my phone in my back pocket. Saved my butt, killed the phone."

- jaketheweirdsnake

I'm not alone. Thank God. We really expect a lot of our technology. I know we spent a ton of coin, but machines are only machines. Continue...

Choose Pepsi...

Giphy

"Knocked a glass of Fanta over my already cracked phone screen."

- alpaca309

How much could a banana cost?

"Moving out of my apartment after graduating college. I'm loading up my car the night before leaving in the morning. My trunk light is out, so I put my phone on the edge of the trunk gate to use its flashlight to help organize everything. Finish up and close the trunk, and crunch. Phone looked like a banana."

- JuRoJa

Flushed

"Back in the smallest phone arms race circa 2005 I was playing Tetris while on the toilet, I pocket the phone before cleaning the scene, but not deep enough. I flushed and pulled up my pants, my phone flew out of my pocket, bullseyed the hole and went down with the last glug from the flush. For context, I was at work so it was one of those industrial flush public toilets."

- gharr87

Stupid Stunts

"As a kid I ran a magnet across my tv. At first I ran it a couple inches away from the screen and the picture would distort a little bit and go back to normal. Got ballsy and just swiped it glass to magnet and my tv just went black."

- GoodFellaGotEm

Oh Mother!

Cbs No GIF by HULUGiphy

"Opened my laptop so I can clean it for it to speed up. Ended by damaging the motherboard."

- kiwiwar

Soniced

"I saved my allowance for 4 months until I had enough for the handheld version of Sonic the Hedgehog. Brought it to school on the 1st day and it needed to be reset, which required sticking a ballpoint pen or a safety pin into a tiny hole. We only had pencils, so I thought, "Pencil, pen, same difference." Not for that, it wasn't."

- NeedsMoreTuba

Damn Vodka

Drunk On One GIFGiphy

"Microwaved a cell phone to dry it out. Alcohol may or may not have been a factor."

- terriblueberry

Viral Invasion

"I pirated a game and instead of mounting the image I ran "install.exe" that was packaged with it. All of the viruses. All of them."

- timetobeatthekids

"For anyone who has Windows Pro (or Enterprise), you should know about the "Windows Sandbox" feature. It lets you spin up a fresh Windows VM in just a few seconds, and closing the window cleans everything up."

"https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/windows-sandbox/windows-sandbox-overview"

"You can also create configuration files to adjust the memory, add Virtual GPU support, etc."

- GoldenShackles

A Quick Death

"Spilled water on my laptop. I quickly unplugged it, pulled the battery, then opened the chassis and dried it out. 24 hours later I plugged it in and everything worked! Within minutes I spilled another glass of water right on it and it just died immediately."

- Xe1ex

"Dishonor"

"Ruined a $950 prototype circuit board at my job because I was in a rush, and didn't pay attention to which power supply on my bench I had grabbed, and I plugged 120V directly into it. Board immediately blew up, complete with sparks and smoke. I slammed my office door shut, and repeatedly called myself a freaking moron for about 10 minutes."

"Once I calmed down I went and talked to my boss, after a couple days we got another prototype sent out to us, and we proceeded with testing. That board is now framed and hangs on a wall above my computer screen with a note that says "dishonor". Yes, I still work for the same company."

- DAFUQisaLOMMY

Plop...

Matthew Phone GIFGiphy

"Had my phone between my chin and chest while peeing. Looked up to flush... plop."

- tattooedbutemployed

Crunch!

"Had phone under car hood, near the edge. Worked on car. Closed hood. Crunch! Folded iPhone in half right between the board and battery. Was able to swap into another phone and save it, but original body and screen was folded."

- Speedy-McLeadfoot

"Lol I used a phone as a flashlight, dropped it, and it landed between the exhaust manifold and the block where I couldn't reach. That phone did not survive. Very hot in there."

- Mister_Brevity

The Brick Wall

"This isn't something that happened to me but happened to my brother. so my brother had just got his first phone and he was testing out the case for it... he would throw it up in the air and let it hit the ground, he threw it higher and higher each time. he eventually threw it as high as he could and it didn't break. he then told me to come and see how strong it was... he threw it as hard as it could at a brick wall and... yea..."

- mr_picllllll3

So, what happened?

"Well, this was not me but I suffered the consequences: I used to work at an art center, we had all the tech stuff we needed, sound, video, PC's. One day I am at my desk and all of a sudden all the power went down at the same time. Unusual I would say. We had recordings in one of our studio, a group was rehearsing they play that they were developing, and all the electricity failed. So, what happened?"

"The boss' secretary, bored of not doing anything at the moment decided to wash the walls with a hose, and watered the main electric board. So many things got destroyed. The light projectors, two PC's one video projector and all the 3 amplifiers we had in out back stage. Luckily we were ensured against stupidity, otherwise, she would have been even more screwed."

- Historical_Lie2077

Crash

airijuana GIF by FUBAR AGE OF COMPUTERGiphy

"I bought a cheap drone and crashed it into a tree on the very first flight."

- Lord-Ringo

There is no motherboard I will touch. I accept my tech limits and clearly so should the rest of us. Be kind to our technology, it's only trying to take over/I mean help!

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Dr. Sandra Lee
TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle/YouTube

'Dr. Pimple Popper' Star Reveals She Suffered Stroke While Filming Series: 'I Had A Part Of My Brain That Died'

It's already scary to witness a younger person go through a life-changing medical diagnosis, but it's especially jarring to see a medical professional, who presumably knows best about how to care for themselves, go through the same.

Sandra Lee, known as "Dr. Pimple Popper" on Lifetime, is well-known for her bedside manner, medical knowledge and ability to share her knowledge in an accessible way, and, of course, her unique approach to dermatological care.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rob Schneider; Elizabeth Banks
Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images; Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Rob Schneider Dragged For Criticizing Elizabeth Banks' 'Dangerous Rhetoric' After She Called Out White Female Trump Voters

After actor and filmmaker Elizabeth Banks—who played Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games—called out white women who voted for President Donald Trump, MAGA actor Rob Schneider lashed out against what he referred to as her "dangerous rhetoric."

Those who've read the book and seen the film adaptation of The Hunger Games know that Trinket—known for joyfully announcing, "Happy Hunger Games and the odds may be ever in your favor!"—is a mistress of propaganda for a hostile government that forces teenagers to fight to the death every year to intimidate critics and keep society's poorest and most vulnerable in line. Trinket eventually embraces the rebellion.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kid Rock
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Kid Rock Dragged After Offering Massive Discount To His MAGA Festival Due To Abysmal Ticket Sales

Musician Kid Rock has hitched his wagon to president Donald Trump for quite some time now, and it seems he too is in the "find out" stage of that particularly exercise in FAFO.

It seems that when the president you form your entire personality around craters to a catastrophic approval rating even for him, your ship starts to sink too.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dan Driscoll; Tammy Duckworth
Cheriss May/Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Army Secretary Sparks Outrage After Shutting Down Army Social Media Accounts For Honoring Tammy Duckworth's Military Service

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is facing heavy criticism after he ordered that all accounts associated with the Army unit "Soldier for Life" (SFL) be shut down after the unit shared a post on social media celebrating Illinois Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth's military service.

Duckworth is a double amputee who lost both of her legs in combat in 2004 when her Black Hawk helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Iraqi insurgents.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Tom Homan; Pope Leo XIV
Fox News; Vatican Media/Vatican Pool - Corbis/Getty Images

Trump's Border Czar Ripped For Hypocrisy After Telling Pope Leo To 'Stay Out Of Politics'

President Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan was called out for hypocrisy after telling Pope Leo XIV to "stay out of politics" after he clashed with Trump over the widely unpopular war in Iran.

Last week, Pope Leo criticized the war and called on the world "to reject war, especially a war which many people have said is an unjust war, which is continuing to escalate and is not resolving anything."

Keep ReadingShow less