[eaterofdog]

I am generally pretty good about taking care of my stuff, but in my job as a sysadmin I see a lot of stuff killed through accidents and carelessness. (A tsunami of soda into a $2500 Macbook today is what started this.) The two groups that kill the most stuff here are Sales and Senior Management. I swear it's like a big electronics mulcher up there.

FYI pull the power ASAP when you get electronics wet and give them a long time to dry. A lot of times it's not the moisture that kills it, but the electrical shorts it creates. I rinse things out with rubbing alcohol when possible to remove any residues and speed up the drying time. The macbook is getting this treatment now.

What shiny geegaws have the monkeys seen destroyed?

 

[jonKranked]

I smashed a tv with a sledgehammer once.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

I dropped a fully configured HP DL360 six feet onto a concrete floor when trying to rack it single handed. It was totaled.

 

[laura]

I'm generally really careful with my electronics. I can't replace them straight away if I ruin them so I pay careful attention to how I treat them. Actually the only electronic I've destroyed recently was my shuffle. Sweat killed it.

 

[Zark]

A full beer into a Peavy 5150 tube guitar amp......so sad.

 

[eaterofdog]

LOL some good ones already.

One of the teachers in my wife's school district THREW a new laptop because the fire alarm went off.

 

[ultraNoob]

I let the mysterious blue smoke out of many electronics. Most costly was the SATComm unit I used to carry in the Army.

 

[binary visions]

It's actually virtually never the moisture that kills most electronics. I think most people would be shocked at the number of gizmos you could dunk in your bathtub and still fire up after it dried out.

I worked with my dad as an intern in high school for a pretty large IT department. This was before regulations about disposal of CRT monitors went into effect, and we used to take old monitors and throw them into a dumpster about 10ft. below the outdoor walkway. Pretty impressive bang and lots of fun. Saw a few laptops get dropped here and there.

The best one was watching a guy in the department that computer-analyzed x-rays drop a large, $35,000 LCD monitor off the counter when he stupidly tried to set it up by himself. That was, by far, the most expensive piece of electronics I've ever watched get ruined, and probably the most horrified look I've ever seen on anyone's face.

 

[Prettym1k3]

Went through multiple cellphones.

But then I commuted to school for almost a year on a bicycle with my laptop either in a cheap DaKine backpack or a laptop backpack, and the only damage I caused was a semi-lose volume button.

Go figure.

 

[Prettym1k3]

I'm generally really careful with my electronics. I can't replace them straight away if I ruin them so I pay careful attention to how I treat them. Actually the only electronic I've destroyed recently was my shuffle. Sweat killed it.

I threw mine away by accident.

Scooped it up with all the trash in my truck, and tossed it out.

I still feel bad about doing that. My fiance's parents gave it to me for Christian two years ago.

 

[Mike B.]

My dad had an electronics repair business at one point so I've smashed lots of stuff - VCRs, laser disc players, microwaves, oscilloscopes, etc. Shot the screens out of a few TVs over the years too.

Left my old Kyocera cell phone in a pants pocket and ran it through the washer. Didn't know it was in there so it also took a ride in the dryer. As luck would have it, the dryer cycle was a good thing and it didn't get damaged tumbling. Continued to use the phone for about 6 months before replacing it.

 

[Trainwreck]

One of users used to keep a plant on top of her CRT monitor and water it there, you can guess that outcome.

 

[urbaindk]

I had a roommate in college (an engineering student mind you) who thought that since we had a "weak" modem signal (i.e. it never got the full 56K) in our house, that he could just boost the signal by cutting the phone line and splicing it into his stereo amplifier, then running the speaker output cable into a spliced phone line back into his Mac's modem output. I had a hell of a time explaining to him that just because you could possibly make the 1's and 0's louder, that doesn't make them any faster.

In retrospect, I shouldn't have stopped him before he turned the amp on, because I probably could have added a nice laundry list of fried items to this here list.

 

[badphish]

When I was in school I destroyed my 5 disc cd carousel changer thing with a baseball bat because I thought there was a short in the RCA outputs. I get pissed when things don't work like they're supposed to. The sound kept cutting out on one of the speakers. Turns out one of the wires was pulled out of the back of said speaker and was barely touching the contact.

 

[Red Rabbit]

I saw a drunk girl throw a Iphone through a window.
I wasn't impressed.

She has a new one.

 

[DRB]

A cell phone in the washer and then the dryer... unfortunately it didn't have the same outcome has Mike Bs.

Two laptops. One off the counter of a hotel check in desk. The other at a security checkpoint. Both wrecked but HDs salvaged.

 

[Red Rabbit]

When I was in school I destroyed my 5 disc cd carousel changer thing with a baseball bat because I thought there was a short in the RCA outputs. I get pissed when things don't work like they're supposed to. The sound kept cutting out on one of the speakers. Turns out one of the wires was pulled out of the back of said speaker and was barely touching the contact.

I took apart a stereo and found the same thing.

Mine still works.

 

[eaterofdog]

One of users used to keep a plant on top of her CRT monitor and water it there, you can guess that outcome.

We had someone keeping an orchid on their tower and watering it weekly. They didn't know it was artificial.

My worst one: I left my Handspring Visor Prism on top of my car one morning. I remembered it as I heard it slide across the top and then shatter on the road.

 

[Arkayne]

Tons of water/soda in keyboards here. I did kill an mb once by accidentally dropping a screw on it. I love the smell of burned ic's in the morning.

 

[DamienC]

Fail!

 

[urbaindk]

Fail!

At least they didn't have to shoot it down with an ICBM.

 

[Westy]

I accidentally left a 24v wire loose while troubleshooting a problem on a CNC machine. It dropped onto the 480V bus shooting high voltage back through the low voltage system. Smoked about $20,000 worth of electronics.

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

I had a talking alarm clock that wouldn't shut up so I threw it against a wall and smashed it to pieces.


They are not expensive, but I tend to wear out table top belt sanders.
I had one that kept shocking me. Seeing a blue spark arc off the tip of my finger to the belt gave me a little concern.

Belt sanders make a really disturbing noise just before the belt breaks and comes shooting off.

 

[ridiculous]

Fail!

how many people were fired? it hurt just seeing that.

Ive seen several 4U computers fall off of a cart in transit from one building to another. Ive also seen a custom fiber raid for an airplane (28V) blow up because some a hole built the power supply upside down. Good thing it did this outside the airplane.

I watched someone plug a subwoofer directly in to the wall once. Absolutely hilarious. I have also personally partaken in a office space like destruction of a printer.

 

[splat]

I dropped a fully configured HP DL360 six feet onto a concrete floor when trying to rack it single handed. It was totaled.

I did that Just last week with a Dell 2950,and I got a nice gash on my chest as it made its way to the ground.

let see I saw some one plug a VAX 3600 into 220v when it was suppose to be 110v , lots of noise and smoke.

 

[ridiculous]

I had a roommate in college (an engineering student mind you) who thought that since we had a "weak" modem signal (i.e. it never got the full 56K) in our house, that he could just boost the signal by cutting the phone line and splicing it into his stereo amplifier, then running the speaker output cable into a spliced phone line back into his Mac's modem output. I had a hell of a time explaining to him that just because you could possibly make the 1's and 0's louder, that doesn't make them any faster.

In retrospect, I shouldn't have stopped him before he turned the amp on, because I probably could have added a nice laundry list of fried items to this here list.

legendary

 

[Sherpa]

iPuked on my iPhone over spring break. I have a Blackberry now.

 

[narlus]

I smashed a tv with a sledgehammer once.

were you wearing electrical tape over your nipples?

 

[ultraNoob]

My fiance's parents gave it to me for Christian two years ago.

Is Christian your son or step son? and was it a good deal?

 

[gsweet]

i had a family member in the professional recording industry for most of my life and thus witnessed some pretty funny/horrifying screw ups. for starters, i watched said individual fry a mcintosh mx136 preamp and another individual (also related) destroy a telefunken U47 mic. nothing quite like watching the destruction of older/irreplaceable music equipment.

 

[xcmudgirl]

My IDIOT friend spilled a beer onto my macbook. It was set on a shelf playing music and she turned around wildly and poured half her beer right onto the keyboard. Apple quoted me $1327 for repairs. That's more than I paid for the damn thing.

Just swiped my card for a new one, since I'm into the midst of all my papers/thesis for my masters. :-( She's definitely getting a bill.

 

[r464]

I had a hell of a time explaining to him that just because you could possibly make the 1's and 0's louder, that doesn't make them any faster.

But, this will be one louder...

 

[Sherpa]

My IDIOT friend spilled a beer onto my macbook. It was set on a shelf playing music and she turned around wildly and poured half her beer right onto the keyboard. Apple quoted me $1327 for repairs. That's more than I paid for the damn thing.

Just swiped my card for a new one, since I'm into the midst of all my papers/thesis for my masters. :-( She's definitely getting a bill.

You let people drink around your expensive computer equipment and then send them the bill. Great friend. lthumbsdown:

 

[johnbryanpeters]

It's actually virtually never the moisture that kills most electronics. I think most people would be shocked at the number of gizmos you could dunk in your bathtub and still fire up after it dried out...

But power plus moisture will. It electroplates between traces and shorts 'em. Hence, if gear gets wet, pull plug, batteries or both, rinse well in distilled water and dry for a long time.

 

[Austin Bike]

Note position of camera holder on camelback strap:

Now, imagine dropping over a simple little 24" rock, compressing your fork fully, flying over the bars and landing on that exact spot on the strap.

With the LCD pointed outward.

Adios Canon Powershot SD400, you served me well.

 

[shamrock]

I had a talking alarm clock that wouldn't shut up so I threw it against a wall and smashed it to pieces.

This 1 will really drive you crazy then.

 

[shamrock]

Saw my boss take a hammer to his blackberry once & casually throw it away like it was totally normal cuz he got into an argument with a T-Mobile rep.

 

[Wumpus]

Nearly lost all the electronics in the house when a branch rubbed thru the main ground.

 

[eaterofdog]

I know of three households where lightening strikes destroyed everything that was plugged in. Literally anything plugged in no longer works. Direct hit.

 

[JRogers]

My sister once put a mug of hot chocolate on her bookshelf above her desk. 2 minutes later, the shelf collapsed and sent piping hot chocolate into her laptop. Most of it was toast.

On a related note, my brother just got back from El Salvador and was telling me about a hostel he stayed in that had a water heater thing attached to the shower head....which would regularly send bolts of electricity through the water, blasting the occupant.