If you thought it was impressive that an iPod could survive a nine-story fall into the Pittsburgh G20 riots, just wait until you hear about the perils that befell an iPod belonging to Aaron, a Marine deployed in Afghanistan.

He writes:

Mid-August, I asked my girlfriend to use my account to buy an iPod classic of the 120GB variety. I finally received it here in Afghanistan at the end of September. Well I’m not the most graceful Marine out there. A week after getting my iPod, I dropped it in front of an oncoming Humvee. Consequently, it was run over, yet it still worked perfectly. I gave much of the credit to the soft sand compressing rapid and the speed of the Humvee as to why my iPod wasn’t completely obliterated. Either way, I was happy enough to still have a functioning iPod. In case you didn’t know, the curb weight of an up-armored Humvee is about 7,300 lbs.

Two days later, I was sitting inside of a Humvee with the iPod in my lap and a single bud in my ear, without music playing. I tried to close the door but something was stopping it from closing it. I chalked it up to it being a dirty locking mechanism from all the sand. So I attempted to slam the door shut a second time. It still wouldn’t close. I look down to make sure the door wasn’t being blocked by anything. Lo and behold, my iPod was sitting between the door and the frame. I slammed my iPod in the 500 lbs. door not once, but twice. Although my screen was shattered into oblivion, my iPod still works. I can still listen to music to my heart’s content.

I have to send my Kudos out to Apple on the sturdy design of these iPods. I sure portable media devices aren’t normally manufactured to withstand this kind of abuse.

The iPod is now officially war zone tested, and have proven tough enough to be issued as standard issue equipment for our soldiers overseas.

(Photo: Jeremy_Schultz)

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