Spring semester at the Santa Clara University in California left students a little backed up while maintenance crews worked to free an iPod mini that was accidentally flushed down a toilet. Once stuck in the College of Arts and Sciences building plumbing, the diminutive iPod proved next to impossible to extract.
According to NBC 11, campus maintenance crews tried everything they could think of – including trying to break the iPod apart – to unclog the pipes before calling in an independent contractor. The maintenance crew called the iPod “indestructible.”
Ultimately, the old college prank of flushing every toilet in the building at the same time created a water surge that pushed the iPod into a larger pipe. From there, a water company blasted high-pressure water into the pipes to keep the music player moving. The water pressure resulted in another college favorite: water geysers in the second floor toilets.
After a few months, and US$1,000 a week, the mini worked its way to a sewage disposal point outside the building. Thanks to a trusty piece of rebar, the iPod was finally able to see the light of day again.
Before the incident, the iPod mini was pink. Afterwards… not so much.
[Thanks to IPO reader Lee Dronick for pointing out the story]