There is nothing worse than a jumping cell phone. I think all cell phones have it in them to jump, yet they wait for the most inopportune times such as when the owner is standing over water or a long drop onto an unforgiving hard surface.
Cell phones are not alone in being imbued with this surprising ability. As a fishing captain, I have seen numerous pliers and other tools, as well as fishing gear, camera equipment, etc. jump right out of a boater’s hands.
In the case of cell phones, my own observations convince me that more expensive cell phones are more likely to jump into the ocean than cheaper phones. If I were prone to such beliefs, I would suspect they were possessed and jumped with humorous but malicious intent.
Here is one of the more interesting stories of jumping cell phones at sea. An incoming call triggered a catchy musical ringtone while we were fishing several miles out at sea.
At first, cell reception at sea seems to surprise people. The sound of the cell phone going off rapidly elicited a comment from a fellow angler, “Throw that darn thing overboard. We’re fishing.”
The somewhat embarrassed owner of the agitated phone switched his fishing rod to his other hand and dug quickly into the pocket of his fishing jacket. It was a two-finger extraction, destined for disaster.
His two cold and wet fingers lost their grip and the phone bounced on the gunwale of the boat, threatening to take the plunge.
The owner grabbed for it … bumped hard into the person fishing next to him causing that person to lose his grip on his fishing rod … and everyone on board watched in disbelief while the phone and the fishing rod (he was using one of my fishing rods, by the way) splashed into the sea.
The rod sunk out fast, but the phone sunk slowly (though too fast to save with a long-handled net). We all watched as it fluttered erratically in the water, just out of reach. We could see that the incoming call was still active. The caller ID read “Wife.”
First there was silence. Then there was a pandemonium of laughing, cursing, name-calling and shoulder-slugs. The guy let me know that he would pay for the replacement of my lost rod and reel. Cool … that’s about $550.
The phone bummed out its owner because he had no insurance and because his wife would just have to wait to talk. I did let him call his wife with my phone, but I held it the whole time, just to make sure it didn’t jump.
I’ve seen way too many phones go into the sea. I’ve also seen them jump from piers, into lakes and streams and even over a waterfall once.
I’m telling you — cell phones have great jumping abilities.
