A man accidentally swallowed one of his Apple AirPods, but – after digging through his own poo – he discovered it was still in working condition when it came out the other end.
When Apple first introduced AirPods, many people made jokes about how easy they would be to lose. The lack of a wire means that, whenever they’re not in their little carry-case, you have to know the whereabouts of each separate headphone, and their small size means they’re very easily misplaced.
One man, known only as Mr Hsu in local media, can relate to this more than most, as he fell asleep one night with the AirPods in his ears, and woke up to find the right one had gone missing.
Watch his grim search for it here:
Luckily, Apple had prepared for such an eventuality, and created the ‘Find My Airpods’ phone feature. Hsu used the app to try and track down the missing earphone, and learned they were both in the room with him.
He spoke about his search for the small device, saying:
The map showed that my AirPod was at home, and I could hear the ‘beep, beep’ sound, which seemed to follow me around the room.
But I checked under my blanket and looked around but couldn’t find it – then I realised the sound was coming from my stomach!
Somehow, Hsu had taken the AirPod from his ear, or wherever it had fallen while sleeping, and swallowed it. Now, I know I keep saying the earphones are small, but they’re not that small.
Although he wasn’t in any pain, Hsu took a trip to Kaohsiung Municipal United Hospital, where doctors confirmed his suspicions, telling him the device was indeed inside his belly.
The medical staff gave him a laxative and told him to monitor his poos, because if he didn’t pass the AirPod naturally, he’d need surgery to remove it.
Now, I imagine most people in this situation would simply observe their bowel movements, as it’s likely you’d be able to see the AirPod in among the poo.
But Hsu decided to dive right in and literally rifle through his sh*t – without gloves or anything – to dig out the missing earphone. For some reason he also decided to film the entire ordeal, as if anyone else would ever want to witness it.
He snapped a picture of himself, smiling proudly and holding the poo-covered Pod, before cleaning it and letting it dry off. Once it was slightly more sanitary, Hsu decided to go ahead and keep using the earphone, rather than splash out on a new one which had never passed through a human being.
Following the situation, Hsu proudly added:
The battery was still at 41 percent! It was incredible.
Though the story is incredibly gross, I suppose it makes for some good advertising for Apple.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.