I have a bit of an obsession with flash drives and external hard drives, in that I own three of the latter and more than half a dozen of the former. I love extra storage, and I’m all about backing up my work. But there’s one flash drive I use more than any other, and it’s this little fella right here:
The name used to be on it, but that’s worn off long ago. There’s a little plastic loop thing on the other end so you can put it on a keyring, but that broke off, too. This thing keeps on going, though, and it holds 32GB. I have all my writings on it, plus all my photos, plus I have several portable versions of programs I use frequently, such as Chrome and Photofiltre, so I can use this thing to do work on breaks whilst at the Day Job. The last few months, since the little key-ring loop broke, I’ve kept this drive in my coin pocket at work.
And this past Friday when I got home, I forgot about it, and tossed those pants in the wash. On Sunday I washed the pants, and then ran them through the drier. Twice, actually, since things were still a little damp after one cycle.
Yesterday morning I got up and got dressed, and when it came time to slip that little drive into my coin pocket, I couldn’t find it. I suddenly realized there was only one thing that could have happened, and sure enough, when I looked in the drier, there it was. It had gone through the entire washing and drying cycle, submerged in soapy water, then resubmerged in clean water, and then tumbled about a drying chamber in high heat. There was no way that little drive still worked.
Guess what.
I wish I knew who made it, because that thing took a beating and still worked just fine today. I’m impressed.
Like a Timex watch, as John Cameron Swayze would say.