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Ipod saves Soldier's Life -pictures and story

flickr.com — "his IPod was in his jacket pocket. It slowed the bullet down enough that it did not completely penetrate his body armor. Fortunately, Kevin suffered no wound."

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  • Noobist, on 10/12/2007, -24/+314the iPod GOD edition
    • bbrosemer, on 10/12/2007, -18/+161Apple better give him a new one for free if he takes it to an Apple Genius...
    • Seruphim, on 10/12/2007, -22/+345why should apple owe him anything? they just saved his life
    • vemerge, on 10/12/2007, -10/+349It would be good PR for Apple to replace it...
    • rooskie, on 10/12/2007, -93/+11"It would be good PR for Apple to replace it..."

      Actually, it's an HP iPod - not Apple. Apple couldn't run it through their system for a replacement even if they wanted to
    • maddskillz, on 10/12/2007, -8/+132Seruphim: Apple owes him for the advertising
    • royall64, on 10/12/2007, -10/+61http://www.flickr.com/photos/tiki/445621299/in/pool-appleusers/

      Lol, look at his face.
    • swazooe, on 10/12/2007, -24/+226You sure don't see any Zunes doing that!
    • FTLJohnson, on 10/12/2007, -146/+8@noobist

      We all know that most diggers think Steve Jobs is God... but God had nothing to do with it... (Steve Jobs did have a little bit to do with it, but he's not omniprescient.... or is he...? )
    • gaiden2k5, on 10/12/2007, -10/+32how fortunate, now he knows better - get a MBP and carry it on the back (these aren't made of Titanium for nothing)
    • noahhoward, on 10/12/2007, -4/+60You missed the joke, Johnson.
    • ummagummas08, on 10/12/2007, -26/+4I've heard of this happening with some convenience store clerk who was getting robbed, but it was a cellphone instead of an ipod, and the crook was aiming at his fireman. The phone was like destroyed but his fireman suffered no injuries! It was on one of those Spike shows like Most Extreme Action Videos!!
    • Gryffydd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+17His face? Look at hers! I think I'd be pretty happy if my SO survived being shot too though...
    • HRH.King.Lerxst, on 10/12/2007, -3/+39gaiden2k5: MBPs are not made of titanium, at all.
    • technogenius, on 10/12/2007, -21/+7@noobist: I wonder if his lock code for the ipod was IDDQD ;)
    • EmperorAwesome, on 10/12/2007, -21/+13And Zen's are thicker. Therefore, more life saving?
    • Wrathernaut, on 10/12/2007, -16/+126According to the story, it says it slowed it down so that it didn't penetrate his armor.

      The armor stopped it. The iPod slowed it down like a speed bump slows down a runaway dump truck.

      Besides the obvious, anybody here know where you wear interceptor body armor (IBA - what the US army currently fields to soldiers in Iraq)? That's right OUTSIDE of your jacket. You don't put anything with a "jacket pocket" on over it. You rarely wear anything in your jacket (the top he's wearing is a jacket according to the military) pockets when wearing the IBA, it's very uncomfortable and poorly accessible. And no, you do not wear a jacket over it if you're cold.

      The outermost piece of armor is the ballistic plate, followed by kevlar. If the iPod was anywhere outside of that, it would likely be a ammo or other utility pouch. The pouches all attach over the plates. The plates and kevlar combination currently issued will stop a 7.62mm armor piercing round. As you can see from the picture, the iPod has no such capabilities. I could see one being worn in the jacket pocket of a soldier not wearing armor for some reason or another that stopped a stabbing.

      Last nitpicking - how old is this supposed to be? Very few Army personnel sent out to Iraq since 2005 has been sent without the new Army Combat Uniform, and in the pictures he's wearing the older Desert Combat Uniform.
    • knetworx, on 10/12/2007, -19/+5(At the risk of sacrilege, I can't help but make this comment...)
      Would that be the iGod?
    • Insignian, on 10/12/2007, -13/+5Ipod+body armor
    • hifiDesign, on 10/12/2007, -14/+4@gaiden2k5: MBPs aren't made of Titanium, they're made of aluminum.

      Edit: someone already posted this, but it wasn't there when I hit reply. MOD THIS DOWN.
    • redscofield, on 10/12/2007, -13/+6Too bad it's an HP iPod...
    • tinko, on 10/12/2007, -11/+30Now if we could just shoot all HP computers...
    • jediorange, on 10/12/2007, -5/+11@Wrathernaut

      The picture was taken on April 3, 2007 according to the metadata.
    • tpaine, on 10/12/2007, -9/+36Is there anything the ipod CAN'T do??
    • flag564, on 10/12/2007, -21/+26Perhaps I'm missing why people are turning this guys story into some sort of advertising opportunity for Apple.

      No, the iPod didn't save his life so much as it blunted the force of the bullet. Add that to his body armor and he was saved from some serious hurt.

      Any object of reasonable thickness would have done the job ( a PSP, or any other thick portable device). There are even stories of how Bibles, held in a breast pocket, stopped bullets.

      I'm glad for this serviceman's safety, but it's just crass to try to use it as a way to promote a product.
    • sketchydave, on 10/12/2007, -6/+11Adding to what Wrathernaut mentioned:
      The iPod 4G (which is the model in the picture) came out on July 19, 2004 so the photo is dated anytime after that. This could be an old photo, I know I would keep an iPod that got shot. And if the bullet had penetrated the hard drive or the battery you could make the argument that the iPod slowed it down as those are dense materials. But the bullet clipped the top of the case which is just plastic, circuitboard and thin metal. Good analogy on the dump truck and the speedbump.

      But the guy is alright, hooray for body armor, and we got to see a couple of neat pics.
    • masterkenobi, on 10/12/2007, -12/+4@tpaine

      Play Xvid videos.
    • lintmonkey, on 10/12/2007, -6/+58I don't think the shooter was aiming for the soldier -- he knew it was an HP iPod and was fulfilling God's will by shooting it.
    • opethlike, on 10/12/2007, -11/+11 I can attest to validity of these pictures. My wife's uncle, who works in the VA hospital and actually took the pictures gave me these cause he thought they were neat. I sent them around email in the office and someone posted them on their Flickr account. I do not know how old they are, but I do know that the story is true. I have spoken with someone from PR at Apple and she was very excited said "she would take care of it" My wife's uncle is getting her his email/phone number.
    • bob_the_alien, on 10/12/2007, -5/+18Bet this guy wanted to kill the insurgent again, after he saw what happened to his Ipod.
    • ccaazz, on 10/12/2007, -14/+4ipods... is there anything they can't do!
    • atlex2, on 10/12/2007, -4/+23*shows to apple genius*
      "What seems to be the problem?"
    • masterkenobi, on 10/12/2007, -14/+3Why did I get dugg down? It's true that Ipods can't play Xvid videos, right?

      Goddam Digg down ninjas...
    • quade, on 10/12/2007, -11/+7ZOMG! His uniform is soooo Iraqi War Season 2, and the Kevlar vests were changed out during the Season 3 hiatus. Not to mention that the video iPod wasn't even *released* until Season 4.

      / What else can we pick apart?
      // F-ing fanboys...
    • Octanum, on 10/12/2007, -15/+10"Is there anything the ipod CAN'T do??"

      Yeah, FM radio.
    • goeatsmsht, on 10/12/2007, -8/+6@ jediorange

      The picture was UPLOADED on April 3rd
    • goeatsmsht, on 10/12/2007, -8/+7@ Octanum

      Actually, they sell a radio plug in for the headphones. My dumb ass sister picked me up one for Xmas, thinking it was a shuffle, it's similar in size. (C'mon a shuffle for 20 bucks!?!?)
    • halleyscomet, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3@sketchydave
      "But the guy is alright, hooray for body armor, and we got to see a couple of neat pics."

      And there is the real meat of the story.
    • masterkenobi, on 10/12/2007, -17/+11It's funny, someone says "Is there anything the ipod CAN'T do??", and a few of us start posting some of the obvious things that they can't do, and we get dugg down by the fanboy digg down ninjas.

      Go ahead, bury our comments. The Ipod CAN do everything!

      /rollseyes
    • Morphinity, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4It's not the war on terror anymore. It's TBA.
    • Atomic1fire, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1what
      no one saying that it was Completely natural
      and thinking it was a miracle is just a fairy tale
      and no Pro atheist comments
    • Gir53457, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9News: 1943, on the European front:

      The two of them were within just a few feet of each other when they opened fire. The Kraut was killed and Kevin was hit in the left chest where his Zippo was in his jacket pocket. It slowed the bullet down enough that it did not completely penetrate his body armor. Fortunately, Kevin suffered no wound.
    • cleverboy, on 10/12/2007, -10/+15UPDATE 04.05.07:
      I just got an email via flickr from an engineer at Apple.
      He showed the photos around the office and want to
      help get the guy a new iPod. So it's looking good
      that it will be replaced.
      http://www.flickr.com/photos/tiki/445618364/in/pool-appleusers/
      -----------------

      All I gotta say is... DDDDDAAAAMMMNNNN.... Hopefully Apple reaches out and gives the guy a new iPod. It'd be a really nice gesture for those out there serving our country.

      Ah... Wrathernaut. You might consider... for a moment, if your body armor... on the outside of the jacket, where your iPod sits in the pocket, is hit with a bullet... and the bullet has enough force to peirce the armor but is slowed down enough by what was UNDER the armor... IN the jacket... that it actually didn't end up peircing the armor fully, but stopping at the iPod and remaining wedged in the armor... it makes perfect sense. If the iPod was in something that had a pocket, and sitting OVER the armor, it would NOT have been the iPod that stopped the bullet, would it?

      Your "nitpick" is stupid. A case of someone who knows just enough to think backwards about how something actually happened. Draw a little diagram for yourself next time. It helps.
    • chingy1788, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1I'm going to make an armorised box out of many, many, old 2 GB and less 3.5" HDDs
      who wants to help?
      It will have a a steel frame, aluminum sides, covered in HDDs overlapping each othere
      There will be a hole to look out of, which will be covered in about 6 inches of bullet proof glass
      the HDDs will be bolted in, then all of it dipped in some sealant
      Breathing vents will be placed at the top and bottom of the box
      the box will be on 4 wheels
      it will have a door and another hole to shoot out of, big enough to fit a rocket launcher through
      hehe
      mini tank
    • SultanTravi, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3@Wrathernaut
      His old uniform and the fact that the bullet clearly went through the iPod (did you see the picture?) implies that he was wearing a soft vest, not plates. Had he been wearing plates, the iPod would have been cracked or damaged by the blunt force, but there would not be a bullet hole in it. AK rounds go right through anything but a high-quality plate. So it did save his life; without it, the bullet would have gone through the armor.
    • Nerfdude, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3i guess they should start lining the undersides of their hummers with ipods, huh?
    • Wrathernaut, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Okay follow-up to those commenting on my analysis.

      #1 - He was wearing only soft armor beneath his jacket. - Possible.
      If this is true, then this is years old as third-party armor was not authorized for wear in Iraq by the time I was there - beginning Sep '05.
      Assuming the rest of the caption is true, the iPod generation and uniform would likely put him in the Jan' 05 deployment of 3ID.
      Still would make the armor beneath his jacket be what saved him. Not all AK rounds are created equal. But yes, the soft vest are designed for handguns, not rifles.

      #2 - Cleverboy's analysis (trying to make sense of that paragraph):
      You saw that it actually went clean through the iPod, right? The iPod was not what caught the bullet. The only way you could give credit to the iPod saving his life, and being cleanly pierced (you did look at the picture, right?) would be if the bullet was stopped at the very last layer of ballistic fabric in his vest.
      Maybe you need to do a simple text digram to explain yourself, because your paragraph is so broken that I can't clearly make out whether you mean he was saved by the iPod being hit first, or acting as a cushion beneath his vest.

      I still contend that the iPod did little to nothing in the way of disrupting the bullet. As mentioned by others, if it had gone through the hard drive and such, I'd give it a little more credit, but it went through thin metal, plastic and a small piece of circuit board.

      Saved by body armor, NOT iPod.
    • noreturn, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Or, cleverboy, you could use your eyes and see clearly that the bullet penetrated the iPod entirely. The guy is right, an iPod does nothing to significantly slow down a bullet, and body armor would have functioned without it just as well.
    • Vectorphobe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2well, i guess now i cant throw out my darn 20G, i doubt a Nano would do much good
    • gardnert1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5good thing he's got that 3+ armor save.

      /nerdy
    • MauiMac, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Where can I go to donate money for a new iPod?
    • joeljohnson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2just another reason not to get a shuffle...
    • neworleansjim, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Those Iraqis really hate Ipods! They almost killed a guy trying to destroy one!
  • tommyball, on 10/12/2007, -9/+49He should get free iTunes downloads for life.
    • hode, on 10/12/2007, -12/+67Why do you think Apple needs to give him something? If anyone, Dick Cheney should buy him a new ipod.
    • mrbeagle, on 10/12/2007, -10/+9Maybe if he wasn't zoned out listening to his music doohickey he wouldn't have wandered into enemy fire.

      He should buy himself a new ipod, and leave it on base next time.
    • KaneElson, on 10/12/2007, -9/+7I completely agree with mrbeagel. I don't understand how people can walk around town with their iPods blaring, but in a war zone ? You would have to be a moron.
    • fluxingtontheIV, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5he shouldn't been afk...n00b
    • WoahPuppets, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@ mrbeagle and kaneelson

      it was just in his pocket, it doesn't say he was listening to it...
  • ChrisWickenscom, on 10/12/2007, -64/+17Too bad it probably wouldnt have gone through is body armor ANYWAY.
    • opethlike, on 10/12/2007, -8/+69No, it was at a range where it would have pierced the armor. They don't wear steel plates, its just Kevlar.
    • scooterbaga, on 10/12/2007, -34/+11Too bad the don't wear body armor that stops bullets. (regardless of range)
    • bsolidgold, on 10/12/2007, -10/+34It would have most definitely gone through his body armor.
    • Saabzilla, on 10/12/2007, -21/+9@ US Military leaders! Dragon Skin would have stopped a 7.62x39 round. Thank GOD he had his IPOD in his pocket!!! It would be nice to see Apple hook him up with a new one, but I think the Military owes him an IPOD! Its funny how I did not see this story on main stream media outlets, yes very funny.
    • djmik83, on 10/12/2007, -3/+26Since they are saying the bullet hit the iPod first, then he was wearing a concealment vest which is just Twaron or Dyneema (nobody uses Kevlar anymore) worn under your BDU top. This would had not stopped an AK round at close range and is only made to stop handgun rounds.
    • djmik83, on 10/12/2007, -0/+15I do want to add - why was this guy on patrol with just a concealment vest on? Why did he not have a full-on vest with plates? If you're going to be face to face with the enemy, you need more than just a concealment vest.
    • Spuy767, on 10/12/2007, -16/+12The AK-47 fires a 7.62MM NATO round which has kinetic energy sufficient to decimate body armour, at substantial ranges. What the ipod did was provide sufficient blunting oof the round to ensure that the body armour stopped is where a direct strike to the kevlar w/o plating would simple be pushed aside by the bullet kind of like a knife.

      @idiot who knows nothing about dragonskin
      The dragon skin system, which I'm sure you saw on future weapons, costs about 13 grand to make a single vest. That is just not practical, there are lighter weight systems capable of stopping the even larger 50BMG and Barrett 416 rounds which cost in excess of $400,000.00, so get your ***** straight before you come here blabbing about some ***** you saw on the discovery channel.
    • Wrathernaut, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10According to the story, it was on the mean streets of Iraq, point blank from a AK-47, not at a range.

      While in Iraq, when we went to the range (yes, I had to go to the shooting range in Iraq... gotta love a unit that loves keeping up the paperwork even in a war zone) we wore full body armor to include the ballistic plates.

      When at a range back in the states, we don't wear any armor except for our helmet.
    • Gryffydd, on 10/12/2007, -1/+30@spuy767

      The AK does NOT shoot a 7.62 NATO round. It shoots the 7.62x39 round. 7.62 NATO is 7.62x51. How about YOU get your ***** straight before you go jumping all over people?
    • fatbert, on 10/12/2007, -0/+18@spuy767-

      The AK does not fire a 7.62x54 NATO round. It fires the less powerful 7.62x39 Soviet.
    • Wrathernaut, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9While in Iraq, I never saw any concealment vests used by soldiers. The ONLY armor I saw used by soldiers was the Interceptor Ballistic Armor.

      Again, judging by the DCUs instead of ACUs being worn in the picture, I will give the benefit of the doubt and say this is really old and happened before the IBA was declared the only armor you could wear, get shot in, die, and have your family get your insurance payment.
    • ChronicColonic, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14I think it had something to do with the number of songs he had on the device. Less songs, less data to go through.
    • vanquishx2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You can't say for sure it would of gone through, but i'm amazed that it slowed the bullet down enough to make a difference.
    • Step1Mark, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2someone needs to send out a memo to put a layer of First Generation iPODs in the next order of body armor
  • Solardog, on 10/12/2007, -1/+224Good thing he didn't get the nano.
    • schlongmeister, on 10/12/2007, -7/+79Or the shuffle.
    • wageslaven, on 10/12/2007, -59/+15Or a Zune eh? eh? God would have let that bullet go right past for sure! 'cause God -- and all us diggers -- really love Apple!
    • SnuKs, on 10/12/2007, -6/+11Someone had to say it. hahah

    • carrett, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17Hell, it's a good thing he had an older generation. The newer ones are thinner.
    • Mootabolife, on 10/12/2007, -1/+25In a follow up report:

      The soldier was crossing the busy streets of New York one day while wearing his new Ipod and headphones.....
    • ipodsweatshop, on 10/12/2007, -24/+4Fanboy article. It was something in his pocket, could have been anything happened to be an iPod. Who cares? If it had been a GPS you tards would never even have read this.
    • gaiden2k5, on 10/12/2007, -21/+4Waaay off the topic and digg me down if you want but:

      it's so obvious the person w/ AK47 was a noob who gets pwn'd in CS (counter-strike) just like the way he did in real life
    • KMartSheriff, on 10/12/2007, -6/+8@wageslaven

      I know you think diggers are annoying because they "love Apple", but trust me, you anti-Apple fanbois are much worse.
    • sumskater41, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7I wonder if the warranty includes "Shot at by terrorists..."
  • LaurenceHerbert, on 10/12/2007, -4/+37I wonder if Apple Support cover this.
    • profOblivion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+23Sadly, no.

      "This warranty does not apply: (a) [...]; (b) to damage caused by accident, abuse, misuse, flood, fire, earthquake, or other external causes; "
      http://images.apple.com/legal/warranty/ipodisight.pdf

      I know it seems sad that I looked that up, but I've read other warranties and extended warranties that specifically disclaim covering war-related damage.
  • CaptShmo, on 10/12/2007, -37/+2Yeah, but now his iPod is broken... that's pretty f'n sad =(
    • tim507, on 10/12/2007, -2/+56i honestly would like my life over my ipod....just sayin..
    • Hale, on 10/12/2007, -17/+4If my free iPod stopped a bullet it would be the most useful thing it's ever done.
    • KuJo6784, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2Hale, just cause you're confusing your penis with your ipod doesn't make it right.
    • SneakyJesus, on 10/12/2007, -6/+15I'm in ur pocket, protecting all ur vitals...
    • sv650touring, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Hale,

      What (that you own) would that NOT apply to?
    • vanquishx2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Hale, maybe it can play music, that would be useful especially for an ipod which was made to do just that.
  • vemerge, on 10/12/2007, -19/+3What's with the HP logo engraving on it? Also... notice how it BARELY hit the top corner. Within a few centimetres and it wouldn't have hit the iPod first. Lucky.
    • LaurenceHerbert, on 10/12/2007, -10/+7It's a newer version which allows the person to print the song being played.
    • AJH16, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Its the HP version.
    • bittermang, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9HP makes OEM iPods. I seem to recall it being a big deal ages ago. They're the same iPod, from Apple, just made by HP.
    • joshpowell, on 10/12/2007, -0/+15*Made* OEM iPods. They stopped after the 4th gen I believe.
    • Hale, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11@joshpowell. I think they ONLY made 4th gens.
    • laterallateral, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2I'm no ballistics expert but aren't Kalashnikov rounds pretty heavy duty? And being so, wouldn't they cause more damage to an ipod from very close range than a simple bullet hole? I would have expected the plastic faceplate to splinter in dozens of pieces. This is highly dubious.
    • shark615, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4@laterallateral.

      NO, unfortunatly that childlike logic doesn't apply to ballistics. Less powerful rounds cause MORE damage because they move slower and tumble etc. When they hit the target they stay there and cause more damage or if the do pass through they take more interal bits with them aka large exit wound. Larger more powerful round cause less damage because they have more enegry and travel through without tumbling etc. with mean a cleaner in and out.

      Of course this can change with range and bullet type.
  • bovox, on 10/12/2007, -18/+3this is PROOF that steve jobs is the messiah!!!
    • laterallateral, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@Sharkblablabla.

      Gee ain't that wonderful. Thanks for the trash talk and info. That was real nice, yeah.
      Good job maintaining the Internet as an all too often disappointing display of human interaction.
      Keep it up, rewarding honest, polite questions with pathetic inferiority complex fueled, abusive answers.
      Do you do this in the real world? When somebody asks you what kinds of topping you have for their coffee, you
      Insinuate that they're infantile idiots for not knowing and then proceed to over-educate them condescendingly?
      Bet that gets you ALLL the ladies, eh?
      You fail.
  • Samsara, on 10/12/2007, -5/+46Wow someone actually bought the HP version.
    • thefritz, on 10/12/2007, -9/+1I know... I mean wow! Unbelievable really.
  • gotama, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2i'm taking pre-orders for kevlar ipod cases. send me money.
  • akarpo, on 10/12/2007, -16/+2APPLE SAVES LIVES! A ZUNE WOULD HAVE FAILED HORRIBLY.

    Actually, I've never handled a Zune. Probability it would have reduced the speed of that round to the same degree that an iPod did? Slightly curious.
    • LaurenceHerbert, on 10/12/2007, -13/+5The Zune would probably do better. It is thicker.
    • cjwl, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15Stainless steel vs. plastic, hmm
    • lostin1984, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2the zippo could of acted like those sheets of explosive armor on modern tanks.
    • shark615, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2Stainless steel? What a millimeter of it? Give me a break steel that thin is probably not as strong as the thicker plastic used on the Zune.
  • SgtSilverfish, on 10/12/2007, -0/+31There's a myth/legend of this happening with a Zippo in WW2. They didn't wear bulletproof vests then so the Zippo apparently stopped a bullet completely, or enough for it not to pierce the skin of the soldier, saving his life.

    Seems we've come a long way in miracle bullet stopping technology.
    • daines88, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5I've heard that somewhere before, it's pretty plausible. Although I would think that the zippo would have exploded.
    • justinlarsen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+23I see a new episode of "mythbusters: digg edition"
    • tpizz, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Zippo's are not under any pressure. They are basically a cotton ball soaked with lighter fluid.
    • Spuy767, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Mythbusters already tested, and disproved that horribly, even the lowly 22, with a lead round went straight through the zippo with only marginal loss of velocity.
    • blubloblu, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Aren't zippo's full of lighter fluid?
    • SneakyJesus, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Yea full of lighter fluid, but unless there is the proper mixture of oxygen, fuel, and fire, no explosion. since the fluid is so contained and isn't allowed air (because it would dry up) even a tracer round likely would not ignite a lighter. it would need multiple hits to open the lighter and allow O2 into it to create the proper fuel to air ratio.
    • adeadwaffle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2This is sorta similar to when President Roosevelt was shot and the bullet hit both a copy of his speech and his eyeglass case. The bullet still hit the president but he lived and it was probably due to what was in his pocket...
  • InfinitySnatch, on 10/12/2007, -4/+23Well good for him. My old iPod photo got me sent to prison. :(
  • Wonkanobi, on 10/12/2007, -3/+35I wonder if he was listening to "Shot thru the heart"...
  • SnuKs, on 10/12/2007, -3/+32as of now, iPods are standard issue.
    • goeatsmsht, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10They're cheaper than body armor and I betcha the government can get them to the soldiers quicker.....
  • raybury, on 10/12/2007, -10/+4Consumerist.com article on said soldier having to repurchase all his iTunes music in 3..2..

    Digg of said Consumerist.com article two days later.
  • billraydrums, on 10/12/2007, -11/+6"The damage to this unit falls outside of the realm of "normal useage"" is most likely what the response from Apple will be.

    Digg me down, fanboys....digg me down.
  • tommyredcoat, on 10/12/2007, -2/+149The insurgent was actually an RIAA assassin.
    • gaiden2k5, on 10/12/2007, -15/+3but why would he attempt to take out someone using an ipod? ...or perhaps he was misinformed that the soldier had a ..mmm... zune instead?
    • Spuy767, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Considering that the iTMS is starting to sell DRM free tracks ffrom EMI, and that the MS has been pandering to the RIAA with the ZUNE since launch by giving RIAA studios a royalty on every ZUNE sold, I'm willing to bet that the RIAA is a bit more pissed at Apple atm.
  • everfresh59, on 10/12/2007, -10/+2He was probably listening to Britney Spears, and we all know how G-d hates Pop Music....
  • UrbanVoyeur, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Clearly our soldiers need Up-Armored iPods ASAP.
  • evcarforum, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2us army body armour doesnt work at close range? 900fps at 5 feet vs 850 fps at 100 yards isnt really much a difference to me. great story though - free ipods for soldiers! :]
    • Spuy767, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1Good story, 'cept that the 7.62 nato is really travelling at about 2100 FPS at 100 yards.
    • hobnob, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6'cept it's not a NATO round
  • wounded625, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9i can see it coming. iPodArmor or iArmor for short.
  • k4zz4m, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4and Apple wants to build smaller and thinner iPods. Ha!
  • Bloc, on 10/12/2007, -2/+54so THAT'S how to get the case off..
  • Raian, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5Well, it looks like another soul belongs to Steve Jobs-- I guess an intern can add that one to "the list".
  • bumblefoot, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1wow that's money well spent :-) same the ipod probably doesn't work any more lol
  • renzokuken513, on 10/12/2007, -27/+2Aaaaand the Toshiba Gigabeat still kicks the crap out of it. Don't believe me? Check it out

    http://reviews.cnet.com/Toshiba_Gigabeat_MES30VW_30GB_white/4505-6499_7-31660763.html?tag=prod.txt.1
    • nblsavage, on 10/12/2007, -4/+14An iPod wannabe that ties you to Windows? Pass.
    • bumblefoot, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6bugger off with your spam,


      and no i'm not an apple fanboy infact i pretty much hate apple :-)

      i just recognise apple make a damned good product :-)


      btw i don't own an ipod either i have a sony nwa3000 (>_
    • silverwolf761, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1Wow, other than myself, I've NEVER seen anyone with one nor seen anybody who knows what those are. Even though my Gigabeat isn't the S version (its an "F" I believe) I still like it a lot and hasn't given me any trouble.
    • Spuy767, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1Thing that turned me off of the gigabeat was the buttons on the side, I have Yao Ming sized hands and the buttons ate exceptionally hard to press. Oh, and the other thing I didn't like is that I am a ZOMG APPLE FANBOI!@#$%@$
    • dmcipod, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7RIP James Kim
  • kingygk, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10I hope Steve Jobs sees this. Hey Steve I think there is a new commercial in this for you! :) This is awesome.
    • CheeseMan316, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9No because that will just cause kids to try shooting each other in the ipod.
  • Emachine, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2Nice, old fat ipod...bulletproof. If he had a new shuffle he may have been screwed...
  • astrotrain, on 10/12/2007, -8/+3A bullet with butterfly wings...
    • mywhitenoise, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3that doesn't make any sense. I know you're trying to plug in The Smashing Pumpkins, but it just doesn't fit.
  • vblvbl, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7I knew those things had a purpose.
  • jordan.basham, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13Cool, now all we need to do is cover Humvees in Ipods and soldiers will be a lot safer.
  • kmb1794, on 10/12/2007, -9/+4"his IPod was in his jacket pocket. It slowed the bullet down enough that it did not completely penetrate his body armor. Fortunately, Kevin suffered no wound."

    OK, ummm, is this true? What's the point of body armour if it can't stop a bullet without the help of an Ipod?

    Mac supports the war!!! Suckaz.

    What next? igun?
    • SavageOwnage, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9He was shot with a AK-47 from close range. I don't think any body armour can stop that.
  • dugR, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2they should just link up a bunch of old broken ipods and where them as body armor vests, underneath their normal one.
  • bobcrotch, on 10/12/2007, -11/+4That completely rocks





    I would love to see where all the anti-war anti-troop comments are for stories like this or do you only make snide remarks about stories that are 'wrong'?
    • fantasticFlan, on 10/12/2007, -6/+6Anti-war != anti-troop.
    • SnuKs, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8I'd like to see your reason behind anti-war = anti-troop?

      I dont support the war and I don't support the reason behind going into the war we're in right now, but I support the soldiers who are out there risking their lives. For me they're out there for the wrong reason, but hey, they have their job to do and no matter how much I or anyone else dislikes it, it won't change- they have to fight.

      And HONESTLY who they hell is pro-war? If you think about it, NOBODY wants war. Nobody wants their children killed, they sons buried dying on the battlefield, civilians caught in the crossfire, their houses destoryed, their well-being gone. As much as we glorify war in movies and in the media, the last thing we'd like to see is someone close to us die.
    • ab2650, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6@snuks
      "And HONESTLY who they hell is pro-war?"

      Oh, I can think of a few. One's name starts with a "G" and ends with an "eorge W Bush."
    • kmb1794, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2I'm pro-war but anti-troops.
    • bobcrotch, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2You sound like a Parrot repeating what your keeper says.

      Saying that you don't support the war but you support the troops is like saying you support the use of gasoline but not the people who make the cars. It just doesn't make sense at all. How can you protest the war but be okay with the troops and support them? Protesting their job isn't what I call supporting them at all. You are ANTI-TROOP if you are ANTI-WAR, I don't care what you tell your self to make you feel better about your choice but it's the facts.

      Can you explain it another way because I can't seem to think of one.

    • rajulkabir, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@bobcrotch

      The best thing for them, their personal safety, their families, and the safety of the USA would be for them to come back home. So if I want them to come back home, I am pro-troops. And anti-war.

      It's quite simple really.
  • woranl, on 10/12/2007, -12/+3fake and lame
  • fantasticFlan, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4That oughta be worth some brand loyalty.
    • Hale, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1too bad it's an HP! It would be great if it was from freeipods.com
  • JoeBaynham, on 10/12/2007, -9/+3Thank god it wasn't a zune!
    • mywhitenoise, on 10/12/2007, -6/+8Zune's are thicker, I'd imagine it being just as, or more helpful.
    • popltree2, on 10/12/2007, -7/+7^comments like that have been said at least a half dozen times already in this story alone. No need to repeat. Thank you.
  • Katana314, on 10/12/2007, -8/+14So apparently, the best use of an iPod is to SHOOT IT.
    Makes sense.
  • hydrokayak, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2I think that this is horrible... poor iPod. I'm glad I got the 60 gig Zen Vision:M. It's thicker... meaning more protection???
    • ThreeDee912, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6From the looks of it, probably not. Looks like all plastic.
  • Cyber_Akuma, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14I guess the Xbox was a little too big to wear.

    (I'm not the only one that remembers that story about a Xbox deflecting a shotgun shell am I?)
    • JimDinger, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1If it was a Shot gun slug that would be newsworthy,but a shot gun is just little "bb's" that spray out so no story there,just like no story here,the IPOD slowed the bullet down enough fo rthe armor to do its job.Any other "MP3" player would do the same.I really hat fan boys.
  • ruddy, on 10/12/2007, -14/+1yeah if it were a zune it woulda shot that mother ***** back
    • mywhitenoise, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13Um, because it's a Zune? Not because the DUDE WAS TRYING TO ***** KILL YOU?
  • combustion8, on 10/12/2007, -5/+8dead insurgent and a dead ipod, great story.
  • popltree2, on 10/12/2007, -3/+22You HAVE to roll a 20 for a save like that.
  • viviwanu, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3Finally, the solution for winning the war! Mr. President, one iPod for every soldier please!
  • gunslinger37, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1i hope the military replaces that poor mans ipod....
  • creighton, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9And I was so proud of my own iPod (30G video) for surviving the fall off the top of my car at 40mph with only some scuffed corners...my story pales in comparison.

    Is one dead iPod worth the life of one insurgent? I say so.
  • bhowell, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Too bad he didn't have the bullet-proof ipod case -- could've saved the ipod too!
    http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/portable-media/bulletproof-ipod-case-183405.php
    • surf314, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4First comment -
      "ugadawg says:

      Okay, now why do I see this being used as a plot device. I can see the guy saying, "I'm not dead, my iPod saved me. See." Thus we have another exciting use for iPods."

      Oh the irony!
  • maexus, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6I have a feeling this will show up on diggnation. Awesome regardless.
  • dregan, on 10/12/2007, -6/+6It sucks that our soldiers' body armor is so out of date that it won't stop the bullets without an iPod.
    • dave932932, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6If the body armor could stop insurgent rounds at a couple feet, it would not allow our soldiers to run (or walk). You have to have a balance between protection and mobility.
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