Somebody send this man an iPod!

• jinn jinn
  April 5th, 2007 at 1:09 pm

  First.

  I cant believe no one else has done this.

• anon
  April 5th, 2007 at 1:16 pm

  finally, a good use for an ipod.

• artbot
  April 5th, 2007 at 1:26 pm

  Why has our gub’ment been so slow to get full armored suits made of iPods to our troops!!!???

• Justin
  April 5th, 2007 at 1:26 pm

  Damn, that’s something I’ve only seen in movies.

• astanhope
  April 5th, 2007 at 1:27 pm

  Isn’t it usually something like a silver dollar or a bible in the movies?

• Anthony
  April 5th, 2007 at 1:33 pm

  “It slowed the bullet down enough that it did not completely penetrate his body armor.” I’m sure the several layers of kevlar and ceramic plates had nothing to do with the bullet stopping.

  While it’s a slightly interesting story, he’d be fine without the iPod. It’s like saying the paint on the tank slows down the shrapnel enough that it can’t penetrate the armor, and that’s why we paint all our tanks.

• astanhope
  April 5th, 2007 at 1:38 pm

  Party-pooper!

• artbot
  April 5th, 2007 at 2:21 pm

  And some folks, our troops included, aren’t above a little hoax-ification.
  Grunt #1: This ipod blows! I can’t even listen to a whole Toby Keith album before the battery dies.
  Grunt #2: Maybe you should say you had it in your pocket when you got hit in that raid last week and tell how it saved your life.
  Grunt #1: Yeah! Maybe Apple will send me a new one.
  Grunt #2: Set it on the fence over there and we’ll take a little target practice!

• NeonCat
  April 5th, 2007 at 2:52 pm

  @artbot: That may be true, but I would think that if it was being used for target practice, the round would have entered through the screen or the touch-pad (it makes a nice bullseye). So I am inclined to believe the soldier had it in his pocket, screen turned in to protect it, and it was between him and the other feller’s rifle.

• ImNoMrNiceGuy
  April 5th, 2007 at 3:38 pm

  Thank God he didn’t have a Nano!

• Dave
  April 5th, 2007 at 3:44 pm

  Tell you what, Anthony, let’s test it on you; strap on a Kevlar vest and we’ll hit you with a couple of AK-47 rounds at point-blank range, one with an iPod in the way and one without. Then you tell us if he’d have been “fine” either way.

  The main point is that at that range, the AK-47 bullet was traveling at full muzzle velocity (about 2,300fp/s), while the vest he was wearing is rated for a 50% chance of stopping anything traveling 1,525ft/s or faster. I would say that the iPod earned a Bronze Star. Or better.

• Anthony
  April 5th, 2007 at 4:33 pm

  NeonCat, the bullet hit the front of the iPod and exited the back.

  Dave, I don’t know where you’re getting your facts (well, I probably do, Wikipedia). But the OTV is rated at 1,525 FPS with a 124 grain, 9mm ball round. Not only is an AK-47 round a different ballistic test, the IBA (what he would have been wearing) is a different armor, and the OTV is just a component part of it. In case you don’t believe me, you can just read the back of a SAPI plate. It is capable of withstanding a 7.62 X 51 mm round, which is a higher power than a 7.62 X 39 mm AK-47 round.

  And, of course, a test of a couple rounds is different than a test of one round, given the IBA has been criticized for failure to defeat multiple hits due to plate fracture.

  You obviously don’t command a complete understanding of the ballistics involved, so if you prefer to believe a piece of plastic and tin foil stopped an otherwise fatal strike, please, be my guest.

• David
  April 5th, 2007 at 5:45 pm

  maybe he was wearing dragon skin armour that stood up to a frag grenade I got this off of future weapons on discovery channel

• Aramax
  April 5th, 2007 at 5:53 pm

  Add the Ipod to the list of casualty.

• phoenix
  April 5th, 2007 at 5:54 pm

  The iPod: Truly an American icon.

• [deleted]
  April 5th, 2007 at 6:21 pm

  [stupid comment deleted]

• Matt
  April 5th, 2007 at 7:27 pm

  I don’t believe this for one second.

• Ali
  April 5th, 2007 at 7:57 pm

  Apple saves the day…again!

• rek
  April 5th, 2007 at 8:48 pm

  Apple saves an invaders life, enabling him to continue killing locals trying to defend their shattered nation!

• astanhope
  April 5th, 2007 at 10:26 pm

  yo man! wtf, what about the ak shooter? will his family dance after his death? ahm… damn sure… america is the best one, isn’t? **** off all

  In all seriousness, the fact that the insurgent “was killed” nearly prevented me from posting this. Once upon a time casual discussion of “killing” in just about any context was improper or impolite. Unfortunately 5+ years of jingoism has anesthetized much of our society, changing the rules. In some peoples’ eyes, “killing or capturing terrorists” has become heartwarming. It’s a sad state of affairs.

• Lasse
  April 6th, 2007 at 2:05 am

  Maybe Apple builds an iTank next?

• Sky
  April 6th, 2007 at 2:20 am

  I am with Anthony on this one. My first thought about this when I read it was that the iPod just happened to be in front of the balistic vest, which actually stopped the round. Nice story though. I am sure Apple will get some mileage out of it.

• Sky
  April 6th, 2007 at 2:30 am

  yo man! wtf, what about the ak shooter? will his family dance after his death? ahm… damn sure… america is the best one, isn’t? **** off all

  How did this become a political or nationalist issue? The fact of the matter is that this man leveled his rifle at a soldier who is trained to eliminate eminent threats lest he or his comrads be eliminated. I was there (Iraq) and can tell you first hand that due to a strong adherence to the Geneva convention that the ‘insurgent’ would most likely have never been shot if he would have just lowered his weapon. The Iraqi people know this and usually take advantage of this to avoid being shot.

  Is it sad that his family will never see him alive again? Of course it is, but that is not the point of this story.

• Sky
  April 6th, 2007 at 2:36 am

  one more thing…..

  Let’s not forget that the soldier in question was SHOT. All too often anymore I see or hear people victimizing the guilty while they demonize the men and women who put their lives on the line everyday for the benefit of others.

  Next time you speak freely about something please remember to thank a soldier. They made it possible. I don’t care what country you come from. If you are enjoying the fruits of freedom, you are doing so because somebody else paid for your ability to do so.

• rek
  April 6th, 2007 at 3:08 am

  Let’s not forget to ask WHY the soldier in question was shot.

• ted
  April 6th, 2007 at 6:25 am

  You guys sure know how to ruin a good tale.

• NeonCat
  April 6th, 2007 at 8:28 am

  @ Anthony: I guess you are correct re: entrance and exit damage. Nonetheless, I think it probably did happen. I would venture a guess that given the number of iPods out there that eventually someone will get shot in the exact same area that their iPod is in and that this is probably what happened here. You are correct that it offered essentially no ballistic protection. Hell, let’s be charitable and say it slowed it by 20 fps.

  @Sky, rek, etc.The soldier was shot because he was in the wrong place (Iraq) at the wrong time (now). I’m glad we have soldiers willing to protect our freedom, I just don’t think that’s what’s going on in Iraq. Yes, yes, Saddam secretly hid all his WMDs and was a very bad man who posed a terrible threat to the US and if the Iraqis would only realize how much we (tough)love them they would stop shooting and blowing up the foreign soldiers in their country. I know, it doesn’t matter what I say, the US is A Number One and can do no wrong, ever. Forget I said anything.

• Slith
  April 6th, 2007 at 2:53 pm

  uh.. discussions’ getting out of hand pretty fast. I think we ought to try and keep it on what happened, and leave all the politicking out of this.

• Sour Bob
  April 6th, 2007 at 5:42 pm

  So, um, what’s the worst thing that could happen if this *is* a hoax… a guy fighting in Iraq gets an iPod?

  I’m not seeing a downside either way.

• astanhope
  April 7th, 2007 at 9:34 am

  As long as we don’t start shooting each other here on this thread I think that discussing the hows and whys of the situation is legitimate.

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