Man's life saved in golfing accident by iPhone

You probably know by now that the iPhone is a very sophisticated piece of technology, but what Apple doesn't advertise is its life-saving properties. 53 year old Irwin Koss of DeWitt, New York learned this first-hand during a routine leisurely trip to the golf course. Being the new owner of an iPhone, he decided to keep his iPhone in his pocket rather than risk leaving it in the golf cart. It was a decision that might have saved his life.

He didn't realize it at the time, but when his friend teed off on the seventh hole, he was in the firing line. The ball struck him in the side. “I thought I was out of the way enough,” he said, “but I guess not.”

According to The Physics of Golf page at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, golf balls can reach speeds of greater than 100 miles per hour in the hands of experienced golfers. As though that weren't enough, Mr. Koss had recently undergone prostate surgery, and had a healing four inch long scar running from his navel to his groin. Had the ball hit his side directly, it would have meant a very serious injury, possibly a trip to the emergency room.

Luckily for Mr. Koss, the side the ball struck happened to be the very same one as the pocket containing the iPhone. It had prevented him from what could have been a more serious, and possibly life threatening injury.

Sadly, however, the iPhone was no more. “It didn’t work at all,” said Mr. Koss. What's more, the AT&T store he got it from had no intention of replacing it for him. “They weren’t interested at all.” Instead, he had to pay for a new one out of his own pocket, which he did the very next morning.

Despite it's obvious life-saving properties, he has some suggestions for the next model: a louder speaker and a bulletproof casing. Mr. Koss’s wife Kathleen offered a somewhat more practical piece of advice to golfers everywhere: “Put the iPhone down. You need to focus on your game.”

[image and story via Macworld]