iPhone on ice rink – Image credit: Steve Hubbard/BBC
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An iPhone was frozen beneath the surface of an ice rink for about two months after a worker slipped and left his understandably angry daughter's mobile phone on the floor.
Skaters at an ice rink in Milton Keynes, UK, will see an unusual object beneath the surface as they move around the arena. The newly installed temporary rink at Willen on Ice has a pink iPhone stuck in the middle of the ice.
Out of reach inches below the surface, the iPhone is clearly visible to anyone who stops to look, but it cannot be saved. Ice Leisure director Rob Cook explained to the BBC that the iPhone will be stuck in place for two months, as digging it out could affect the rest of the ice.
One of the workers installing the rink lost his own smartphone and temporarily loaned the bright pink iPhone to his daughter. However, he accidentally left the iPhone on the rink overnight while 13,000 gallons of water were being poured into the rink structure.
It is unclear whether the iPhone was accidentally left in the middle of the rink or was placed there by a colleague as a prank. Either way, the iPhone is impossible to remove without causing major damage to the rink.
The worker admits that his daughter was initially cold towards him, especially because the case was brand new. However, her anger cooled after she was promised a temporary replacement until the rink was dismantled at some point after January 5.
It’s unclear which iPhone model was trapped, but the triple-camera setup suggests it’s a Pro model.
Apple does market the iPhone as splash- and water-resistant, with the iPhone 16 Pro capable of withstanding 19 feet of water for half an hour. While the testing was extensive, it’s unlikely that Apple would test freezing an iPhone in ice for months on end.
That said, the iPhone has managed to survive some pretty chilly situations in the past.
In 2017, an iPhone 7 Plus fell into a river during an ice fishing accident in Russia and was recovered unharmed the next day.
In a 2021 incident in Saskatchewan, an iPhone fell into a frozen lake. It was recovered about 30 days later using a fish finder and a strong magnet.
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