Strange and wonderful remedies for your high-tech problems

Problem 1:

Q: What should you do if you accidentally drop your cellphone in the toilet?

A: Presuming you didn't flush it down the sewer, recover your phone, remove the battery, wipe it, and then stuff the phone assembly into a bowl of rice.

Problem 2:
What should you do before you take your broken PC hard drive to the repair shop?

A: Place it in the kitchen freezer overnight and try starting the drive again in the morning.

These remedies sound a little ridiculous at first blush. However -- believe it or not -- they actually have a basis in science. Paul Boutin wrote a delightful column for the New York Times technology pages last week that is full of strange fixes like these for gadget problems that anyone, at one time or another, may experience.

If you'd like to learn more, take a look at Boutin's piece. It's called "Low-Tech Fixes for High-Tech Problems." Here's the link.

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