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World record: Phone survives a drop from more than 30,000 meters

From Adevฤƒrul · () Romanian

Translated from Romanian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Outcome reported
  • A phone dropped from an altitude of 30,607 meters near Kiruna, Sweden, was recovered intact on June 24.
  • RHINOSHIELD and Sent Into Space used a balloon to lift the phone into the stratosphere, while Guinness rules required the case to hit the ground first and banned a parachute.
  • RHINOSHIELD said the test aimed to demonstrate the durability and recyclability of its single-material AirX case.

A phone dropped from 30,607 meters landed intact in Sweden, setting a Guinness World Records mark for the highest fall of a mobile phone protected by a case onto a natural landform.

RHINOSHIELD PTE. LTD. partnered with Britain's Sent Into Space for the stunt. The phone was recovered near Kiruna on June 24, undamaged, after being released from the stratosphere. The altitude stood at more than three times the roughly 9,000 meters where commercial aircraft usually fly.

At first I proposed ideas such as 50 consecutive drops from 15 meters or the most durable case made from a single material. But we wanted to take protection literally to new heights, so we explored options such as hot-air balloons, skydiving and weather balloons. Eventually, Eric said, 'If we are going that high, let's go as high as possible for a human.' That is how the idea of a drop from the stratosphere was born.

· Mujou HsiaoHsiao explained how the company developed the record attempt.

Mujou Hsiao, RHINOSHIELD's marketing and brand manager, said founder Eric Wang wanted to test the limits of the AirX case. The company considered challenges including 50 consecutive drops from 15 meters before deciding to take the test โ€œliterally to new heights.โ€ Wang eventually suggested going as high as possible for a human, leading to the stratospheric drop.

The case draws inspiration from automobile airbags and the air cushions used to absorb shocks in sports footwear. A balloon carried the phone upward before releasing it. Guinness rules prohibited a parachute and required the case to touch the ground first.

I would be lying if I said I was not nervous.

· Mujou HsiaoHsiao described the tension surrounding the extreme drop.

The launch took place near Sweden's Esrange Space Center, in a remote and uninhabited area. Although tracking equipment narrowed the search zone to two kilometers, locating and recovering the phone took more than five hours.

Hsiao said the stunt aimed to challenge the idea that environmentally friendly products are fragile. RHINOSHIELD describes the AirX case as made from a single material and fully recyclable, while criticizing the phone-case industry's large volume of plastic waste because many cases use mixed materials that cannot be recycled.

The phone-case industry generates a huge amount of plastic waste.

· Mujou HsiaoHsiao linked the stunt to the company's argument for recyclable case materials.
About this summary

Originally published by Adevฤƒrul in Romanian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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