Let Me Put You On Hold, While I Throw You

Can you think of any aspect of our lives where cell phones have not penetrated? They are little miracles of science that put us in touch with anyone virtually anywhere at any time. I guess Star Trek’s “communicator” device wasn’t too far fetched after all. Well, the continued influence of cell phones in our lives has now become sport. Finland just hosted the Mobile Phone Throwing World Championship. I don’t think it will rival the World Series yet, but it was important enough to be written about by news agencies on the Wondernet. And when that happens, I get to blog about it. Maybe we have finally found an acceptable alternative to dead eel tossing.

The competition brought in folks from around the world to showcase their phone-throwing prowess. A Finn won the event, which always makes me wonder about fairness when someone wins a sporting event on their home turf. The story about the event said that the competitors favor certain brands and weights for throwing. Remember those old original cell phones that were so big they practically had a shoulder strap? They reminded me of the field phones used in Vietnam. I wonder what really would be better to throw, a light little flip phone or the old industrial strength pseudo-military model. I know which one would do the most damage if it landed in the wrong place.

It’s funny to think that we can spend a few hundred bucks on a brand new cell phone and then turn it into a baseball just a year or so later. After “retiring” them, they can be used as paperweights, doorstops and even toys for toddlers.

The best part about the competition is not the few moments of exercise it provides. It’s a great way to recycle all of the old cell phones. Most of us replace our phones every 2 years, if not sooner, so there are a lot of old phones and batteries just sitting around. Maybe everything we recycle should be done in such a fun and competitive manner. Recycling old motor oil would be a lot more fun if it was thrown for distance. Since most utility companies sponsor recycling programs for old appliances, it could now be done by catapult. Ditto for non-operating vehicles we want to donate to charity and old car batteries.

This nation could become so much more environmentally friendly if our recycling programs are turned into competitions. After all, the rule in this country is if you make it a competition and put up a prize, you get people interested. Let’s just make sure we don’t extend the recycle tossing to include used cloth diapers or old dentures.