Everybody knows that if you accidentally tip water all over your MacBook Pro or drop your iPhone in a pond, the best way to rescue it is to cover it in rice and let nature take its course, right? But according to a new viral video from an Apple Store employee, that's precisely what you shouldn't do. Colour me astonished.
TikTok user Karleigh has been working in an Apple Store for three years and, doubtless after seeing the state of Apple gear brought to the Genius Bar for rescuing, she made a short video, inspired by a doctor's "things I won't do any more after working in the ER” videos, pointing out the things she'll never do with her tech.
TikTok's quickly become a great place for picking up helpful tips, such as these Photoshop editing tricks and this photo editing hack, and Karleigh's video is another great example (or it was, until the video became unavailable. Luckily, we've done some expert explaining of her expert tips so keep reading anyway!).
Karleigh's video's exploded on TikTok, with over a million views so far; it's short and sweet with some really useful tips, such as never leaving drinks or liquids near your devices when you're working, regularly shutting down your devices completely and keeping them nice and clean, and never buying a counterfeit charger.
She goes on to explain that she has nothing against third-party chargers; rather she's warning against cheap fake Apple chargers that often contain sub-standard components and which can be genuinely dangerous, especially if they're left plugged in without supervision.
But what's her problem with rice? I've never dunked my iPhone in water but if I did, I'd definitely be reaching for a bag of basmati in short order; what's wrong with that ingenious solution? Luckily TikTok commenters have already pulled her up on this, and she has an explanation:
That's the trouble with rice; it can get everywhere if you're not careful, and while I'm not entirely convinced that a grain of rice would find its way into my iPhone's Lightning port, I wouldn't be quite so confident about the various ports on a MacBook remaining unclogged.
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These are great tips on the whole though, and a fine pointer on what to do if you've a mind to go viral on TikTok: share some essential wisdom, keep it short and snappy and (hopefully) watch the views roll in. Good luck!
Jim McCauley is a writer, performer and cat-wrangler who started writing professionally way back in 1995 on PC Format magazine, and has been covering technology-related subjects ever since, whether it's hardware, software or videogames. A chance call in 2005 led to Jim taking charge of Computer Arts' website and developing an interest in the world of graphic design, and eventually led to a move over to the freshly-launched Creative Bloq in 2012. Jim now works as a freelance writer for sites including Creative Bloq, T3 and PetsRadar, specialising in design, technology, wellness and cats, while doing the occasional pantomime and street performance in Bath and designing posters for a local drama group on the side.
