KEY POINTS:
Cellphones are our friends, but we've all been guilty of abusing them.
While they work hard for us, sending photos and messages from around the corner or across the world, we stand on them, leave them in taxis and much, much worse.
Every day, our digital lifelines are poked, prodded, called thoroughly offensive names and occasionally thrown at things.
The little battlers of the telecommunications world usually survive the rigours of slavery life and live to call another day - but sometimes the mistreatment just gets too much.
A quick survey around the Herald offices revealed a shocking catalogue of cellphone abuse, and even a couple of handset homicides.
One lucky mobile had been dropped into a can of paint - but was quickly rescued and rinsed underneath a tap, saving its life.
An elderly Nokia had a similar revival - seemingly dead after being dumped into a jug of beer after a not-so-sporting sports argument - a day of recuperation in the hot water cupboard and it sprung back into life. Sadly, the sugar in the beer took its toll and it died a few weeks later.
A phone that jumped from its owner's back pocket into a toilet did not have a happy ending either. She may have been flushed at such an embarrassing mistake - but her phone was dead.
Another phone, that fell from a front shirt pocket into a churning washing machine was very clean and smelled rather nice, but it wouldn't even turn on.
And the phone that was woken from its slumbers on a sunny car dashboard only to find itself flying out of the passengers' side window was never even found.
Have you got an interesting mobile abuse story - or an inspiration tale of cellphone survival against the odds?
