Flotsam and Jetsam
Cris and I are in South Carolina for a bit. My brother and sister-in-law generously invite us to stay in their place down here and it is amazing. We usually come in January, but since Cris is on sabbatical this semester we decided to come down in March. We were walking on the beach the other day and talking about flotsam and jetsam. I was spouting off about the distinction between the two. A few minutes later Cris looked down and saw this. It was clear that it wasn’t just dropped on the beach; it had been in the water a long time and was quite near the water line having just been washed up. It is completely dead, but we couldn’t help wondering about the life of the owner. 21st Century jetsam (or is it flotsam?)
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
I wonder if there is a serial number that could be traced. There could be an interesting story behind it!
Nice find!
I wonder if, once dry, whether a techie-type could retrieve anything from it. I find this a fascinating find, as it could be the 21st century version of finding a suitcase in storage at an institution. People keep a huge amount of their lives on their smart phones. Maybe this one is defunct but I bet in 50 years time some of these will turn up at flea markets, donated by relatives, unaware of what may still be in them. Curio hunters will love the chance to see what we were up to in the 2010s.
PBJ, I was thinking the same thing, but I didn’t make the connection with the suitcases. I have the phone and will let it dry out. Maybe someone who reads this will know where I could send it. Love your posts, by the way. Jon
You can put it in a bag full of dry (uncooked) rice for a week or two and see if it will power on.
So intriguing! I would try Stacey T’s idea.
[…] We took the ferry to Block Island today. This evening we walked down to Mansion Beach. Cris has a knack for finding the most amazing things on beaches. She found an iPhone once in South Carolina. […]