A while back I posted what may have been an amusing account of my inept smart phone handling at a cocktail party. My folly resulted in the device dropping into a glass of merlot. Obviously, the phone was immediately disabled. Once home, I tried several remedies including placing the phone in the oven at low temperatures and immersing in dry rice. After repeated attempts to revive my expensive piece, nothing worked. Defeated, I began shopping for a new device. Luckily, the (then) anticipated arrival of Apple’s new iPhone 4G caused me to pause and use one of my teenager’s discarded phones for a month or so. Shortly thereafter, another of my teens came home depressed after dropping his lesser phone in a nearby lake. We had just received some electronic equipment in the mail that same day packaged with silica gel moisture absorbing packets. That gave me an idea. We placed my son’s phone in a ziplock bag with the silica gel packets and set it aside for a few days. Sure enough the phone was revived! Encouraged by our unanticipated success, I tried the remedy on my precious HTC. After a week alongside silica gel, the phone was restored to life! Silica gel might be hard to find, but DampRid contains silica gel as a main ingredient and can be found at most grocery stores. We’re keeping some handy.