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6 true tales
of thinkpads cheating death
Typhoons? Please. Explosions? Come on. High-altitude drops? Surely you're joking. ThinkPad laptops cheat death every day--in fact, they've been doing it for more than 20 years.
We know because you told us (and because we tested them to survive events we hadn't even dreamed of yet). You dropped your ThinkPad off the bed and down stairs. You backed over it with your car. You spilled Coke, beer and a million cups of coffee on it. Ice cream, ramen and nail polish too. At least one of you even barfed on it. (Hi, Derek). You treated your ThinkPad badly, but none of that components to what your're about read.
Here are a few amazing-but-true stories from ThinkPad's recent history
Netherlands dorm fire
A Dutch university student returned home one day to find his dormitory ablaze. Thanks to a quick response from firefighters, no one was harmed but people's belongings weren't so lucky. The student lost virtually everything. Everything, that is, except his ThinkPad. It was badly burned & suffered significant water damage but he was able to boot it up and recover all the data.
High Temperature
30° - 60°
+30°C to 60°C over 7 x 24 hours cycles
Dropped from the ceiling
"Anybody can do 6 feel - but can you do it from the ceiling?" Lenovo engineers took to the stage at a 2011 event to introduce the original ThinkPad X1 and dramatize how though it was. (Hey, you can talk about Mil-Spec Testing all day or you can get hammy - we like both.) Yeah, the guys unnecessarily wore fluorescent vests and hard hats - and they dropped it onto a carpet instead of a hard surface - but tell me you don't flinch when you see it hit the ground.
High Vibration
MULTIPLE TEST
Undergoes multiple tests while switched on and off
The Rainy season comes indoors
This one came to us via Uknowsi on Imgur.. Not sure what country he's in but it sounds tropical. "I went on vacation for a month during rainy season & my house had a water leak. My [ThinkPad] laptop was soaked & it started to grow mold everywhere. I was sure the computer was broken but after drying it for a week and turning it on, it worked perfectly. Only permanent damage was some of the pain falling off. The computer is still going strong one year later." Uknowsi, if you're out there somewhere, reach out and say hi. Maybe we can send you a new, mold-free ThinkPad.
Humidity
91 - 98%
Subjected to 91 - 98% humidity at 20°C; to 60°C
Bulgarian hvac explosion
This story came to us from the customer of a Lenovo business partner in Sofia, Bulgaria. When a faulty air-conditioning unit exploded, it ignited a fire and a wave of heat that swept through the office. "Some of the flames reached the machine," said a witness, "but as you can see even burned it still worked." Look at how completely toasted the keyboard is while Windows keeps running in the background like nothing happened. We've heard the laptop's owner let our business partner keep it and that it stands on display to this day, a reminder of the power of good engineering and strong materials.
High Temperature
30° - 60°
30°C to 60°C over 7 x 24 hour cycles
The liquid trifecta
There's a great chef school across the street from our US headquarters so, when someone was soliciting ideas to highlight the famous spill-resistant ThinkPad keyboard, we Garrett, and they proceeded to do what you guys have been poor defenseless laptop. The results were pretty amusing: watch 'til the end and you'll hear Garrett let out a spontaneous scream of delight.
Spill-Proof
16.9 OUNCES
Built to take spills up to and keep working
Typhoon mud
We loved this Facebook fan story, from a guy named "Rough" who lives in the Philippines: "Three days after a typhoon, my wife and I were walking our dogs in the park. I see a [ThinkPad] laptop sitting in the mud - covered by muck, leaves and dirt - soaking wet. I grab it thinking I can at least tear it apart and salvage something. I let the thing dry out for tow days, plug it in and it works! I have not even cleaned the mud off this is why we do dirt and dust testing on every ThinkPad.)
Sand Test
X6 HOUR CYCLES
Subjected to 140 mesh silca dust for 6 hours cycles