Today, my wife and I drove North to Del Mar for lunch with an old friend and coworker, who had flown out from the East Coast to visit her son and his family—newcomers to San Diego County for work (he’s a banker, which I guess explains the ease of managing the high rents).
The stories people tell that you wouldn’t imagine but seem so sensible after the surprise permeates. Our friend made a startling discovery when unpacking upon arrival: She had mistaken dental floss for her Apple AirPods, which case would be about the same size and shape as some brands (glad to know she makes tooth-care a priority). But couldn’t the confusion also be nothing more than one of those, ah, senior moments?
That’s where the story’s surprise comes to answer maybe not. Because she hauled off to one of the local Apple Stores to buy another AirPod pair. When she explained why, one of the sales specialists said that such confusion is fairly common. Say, what?
Ha! Cue the unexpected reasons, as I learned searching online this evening. Some of the tech news sites explain, like a story from CNET: “Disguise your AirPods as a box of dental floss. Safeguard your pricey Apple AirPods by dressing the charging case up to look like something you would clean your teeth with”. And, gasp, decals were at one time available from Amazon resellers but you can still find and buy on Etsy.
So my question: How many people grab dental floss because they had disguised their AirPods? Or is basic size and shape enough for confusion? You tell me.
If the latter, could Apple engineers really be so sneaky genius to build the possibility of mistaken identity into the product design? Because it’s a helluva fantastic means of compelling customers who travel to purchase another set of AirPods. Hey, just saying.
I used iPhone X to capture the Featured Image on Dec. 25, 2017. The AirPods were a Christmas gift for my daughter. Vitals: f/1.8, ISO 40, 1/15 sec, 28mm; 12:17 p.m. PST.