A New York partygoer has spoken of his shock after being hit by a Quadcopter at a hi-tech ‘home of the future’ party. Publisher Stephen Kosloff said” I stumbled on a Gizmodo party on Mulberry Street. I flashed my business card, said “Media,” and was admitted.
I was like, “Great, now I can get drunk before I continue drinking.”
This was a “House of the Future” party—a sexy sponsorship tie-in of some sort. It was a large auditorium with a number of faux “rooms” all kitted out with really excellent gear: TVs, kayaks, sofas, and one remote-controlled drone.
I tried on various protective headgear, helmets and such. Took some selfies (as one does).
Next, a few people gathered around the drone and fired it up! The drone shot up over the fake walls, and was lost to sight. It crashed somewhere in the distance. I thought to myself, “That could have injured someone,” but I didn’t speak up, a decision I attribute to my low self-esteem.
A couple of minutes later, a few folks had the drone on a table, and they fired it up again. It veered with the greatest violence into a nearby plant, shredded the shit out of its leaves, then crashed into a wall.
I was like, “Whatever,” and started playing foosball with a nice guy. Next thing I know, WHAM!!!!!!! Right in my f**king head. The drone.
It was mildly upsetting; not very painful, but a big shock. It knocked me pretty good. I knew right away that it was the drone because I’d seen it “acting out” earlier.
What happened next? Did you and everyone else there freak out? And, most importantly: Are you OK?
I went straight to the bathroom, using my Obama T-shirt to stanch the bleeding. I was concerned for a minute that I would need stitches, but I didn’t. The whole time, the editor of Gizmodo was there helping me out. He was mortified, and very helpful. I feel bad for him. He seemed to be freaked out.
The Gizmodo and event staff were very helpful and apologetic. They got me some band-aids and stuff to clean the cuts with. It got my right ear and two spots on my forehead.
After the party, I went to Bar B in my bloody t-shirt and continued getting drunk.
Lesson learned (if any)?
If you are attending a party that features both drones and helmets, and you put a helmet on to take a selfie, do not take the helmet off until you leave the party.
Just one more thing.
Drones make bad party toys.
Sources: The Awl; Hausfrau Mag
That isn’t a “drone”! It’s a DJI Phantom and the reason he was hit with it is because the drunken idiots flying it had no business doing so. Horrible press for those of us that are responsible operators.
Truly disgraceful behavior by a group of morons. Shame on Gizmodo for facilitating such a debacle. Thank God these idiots were misusing a little quadcopter instead of an automobile.
Hey! Maybe at the next party Gizmodo will feature drunks with chainsaws!
Why is it that whenever a bunch of clueless idiots injure another clueless idiot(s), the tag-line could always be:
“Police report that alcohol was involved.”
As said, it could have been worse: he could have lost an eye, an artery, been hit by a hockey stick…. it just happened to be a more topical toy.
Idiots…..
Darwinism has no respect for ivy league education.
Just because you can buy technology doesn’t mean you can use it….