iDermal': Man Inserts Magnets Into His Wrist to Hold His iPod Like a Watch

Holding your iPod in your had can get so annoying and those armbands get uncomfortable and sweaty, not to mention difficult to see. The alternative is the Apple's iPod Nano, which can clip onto an article of clothing, but who would want to do that? Why not just engineer your own body to better hold the device in a convenient location while remaining hands free?

This guy did. Dave Hurban from Dynasty Tattoo in New Jersey body pierced himself to embed four magnets in his wrist to hold up his iPod Nano Touch. He calls the invention "iDermal."

With this specific version of Apple's Nano, it also can double as a watch. Hurban, as you can see, has little fear of needles or piercings, and is in fact a professional body piercer himself.

If you care to watch him, in them most professional of conditions possible, outfit himself with the magnets, check out this video (Content Warning: Some graphic content of the man piercing his own skin to insert the implants. If you don't want to see any of the gore but only the function of his now magnetic wrist, skip to 1:28):

On the other hand, here are some less graphic photos showing the end result:

Digital Trends had the opportunity to speak with Hurban about how and why he did this. Hurban explains the metal posts he put into his wrist are very common "micro-dermal anchors" that have a magnetic strip on top. Here's more from Hurban in Digital Trends:

When asked about how much the whole thing hurt, Dave explained, “It actually wasn’t as bad as I thought. It definitely is not the worst piercing I’ve ever done to myself. I was actually just very determined to do the piercing correctly.” We did not dare ask about his most painful piercing.

The true test of success in this case, however, is if the iPod actually stays put and does what it’s supposed to — there’s not much point of a Borg-like human/iPod arm if the thing keeps falling off. Thankfully, Hurban claims that he can swing his arm back and forth and the music player won’t budge. “I can go for a run and it won’t come off. I’ve already taken it to the gym and jogged with it on.” And when he wears the iPod in public, he gets his fair share of stunned responses. “When people see this, it’s like they’ve seen something that no one else has done, ever, it’s just such a crazy concept. And it almost takes them a little bit of time to grasp. I actually am the inventor of the strapless watch.”

Digital Trends reports Hurban does not consider this a statement about human dependence on technology, rather he "just thought it would be cool."

[H/T Blaze reader Jeffrey H. and Cult of Mac]