No guy in a coma, no missed iPhone launch, no kidding

Didn't think we'd have to bother debunking something this obviously satirical, but about a zillion people have tipped us today with a link to a post on iPhone Savior about "Geoff Evila," who reportedly went into a coma in early June, causing him to miss the iPhone launch he had been so eagerly awaiting. He awoke from the coma four months later, and supposedly his close friend "Steve Denots" convinced the local Apple store in Chandler, Arizona to help recreate launch day for him so Geoff could experience what he'd missed.

Sounds totally plausible, like the kind of filler you see every night on local TV news, right? Yeah, well besides all the obvious markers that this is a joke -- "Evila" is "Alive" spelled backwards, and the author's name, "Earl Sorel" is an anagram of "Real Loser" -- the pic accompanying the post was actually taken on launch day at the Apple store in Dallas. Yeah, it's definitely been slow around here today.

[Via Digg]

[Lt_Ladle @ Oct 21st 2007 9:18PM]

slow news day, huh?

oh wait...

[brendan09 @ Oct 22nd 2007 12:29AM]

apparently no one looked at the box he's holding in the picture, it doesnt include the itunes music store icon, and all the employees are wearing the launch day shirt... o yea, also look at the million people in the background in line. there hasnt been a line that long since june 30

[Iso @ Oct 22nd 2007 2:42PM]

I bought an iPhone today...the box didn't have the itunes store icon on it either. Just sayin...

[jilie @ Oct 21st 2007 9:20PM]

AAH???

[Johnathon Zirkle @ Oct 21st 2007 9:22PM]

Does it play Doom?

[Yubastard @ Oct 21st 2007 9:58PM]

ROTFL!!

[supermeerkat @ Oct 22nd 2007 3:50AM]

You can see the opening screens of Doom, with full functionality to follow, on the jailbraken v1.11 iPod Touch / iPhone.

[Diesel @ Oct 21st 2007 9:24PM]

"Denotes" spelled backwards is stoned.

steve spelled backwards is... evets.... coincidence? I think not.

[mOe @ Oct 21st 2007 9:36PM]

Ummm...denotes spelled backwards is setoned. So yeah... maybe should think about taking that short bus tomorrow, eh?

[Diesel @ Oct 21st 2007 9:38PM]

wow no shortbus for me, but I'm gonna need some good ol' caffeine before I try to analyze something else next time

[LiQuiD_FuSioN @ Oct 21st 2007 10:11PM]

No. Diesel is right, but he just made a typo. It's Steve Denots* alright, not Denotes.

Don't be a twat, mOe. ;)

[mOe @ Oct 21st 2007 11:03PM]

@liquid_fusion

Never said it wasn't right in the article, did I?

Don't be a pubic hair about it ;)

[EngadgetFanBoi @ Oct 21st 2007 9:25PM]

Never a slow day when Peter Rojas posts, no way!

[Yubastard @ Oct 21st 2007 10:03PM]

is he retired already?

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Oct 21st 2007 10:28PM]

Man, Peter is amazing! Engadget isn't good without him! Hes the most funniest dude with Nilay Patel and his get to know the law segments on engadget. Long live Engadget and its followers!!

[Khris @ Oct 21st 2007 9:26PM]

If you rearrange the letters in "Tie Domi" you can spell "Me Idiot".

[Serhei @ Oct 21st 2007 9:29PM]

If it had been true, that would have been too sad for words. Even more sad than the people who waste time reading and commenting on these sorts of stories.

[The Shaman @ Oct 21st 2007 11:03PM]

Mac users just can't come to terms with the fact that their computers are just computers, their operating system is just an operating system, and their choice of a Mac is just a personal preference and doesn't have any higher meaning for the greater good. But how can they let everyone know of their inherent greatness amidst all these stories of broken iMacs, broken PowerBooks, broken MacBooks, broken iPhones, and broken iPods? Through this story, of course!

Even though the news story was blatantly fake beyond all doubt to any logical person, waves of people immediately believed the story anyway, praised Apple for their unparalleled kindness and generosity, then unsuccessfully attempted to explain away all the plot holes and why no legitimate news websites are reporting this juicy story.

This is the reason you use a Mac? Sony or Dell would never do something like this? Please. It's just a computer. Get over it.

[N30 G30 @ Oct 21st 2007 9:30PM]

I wonder how many people are going to walk up to this guy and call him Geoff.

[Grant @ Oct 21st 2007 9:32PM]

why would someone even bother to make a fake news story like this?
To be pathetic and get more hits on their lame website?
It's nothing miraculous, it's preys on peoples emotions, and if anything it's just plain unbelievable. i hope the traffic from engadget crashes their dumpster site and they learn their lesson about creating lame uninspired stories.

I personally have no problem with fake or satirical stories(i love theonion), but it should have a point to it.

[Grant @ Oct 21st 2007 10:06PM]

on further review of that website, it appears the whole site is satirical iphone news, albeit its not very funny.
i guess i give them a nod for irony by calling themselves "iphonesavior", but their jokes arn't too good.

[General Grant @ Oct 27th 2007 1:21PM]

Grant... when you come up with something original please give the world a shout out. I realize it will be a long time before that will happen. We'll all be looking for your story on Engadet. Or not!

[Grant @ Oct 27th 2007 1:44PM]

General Grant,
How about you stop trolling website posts that are a week old?
Do you have nothing more productive to do than such?
and i do plenty of productive/creative things, they just would never wind up on engadget because i am not in the tech industry, i'm just a gadget hobbiest, which most people here are.

Most people here don't make the content which engadget is blogging about, but we do comment on it.... oh, thats right, this is the "comment" section.

i'm sorry if that is your sad little website that i shit all over, but I am contributing to the community by warning others that the website is of poor quality and they should not waste their time with it. By doing that i have contributed to the Engadget community more than you ever have with your pointless trolling.

[Bryant @ Oct 21st 2007 9:39PM]

"Steve Denots"

This kid's parents must've been very high.

[Raúl C. @ Oct 21st 2007 11:59PM]

Who didn't notice this was fake? Where's the iTunes WiFi Store logo on the pictures? Please!

[Motoxo @ Oct 21st 2007 9:54PM]

does he have to pay the original launch price and $100 iTunes gift card a few months later?

[Dylan K @ Oct 21st 2007 10:07PM]

Awesome news.

[BigD145 @ Oct 21st 2007 10:28PM]

Tags: hoax, iphone

Ya. /yawn

[Richard @ Oct 21st 2007 10:37PM]

well done Engadget!

[Natia @ Oct 21st 2007 11:06PM]

I think this is great, if it's true :) It's a very kind thing to do. Love the story :)

[Adrian Williams @ Oct 21st 2007 11:22PM]

Sorry but a iPhone would not bee the first thing I do if I just got a coma

//hint SEX

[Grant @ Oct 21st 2007 11:38PM]

actually when you wake up from a coma, it's like nothing really happened at all, you just kinda feel like you had a very long nights sleep.
That is assuming you don't suffer from any memory/motor skill loss, then you might suffer from dementia and not have any concept of who, what, where, or when.

[Mike McKenzy @ Oct 23rd 2007 3:34AM]

what happened to WHY?

[kerunt @ Oct 22nd 2007 3:20AM]

I kicked why's ass - it's in a coma.

[wp! @ Oct 22nd 2007 10:47PM]

so the guy wakes up to find out

he doesn't actually get a "release party" and an iphone


...slips into another coma...waits for the next iPhone.

[Constable Odo @ Oct 22nd 2007 12:31AM]

A total bunch of crap. Even a person in a coma wouldn't miss an iPhone launch. In one isolated case, the iPhone has been even known to wake up the dead.

Some guy collapsed on the street suffering a near fatal heart attack and was without a pulse, but when his iPhone starting ringing in breast pocket, his heart suddenly starting beating again. Do you really need third-party applications when the iPhone can jump start a heart? You gotta admit, that's pretty impressive.

The dude finally set up a shrine and called it the Miraculous iPhone Shrine. People come from miles around to worship at it. I'd tell you where it's at but the massive crowds are really ruining his front lawn but he asked people to stop giving out his address.

[Wayne @ Oct 22nd 2007 12:46AM]

Some Red Sox fan did go into a coma in October 2004.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/050120

[Sirocco @ Oct 22nd 2007 1:12AM]

"it's definitely been slow around here today"? And that's why we have virtual reality.

[hn333 @ Oct 22nd 2007 1:20AM]

BULL

[SeditioN VII @ Oct 22nd 2007 1:30AM]

Too bad, I live in Chandler. Would have been kinda sorta maybe cool to relive that moment again!

[Taylor @ Oct 22nd 2007 2:24AM]

That Apple store in Dallas, on Knox Street, has a Current Energy store right next door. I may head there tomorrow to see if I can get a snapshot of that employee and post it online.

[Alan @ Oct 22nd 2007 2:06AM]

So did they charge him $599 too to truly recreate the launch experience?

I'm still bitter. :P

[JB @ Oct 22nd 2007 2:35AM]

peter rojas = "a pro jester"

[Jay @ Oct 22nd 2007 7:36AM]

Yeah, well this is what happens when Apple-obsessed fanboys believe anything they see/read/hear about the company.

These guys wouldn't have done it if they didn't think there'd be a bunch of iFans who'd believe it and wet their iKnickers.

[yacoub @ Oct 22nd 2007 8:44AM]

Steve Stoned huh? lol

[ak.anthony @ Oct 22nd 2007 10:32AM]

Did they make him wait outside the store for 3 days first?

[indra.arifin @ Oct 22nd 2007 9:55PM]

... and make him go into a coma again?