iPod: Music player, rescue signal

There is no shortage of innovative uses for Apple products, but some of the most amazing stories include being able to use them to get out of a very bad situation. For example, a few weeks ago, we wrote about how a TUAW reader used MobileMe to track down an iPhone thief.

On Tuesday, KRQE in New Mexico reported that the light from an iPod helped searchers find a snowboarder who'd been lost for nearly two nights in frigid weather. When snowboarder Sebastian Gomez saw rescue helicopters looking for him after more than a day missing, he dug in his pockets and emerged with his iPod and a lighter. He waved both around. The rescuers, wearing night-vision goggles, spotted the small lights from the two objects and were able to retrieve him.

Like with the thwarted thief, this is a great story about an ingenious use for an iPod. Maybe it could be candidate for inclusion in a worst-case scenario book one day.

Thanks for the tip, Allan!