Memory cards more durable than thought

Five memory cards for digital cameras were subjected to a range of tests. The formats were CompactFlash, Secure Digital, xD, Memory Stick and Smartmedia.

Even some of the thinner cards that appear to be fragile fared well in the trial.

They were dipped into cola, put through a washing machine, dunked in coffee, trampled by a skateboard, run over by a child's toy car and given to a six-year-old boy to destroy.

Perhaps surprisingly, all the cards survived these six tests