A young national service soldier was standing talking to me with general chit chat, while we were leaning over the railing on the 6h floor wards. This young "NASHO" had somehow shot himself in the arm with a 303 rifle, his arm was one big plaster cast. The subject drifted to watches. He said his watch was a new shock-proof model, and would not break under any circumstances. He then suggested that if I dropped his watch from the sixth floor onto the grass below it would still run.

He gave me his watch and went down in one of the lifts, stood below on the grass and told me to drop his watch. I let his watch go, watching it descend the six floors. Directly below was a 12" round sewer grate. The magnetism drew the descending watch to this metal grate. We both looked horrified as the watch hit the grate - bits going in all directions.

He solemnly picked most bits up and came back up in the lift.

He stood silently next to me - but never mentioned shock proof watches again.

(Australia had National Service in the 50's, and a conscript was known as a "NASHO")