The hero phone. (Apple Daily)

You know what they say: Never bring a sickle to a gunfight. But if you do make sure you have an enormous phone in your front pocket.

Let us explain.

The phone’s owner and another man began arguing in a restaurant and stepped outside to fight, Apple Daily reported (via Shanghaiist). Armed with only a sickle (yes, a sickle), the victim proved no match for his gun-wielding aggressor and was promptly shot down.

The fallen man was carted to the hospital by friends. Medical staff and police discovered that because the shooter was using a “modified” and less powerful gun, and because the bullet first hit the victim’s shielding hand, the sturdy Samsung Galaxy Mega phablet — which is Samsung’s largest phone, featuring a 6.3-inch screen —in his chest pocket had stopped the bullet cold.

Not a bad feature, Samsung: life-saving phone, no third-party app necessary. Maybe they should have called it the Samsung Galaxy Shield.

iPhone fans, however, might say that this is yet another copycat job by the makers of the Galaxy line.

For example: In 2012, a man in the Netherlands told De Telegraaf (via Tuaw) that he was spared a bullet to the heart while driving thanks to the chest-pocket placement of his iPhone. Of course, full credit couldn’t be given to the phone in this instance, either, since the bullet broke through the man’s windshield first.

Even Windows Phone and BlackBerry, the little brothers of the smartphone field, have had their heroic moments. A Nokia Lumia 520 this year saved a Brazilian military soldier from being shot in the rear, and a BlackBerry Curve in 2010 blocked an accidental shot from injuring a woman in Ohio.

All of this goes to show that it doesn’t matter how out of date or uncool your phone or your weapon (a sickle? really??) might be: Bringing it along to a gunfight is never going to be a bad idea.

Also not a bad idea: Avoid all gunfights. Peace.

Have questions, comments, or just want to tell me something funny? Email me at danbean@yahoo-inc.com.