Siri (or Cortana, or Ok Google) often get dismissed as gimmicks, or something you use for driving or otherwise using your phone hands free. My wife Sarah, however, can attest to a situation where Siri was an absolute hero for our family — Sarah used Siri to call Poison Control during an emergency!
First, everything is fine now. Our toddler was being a kid, and he reached up and managed to pull some powdered laundry detergent from a high counter into his face. Sarah immediately had him under the faucet in the sink to wash off his face and eyes, and she needed to call Poison Control to see what steps to take next. In order to do this while also trying to rinse and comfort a screaming toddler, she used Siri, connected with Poison Control, confirmed what to do, and the crisis quickly passed. But what amazed me a little bit was that she had the presence of mind to use Siri to quickly get the information she needed. As I (half jokingly) told her, I would have likely tried to type it out and probably would have broken or rinsed my phone in the process. It just wouldn’t have occurred to me that there was an effective and simple hands free tool so close by!
This is one of those simple lessons that we should all remember; you may not use Siri for much, or ask “Okay Google” for more than settling a bet at a bar, but these tools are extremely powerful, and more importantly, they can help at a time when you may not be calm enough to think clearly. All it took was one button press and a quick sentence, and Sarah was connected to Poison Control. Tell your family, tell your friends, and hopefully you never have to use this tip!