Just an observance since I read a comment or 2 on the last thread about how thrilled they must've been that they got MP's phone to power on.....
I can assure you that they never attempted to power-on MP's phone. After doing whatever forensics testing they could do from the outside of the phone, they opened it up, removed the innards, made sure they were completely dry, and hooked the memory up to an external reader to gather whatever data they could.
Flash memory (usb-thumb-jump drives, some hard drives, and memory used in phones) is extremely non-volatile. While the water might kill the internal electronics of the phone, the memory can remain intact for a long time. But trying to boot the electronics while wet can completely fry this memory.
If you ever get your phone/mp3 player/other small electronic device wet, I suggest you immediately remove the battery (if possible), remove any visible water from behind the screen (try to pry open a hole to leak it out with a tiny screwdriver), and stick it into a zip-lock bag with a cup of rice and don't touch it for 48 hours. After 48 hours, if you don't see any signs of moisture try to power it on. Then immediately back up any contacts, photos, etc that you want to keep. Because just because you got it to work doesn't mean it's going to last.
I've successfully revived a couple of iPods that went through the washing machine and a BlackBerry that was submerged in a river for several hours using the rice trick. None of the devices lasted for more than 3 months after their respective incidents (rust most likely the culprit) but it was always a relief to see them come to life again. I've bought a couple bags of
Dry-All in anticipation for the next water disaster but I have no idea if it is better than rice or not!.