Good, I was hoping you would say that, because when I measure the speed of light in my box, it takes .65 seconds for light to travel the length of .5...
Which thought experiment(s) do you find unphysical? You might want to elaborate on what you mean by "unphysical" also, since it might mean different...
That makes sense in this case, because it is the rod's own reference frame which determines whether one corner of the rod will be dented or not. But...