Dwight Schrute is probably the most famous office legend around. Though not everyone can live up to the infamy, every workplace has its own real-life version of such an unforgettable character.
1. Right Back At You Beppe
A coworker of mine always seemed to find amusement in trying to embarrass me in front of his pals and our supervisor. His favorite activity was incessantly advising me to shave. Now, I'm a fan of keeping my facial hair natural and short, more like subtle stubble rather than a styled look. Still, he wouldn't stop shouting, "Go shave!"
Interestingly enough, he wore a thin, overly polished goatee that, to me, looked rather silly, much like a character named Beppe di Marco from some British soap opera. On a fateful day, as they were all savoring their coffee break, I strolled in. The moment he demanded, "Go shave," something in me snapped.
I blurted out, "Beat it, Beppe di Marco!" The surprise punchline sent my boss and everyone else into convulsive laughter. So much so, that my boss humorously renamed him "Beppe" on his name badge and the work schedule. Even though he's not exactly thrilled about it, he's been stuck with that title ever since.
I'm glowing with pride over this victory; it was a bit of payback that was long overdue.
2. Screensaver Smackdown
Back when I used to run a comic store, there was this insufferable part-timer on staff. He fancied himself a ladies' man, thought he was too clever for his own good and always acted like he was right about everything. In the store, there was my personal computer that everyone could use.
This part-timer kept replacing the desktop wallpaper with egotistical selfies of himself in ridiculous poses. I'd alert him not to personalize my computer, but he'd dismiss my warnings and do it anyway.
One day, I walked into the store and was greeted by a fresh photo of him flaunting a new tattoo of a comic character on his calf, held up by one of his friends. The photo also featured three other people. My response was quite simple. I duplicated the original picture and decided to have some fun with it in Microsoft Paint.
I added comically exaggerated features on each person, like a skull-busting fountain of crimson on one chap, a pirate patch for one lady, and turned the friend holding up the leg into a Frankenstein monster lookalike. It was all ludicrously amateur, evident in both the process and the end result, but that's what made it an absolute hoot.
All of us present in the store at the time were doubled over in laughter. Once I was done, I switched out the original wallpaper on my computer with this playful version. I was only coming into work later the next day, but I knew pretty well that this part-timer would see it, although I didn't think it would be a big deal. It turned out to be just the opposite.
When he saw it, he blew his top. What I was oblivious to at the time was his lack of computer skills. Despite trying, he was clueless about how to get rid of the picture. It was also a busy day at the store, so he had to deal with incoming comic books, which left him no time to puzzle out the prank.
I later heard from others that he was constantly trying unsuccessfully to fix the problem before giving up and going back to work. In the meantime, my boss walked in, who was equally technologically challenged. When the part-timer presented him with my handiwork hoping to get me into trouble, my boss just lost it laughing.
Seeing the altered photo repeatedly on the screen just made him laugh even more, and ended up leaving the store for a while to compose himself. As customers began pouring in, they too noticed the commotion. When asked for help, they all pretended ignorance because of their existing biased loyalty towards me and their dislike towards him.
Finally, after almost three hours, they managed to restore the original photo. When I finally arrived at work, the part-timer was seething. He insisted I get rid of my drawing and keep away from his pictures. I responded that if he meddled with my computer again, he could expect something even more outrageous.
Together, we've kept this amusing tale alive over time.
3. The Perfect Referral
So, here's an unbelievable story from my old job. There was word about the referral bonus doubling if the person you referred got hired. Naturally, everyone in the office was digging through their contacts, hoping to win the jackpot. In the midst of all this hustle and bustle, a crazy idea started forming in my head.
I thought, "What if I just invented someone? Created the perfect employee on paper!" After quickly finding a CV template online, it was time to let my imagination run wild. Having quite a good experience in hiring at my previous company, I knew exactly what to write to get the thumbs up.
Truth be told, I intended it as a light-hearted joke at first, so didn't put too much effort into making the CV seem super believable. Feeling like an artist, I brought my imaginary friend to life in ten minutes. A bizarre name, “Flavaadit Gambatron," was the cherry on top.
I mean, who could have taken that seriously? The name was so absurd it had zero search results at that time. Nevertheless, I emailed this to the recruitment department of our company, and sat back, waiting for their response.
To my utter disbelief, within thirty minutes, Flavaadit was slated for a phone interview. Now, there were two paths in front of me. I could just laugh it off with the HR lady who approved the CV, or take this madness to the next level. Since I conducted interviews for the company, I knew the ins and outs.
Emboldened by this unexpected turn of events, I decided to go ahead and prepare for the phone interview, without any concrete plan—just to see where this takes me. Three of us conducted interviews in my department.
To ensure I wasn't the one interviewing Flavaadit, I had to carefully schedule the call when neither of my bosses would be around, and block my availability with a fake meeting. But I had to capture this epic moment for posterity, and needed an accomplice for this endeavour. That's when I turned to the office prankster, Pete.
Known for his daring nature and great sense of humor, he was just the right man for this job. After discussing the logistics, we set our plan in motion. The interview day finally arrived, and all necessary preparations were checked and done. Sitting in my office, I waited for the phone to ring.
4. Sending The Wrong Message
At the age of 21, freshly graduated from college, I landed my first ever "grown-up" job as a PC technician. Not long after starting the job, a user complained to me about a predicament where her password wasn't working. My initial instinct is always to check if the password had expired, contrary to the users' frequent insistence that it hasn't.
The command to do this is quite straightforward: net user /domain. However, I inadvertently entered a different command: net send /domain. This accidental slip up resulted in a message with the woman's username appearing on every computer screen connected to the network.
Bear in mind this was a significant company, with over 200,000 users on our network. This tiny mistake triggered a massive influx of calls, in the thousands, to our central help desk's toll-free number.
Boryana Manzurova, Shutterstock
5. Immortalized At MSG
I'm an audio tech for Madison Square Garden. There was this night I stayed back to finish a project, all by myself in the control booth around 10 pm. The booth has a radio usually tuned to classic rock, but that wasn't my vibe that night. Being alone, I decided to scan the channels for something more appealing.
Oddly enough, I stumbled upon a Spanish station. I wouldn't say I'm a Spanish pro, but I can communicate adequately and understand it even better. I listened to a couple of songs, then the DJ started talking about what seemed like a call-in contest: the 10th caller would win $500 if they were brave enough to sing on air.
Without much thought, I dialed the station, not believing I'd get through, but I did, and I was caller number ten. Suddenly, I was chatting with this Spanish DJ on regional radio, struggling to keep up with his rapid-fire Spanish. Knowing I was caller diez, I broke into the first song that popped into my head, sung in less-than-perfect Spanish.
I chose Britney Spears' "Hit Me Baby, One More Time". The DJ couldn't stop laughing, which made me suspect something was off. I asked if I had won the money, but he laughed for a solid two minutes without providing a response. That was when I started feeling strange.
I had misinterpreted "candar" as "cantar," which means to sing. The contest had zero connection with singing. To make things worse, I could hear soft clapping. Initially, I assumed it was a sound clip played over the radio. But after hanging up and feeling utterly defeated, not to mention $500 poorer, I realized the clapping came from outside the booth.
Curiously, I approached the door and cautiously opened it, only to be met by a crowd of my colleagues. They erupted with laughter and applause. I was clueless until I saw the balloons and confetti on the floor. They had arranged a surprise birthday party for me, tricking me into staying late by giving me extra work!
They jokingly told me they had heard everything, thanks to someone who sneakily switched on the booth's monitors. My spontaneous rendition of "Me Golpeó Bebé, Un Mas Tiempo" had echoed throughout the 20,000-seat venue in clear Dolby Digital sound. All my plans to spend a quiet night alone were shattered.
Needless to say, I haven't shaken it off yet. People remind me of it several times a day. If you ever attend a concert at MSG, glance at the Jumbotron, where every 50th slide during the pre-show features "[My Name] Wants You To Hit It Tonight, Baby!" as a tribute to my impromptu performance.
Sometimes, they even persuade the real performers to echo the line as a joke.
6. Palming Off
In my old workplace, there was a co-worker who'd smack hands with everyone—a high-five—to make them feel better and keep spirits high. The boss caught on to this and made it a rule for all of us to high-five whenever we'd cross paths, in order to maintain a positive atmosphere.
This rule stood firm until an employee got caught fooling around by himself in the restroom. That high-five trend fizzled out instantly.
7. An All-Out Birthday Blitz
One day, for a bit of fun, I said, "Happy Birthday" to a workmate, even though it wasn't his birthday. Another colleague overheard and joined in. In no time, the birthday wishes were echoing around the office. The same thing happened the following two days as well.
We work in a large facility where there's always around 150 staff present. This joke spiraled into a daily routine where every day was celebrated as his "birthday". We showered him with cards, sweets, cakes, presents, and even made birthday announcements at meetings.
We hatched a plan to keep quiet on his actual birthday, completely tight-lipped. But the plan also involved throwing a surprise party in the lunchroom at the end of his shift that day.
8. The Hip-Turning Mustard Barrel
In the past, I worked for a marketing group where I often stayed in one spot for a long while. Over time, I started twirling my hips around, almost like a dance of sorts. Oddly enough, this action gained popularity around the office and folks started calling it "The Mustard Barrel".
The reason behind the name is still a mystery to me. It became so popular, in fact, that they included it as part of the staff training curriculum.
9. Sorry, That’s Classified
Back when I was serving the country, I had the privilege of accessing some top-secret documents and used a specialized email for transferring these sensitive files. For a bit of fun, I signed off one of my emails with "Sent from my iPhone". Little did I know, this email would be shared far and wide.
Seeing this, people began reaching out to their bosses with requests for their own confidential iPhones. Surprisingly, the buzz even reached a few high-ranking generals who were flabbergasted by it. Eventually, I had to face my base commander and make it clear that it was all a joke.
The commander laughed it off, although he was a bit grumpy due to fielding calls about it all day.
10. The Master Blaster
In the past, I was an intern at Berry Plastics, a company that designs plastic injection molds. My job often involved giving a sandblasted finish to certain areas on the molds. Being the rookie at the time, this task often fell to me.
Little did I know, their sandblasting machine was of very poor quality. My frustration began to mount quickly as I started to use the machine, barely fifteen minutes in. I pondered over how the machine functioned and figured that a little elbow grease might stimulate the sand at the bottom. So, I did exactly that.
Surprisingly, my unconventional method worked well. As long as I gave it a few knocks every so often, the machine worked fine. However, two weeks into this routine wearing my steel-toed boots, I made an unfortuante discovery: a large three inch wide and one inch deep dent at the bottom of the machine. I decided it was time to let my boss know.
Rather than being upset, he found humor in the situation. He pointed out that I was the only one who was able to get the machine to perform for extended periods, making it effective for large tasks. To commemorate this, he gave me the nickname "Master Blaster". Word of my new title and the notorious dent spread quickly across the workshop.
For the next couple of years, I was known as "Andy, the Master Blaster".
11. The Office Became Lit
During my internship in a small office, I was placed at a desk that was quite out of the way—far from all the windows and the lighting wasn't great. Considering my poor eyesight, I brought an old desk lamp from home to work. This wasn't just any lamp, but a flexible-arm one.
Interestingly, a few weeks down the line, I noticed an increasing number of desk lamps around. It seemed like everyone thought these lamps were pretty cool and if I could have one, why shouldn't they?
12. Singosaurus Rex
I'm currently employed at Sam's Club where my duties involve distributing free product samples. Roughly a month back, the job allotted to me was to give out Dino Buddies chicken nuggets samples.
This task had me quite enthusiastic and I found myself humming “Everybody Walk the Dinosaur” for most part of the day. Before I knew it, my coworkers picked it up and have been teasing me relentlessly ever since. The fact that I'm a 20-year-old guy just accentuates the awkwardness.
13. The Meme Reaper
Someone snapped an unexpected photo of me during a festive gathering. I was totally unaware of it. The picture got edited and featured in a firm-wide email. I became famous across the office as "Disappointed Arren". As the picture began to be excessively used, a colleague of mine jazzed it up with his Photoshop expertise and hence, "Disappointed Rufio" came into being.
14. Milk Is For Kids
I've got a story about someone who attended a business lunch. They met at a quite upscale spot for a significant meeting, and the atmosphere was quite testosterone-heavy. Like clockwork, everyone was getting drinks from the bar - standard stuff like scotch and the like. Then this younger guy made the most hilarious drink order.
He asked for a strawberry milkshake. From that day forward, the bosses dubbed him "Milky".
15. Tapped Into Tune Town
I was hooked to iTunes on my desktop, working on my designs all day and barely needing to talk. All this while, I was clueless that my tunes could be streamed by others on the network. Then, one day my computer started acting peculiarly slow. It took me by surprise when I found out 12 people were jamming to my music collection.
From then on, I became popular as "The 90s Rock Master".
16. I’m Batman
I'm employed at a company that digitizes documents, and it's my job to send all the digitized content to our clients. Interestingly, there's no official job title for what I do because this role is entirely new to our business. So every couple of months, they ask me what I'd like to be called.
For about a year, my answer was always "Batman". Understandably, they weren’t open to this suggestion, at least not initially. A colleague of mine took the Batman logo and cleverly modified it using the letter "D" to represent the wings. Then, in the iconic Batman style, they added the words "DIGITAL DELIVERY" around the logo.
I've made this image my work email profile picture and also use it for our internal tracking system. This has led to my bosses humorously referring to me with Batman-inspired titles related to my duties. And I must say, I'm really enjoying it.
17. A Nappy New Name
I once served as a crew chief. During that time, we had an operational drill where live missiles were being fired. A jet returned, and it was my job to inspect it. I discovered a tiny pin in one of the storage doors and thought, "What a unique keepsake!" I pocketed it and carried on with the examination.
The following day, my flight chief approached me and inquired, "Did you come across a certain pin?" I held my cool and denied all knowledge. But after he stood there for five more minutes, I knew the matter was serious. So, I confessed, "Yes, sir, I took it. I thought it was interesting and brought it home. I'll return it tomorrow as a fun memento".
I was expecting a scolding, but instead, he shook my hand and reassured me everything was okay. When I handed over the pin the next morning, the first thing I heard was, "So, you're the one who swiped the diaper pin!" As it turned out, of all things, it was a DIAPER PIN. I carried the nickname "the Diaper pin thief" for the next couple of years.
18. Doing The Queso Dip
I used to be an employee at a Mexican dining spot where they always encouraged us to promote queso. Fun fact, I actually got so into it that I created a jingle titled "Do That Queso Dip". Over time, this turned into a series of roughly 10 different cheesy tunes that literally EVERYONE would hum along to.
Whenever anyone came up with a fresh melody, they'd rush to share it with me, their faces lighting up with joy. Simply put, it was fantastic.
19. Not Worth My Time
Once, I found myself on a relay call with a man who was deaf. He was communicating through text relayed by another person. Misunderstanding his message, I thought he was a trickster and insensitively commented that he was "not worth my time".
This guy didn't waste any time to come down with the woman who accompanied him—his girlfriend, wife, sister or friend, it wasn't clear. Once they arrived, she didn't hold back and made quite a commotion. I immediately realized my mistake and swiftly apologized to him.
Afterwards, the phrase "not worth my time" became a running joke within our company for quite some time.
20. Off-Handed Off-Time Frolicking
At my place of work, we firmly adhered to a rule; "office affairs remain in the office". In other settings, many of our happenings would've blown up into viral stories, but at our office, we never brought them up again. An unforgettable incident was when we partied hard at an upscale hotel.
We later visited our boss's home. There, he decided to show off his dance moves on his dining table, wearing nothing but his underwear. Meanwhile, three of our colleagues decided to have a bit of fun in the living room. The topic was only ever brought up again when one of the female staff members asked for her top back.
21. There’s A New Sheriff In Town
Before anyone starts their watch shift in the Army, they typically swing by the armory to grab their gear. My task was to ensure everyone was present and accounted for. One day, I arrived sporting some cool tinted shades, and didn't take them off—leading to this detached and intense aura.
Those who were assigned to the watch found this amusing and started referring to me as "The Sheriff". From that moment on, as I stroll around the base, folks I don't even know greet me, saying, "Hey, there goes The Sheriff!"
22. Calm Your Daisy Dukes
In my role overseeing student callers for my university's telephone donation drive, I often encountered team members feeling overwhelmed, either due to a difficult call or a hectic schedule. When such instances arose, I'd gently reassure them with a playful phrase—"Relax, Stressica Simpson". This phrase became popular quickly, and I take great pleasure in the effect it had.
Zamrznuti tonovi, Shutterstock
23. Legendary Level Achieved
I was a QA operative for the first GoW game at Microsoft, and my work involved collaborating closely with the Epic team. My job was to play the game with a friend for eight hours every night over an eight-month period as part of a shared team.
Just a few months before the game was scheduled for submission, I took a screenshot of a scene where Marcus was looking away from Dom while they were in a helicopter. I captured this image from the perfect angle, and then added a humorous caption next to Marcus's face saying, "I just can't quit you, Dom," referencing the movie Brokeback Mountain.
My intention was to send this joke only to the six members of my immediate team. However, I wasn't focused and ended up sending it to the entire department, which was more than 300 people. I received some surprising replies, several essentially informing me I had goofed up, and I was readying myself for a possible dismissal.
However, the next day a representative of Epic and Microsoft pulled me aside into the head of my department's office. But rather than reprimanding me, he found my joke hilarious. They even incorporated it into an achievement in the game. That was definitely a moment to remember during my contract.
24. Scan Me If You Can
Every few months, I enjoy planning a harmless prank. I never aim for it to become wildly popular, but one gag unexpectedly did. My coworker and I teamed up to create stacks of QR codes. Our late-night mission? Cover every bathroom stall throughout a university campus with them.
The codes carried this message: "True wisdom doesn't come from textbooks, but from doodles on bathroom walls". After our prank, the university was flooded for months with numerous other QR codes, each boasting its own unique slogan, all contributed by different individuals.
25. This Pushy Patron Was Not My Problem
I work in an IT department within the army service. We had a huge undertaking on our plate, and I was tasked with overseeing four different teams, altogether consisting of roughly 20 contractors. Ideally, there should have been six of us coordinating all these teams, but it ended up with just me, and it was becoming exhausting.
In an act of goodwill, one of the contractors under me was assisting another group to bring their database online. But here's the thing—that other group wasn't exactly our client, and regulating their database wasn't our duty. Nevertheless, we carried on assisting them.
At the end of the day, when our Database Administrator (DBA) had already left for home, a late-working contractor and I were wrapping up some paperwork when we received a call from this external unit asking to speak to our DBA. I explained to them that the DBA had left for the day and that they were requesting him to come back.
The complication is that we can't just summon contractors back on demand. Their extra hours need prior approval due to financial considerations. I had clarified with my superior earlier and understood we weren't meant to enlist contractors outside of emergency situations related to our operations. This situation, unfortunately, met neither criterion.
The guy on the other end of the call wasn't happy with my response and threatened to get me into trouble with my boss for not calling the DBA back in. Trying to maintain politeness, I communicated as tactfully as I could, but the conversation was eating into my time. Being worn out and hungry, my patience wore thin.
After a tiresome 5-minute attempt at reaching a resolution, I spontaneously said, "We aren't calling him in because you aren't our customer". A fellow contractor who overheard my comment burst into laughter, finding my candid response amusing.
The caller, however, didn't share the amusement and, in frustration, demanded to speak to my supervisor along with other requests. I advised him to call my office line at 9 AM the following morning. From then on, "You aren't my customer" evolved into our go-to phrase when we weren't obliged to help with something.
26. A Commercial Success?
When I was younger, I starred in a particularly embarrassing advert. I thought it might make me popular with the ladies at the time, but sadly that didn't happen. I moved on and started a job in New York City, finding a friend in one of my colleagues. I told her I'd let her watch the cringe-worthy advert when she left the company, which ended up happening sooner than I'd like.
I showed her the video and she found it hilarious. I figured that would be the end of it—but I was so wrong. In her farewell email to the staff, she included my embarrassing commercial. Almost instantly, my office was filled with suppressed laughter. It was like an overwhelming wave of humiliation washing over me.
Then, images of my face from the video began spreading like wildfire across the office. They ended up as profile pictures on various work accounts. Finally, the video was removed by those who created the commercial, putting an end to the widespread mockery.
27. Finger Flapping Flop
I remember working in a packed office with around 30 colleagues. Our conference room was tight; it barely accommodated 25 of us. Luckily, I managed to secure a spot at the table. Next to me sat Paul, my mentor at work. He was an older fellow, in his mid-50s, who took me under his wing when I joined the staff in my late 20s.
As our boss sifted through his meeting notes, Paul finally jumped in with a comment. He's a lively character, known to express himself through animated hand motions. Particularly trusty was his wagging pointer finger, something he used frequently when passionately pitching his thoughts.
In the spur of the moment, as Paul was passionately mid-dialogue, I found myself grabbing his finger. I abruptly interrupted the serious room of 30 focused professionals by mimicking a farting noise with my lips. This silly prank was out of the blue—imagine a business meeting interrupted by an impromptu "pull my finger" gag.
The response was an eruption of laughter. Colleagues were bent double, wheezing in comic disbelief. The only exception was our boss, who remained unamused amidst the chaos. Thankfully I didn't lose my job over the joke. Instead, it earned me a reputation—let's call it "office street cred".
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A , Shutterstock
28. The Walk Of Shame
One time during my internship, I joined my colleagues for a night out at a classy pub. That night turned out to be unforgettable as I ended up spending the night at a girl's place whom I met there. The next morning, I walked into work wearing the same outfit from the night before. Thankfully, having a spare shirt in my desk drawer saved the day.
However, when I arrived at work, the same crew I had hit the town with the previous night were in the break room. They quickly noticed my bright green shirt from the night before, instantly piecing together my escapade, including my boss.
Fast forward to me recently getting reemployed here, and during my interview, people I'd never met curiously quizzed me about the infamous green shirt episode.
29. Big Funny Bone
When my husband was in college, he took on a few coding gigs for his father. One project was named Windup. For this, he incorporated an old-fashioned toy key into the design. Another project he worked on was for a gay dating site. Here, he creatively modified the key symbol into a playful male symbol.
One of his ultimate assignments required him to construct digital portfolios. He had a quirky idea to use toy keys and male symbols as flower designs in a field landscape. Following this, he included this unconventional portfolio with his job applications. Surprisingly, a well-regarded domestic company invited him for an interview.
He sealed the deal and landed the job. It turned out, they only called him in out of curiosity to meet the quirky "field of male symbols" guy. His performance was unexpectedly remarkable, and this incident quickly became a legendary tale in the company records.
30. The Bic Reveal
Back in my Navy days, we were all supplied with the same low-cost, black, clicker pens. During a shift, I was fiddling with one and discovered something interesting. Removing the metal end revealed a pink plastic piece, contrasting the usual white I'd noticed in others.
I assumed the unexpected color was due to recycling materials, perhaps some old highlighters. Upon reassembling the pen, I left the color-exposing metal part off and placed the pen in my shirt pocket, the pink tip standing out but the pen otherwise regulation issue.
My unique pen triggered a trend among my shipmates. They began ordering loads of pens and investing hours disassembling them, hunting for more than the common white tips. A few green and red ones were unearthed; however, my pink pen stayed one of a kind.
31. A Star Is Born
My older cousin has a job at a big corporation. One day, a lady at a desk across from his, told him he's got a face just like a movie star. As a fun gag, she snapped a photo of him, asked him to sign it, and stuck it up on her desk. Soon enough, another colleague saw the signed photo and requested one too.
Before we knew it, each desk on their floor had the same autographed picture of my cousin displayed. Next, a staff member from a branch across town saw this and found it absolutely hilarious. They decided they needed a photo too. In no time, other colleagues from that branch, along with staff from some other branches, hopped onto this fun train.
For some crazy reason, my cousin found himself becoming an in-house celebrity across this corporation, just like that.
32. A Gel Of A Story
Just about a month before the end of my final year in high school, we had an unusual routine in my English class. Since my school didn't require seniors to take end-of-year exams, our teacher opted for an exciting alternative.
Each day, he'd read from any book from his extensive library, and afterwards, we'd engage in lively discussions, asking and answering questions about what we read. Our teacher was undoubtedly the coolest guy around. One day, while reading, he stopped abruptly and stated, "Oh wow, my eye feels dry".
He reached for his eye moisturizer and, rather amusingly, began reading the label aloud. I heard him say, "Retinal gel". He then quipped, "Hmm, that could be misinterpreted quite easily". In that instant, a hilarious thought occurred to me, and I burst out loudly with, "HAHA! RECTAL GEL". The whole class erupted in laughter.
The term “Rectal gel” soon became a running joke among the seniors and was mentioned every single day. But it didn't stop there. We even included the gag in our "Senior Will and Testament" published in the school newspaper.
Every one of the 305 seniors decided to mention this infamous gel, passing it down metaphorically to their favorite teacher of the year. Consequently, our full testaments never made the publication, all because we couldn't resist mentioning the gel.
33. A Simple Six Up
I work with setting up networks in data centers. My job involves threading a bunch of cables, and we label them using a marker pen with numbers like 1, 2, 3, and so on. To avoid mix-ups between the numbers 6 and 9, we spell out "six" and "nine" instead. Funny thing, I wasn't aware of this.
So, when I stumbled upon it, I started asking everyone, "What's a 51X cable?" These days, they all jokingly refer to me as 51X.
34. An Enchanting Chain Of Events
One day during math, I stumbled upon the words "Tim the Enchanter" scribbled on the desk where I sat. Not knowing about Monty Python and The Holy Grail, I brushed it off as weird. Later on, in a spell of boredom in another class, I also doodled "Tim the Enchanter" on my desk, and once more in a different class.
By the end of the school year, these cryptic words seemed to be etched on half the furniture around the school! It was mystifying, and I kept it to myself until years later when my friends and I figured out the mystery. One of my buddies, who had composed the original note, saw my imitation and was confused.
Intrigued, he began spreading "Tim the Enchanter" elsewhere. When another pal, a fan of Monty Python, spotted this unusual graffiti, he too decided to take part in the fun, scattering the signature line around school. The cycle continued like this.
35. Perfect Timing
I used to work at a call center and my pal and I had a little joke going. Whenever business was slow, we'd ring each other up and answer the phone with a goofy saying. One time, I saw my friend was calling, and in my silliest voice blurted out, "Fabulous Tech Support". To my shock, it was a customer on the line. I got scared and hung up immediately.
What had actually happened was that my friend hung up his call just as another customer call came in, resulting in a perfectly timed mix-up. The incident became the talk of the office and led to the implementation of guidelines on how to answer calls for all new employees. And my story? It became the star lesson each time.
36. Becoming Bruce
I'm employed at a diner where a fellow named Carlo also works. One day, a new girl named Carla joined our team. Our boss, when he got to know her name, went, "Carla? That's not going to work; we've already got a Carlo. We'd better call you Bruce". And just like that, she was dubbed “Bruce”.
Believe me, it was hilariously amusing; since that day, she's been known as Bruce to everyone.
Nicholas Felix/peopleimages.com, Adobe Stock
37. The Force Was Now With Us
My job was being a security guard, and on a certain Saturday night, it was my colleague's last day at the job. The building we were working at was quite large. This place had two gigantic trash compactors, which were mandatory for all tenants to use for their rubbish disposal. However, the majority of the time, tenants would clog the compactors due to misuse.
So, our task was to inspect these machines every 10-15 minutes to make sure they were working correctly. An hour before my colleague was off duty, he inspected one of the compactors. After he wrapped up, he reported back to our dispatcher through the radio.
His phrase was, "3-PO SHUT DOWN ALL THE GARBAGE MASHERS ON THE DETENTION LEVEL, SHUT DOWN ALL THE GARBAGE MASHERS ON THE DETENTION LEVEL!!!" It was so funny, I couldn’t control my laughter.
I was bending over, laughing uncontrollably, tears streaming down my face, in front of hundreds of building occupants. From then on, it became our thing to include Star Wars quotes during our radio conversations, wherever they were relevant.
38. A Banner Moment
So, here's what happened. I attended EMC World in Vegas and, in a whimsical moment, took a photo dressed as the EMC mascot. I impulsively sent it to a coworker back home. You won't believe what happened next.
By the time I got back to work, they had turned my picture into a whopping 10x10 banner, and smaller versions of my photo were posted all over the department. Even our director, the big boss of IT operations, hung the banner in his office. It remained there till my last day at the company.
39. Professor Pin Up
During my college years, I had a teacher who was in the middle of taking off his lab coat after conducting an experiment. Unexpectedly, a portion of his shirt came off as well, revealing a bit more than intended. Just then, a playful wolf whistle rang out from the back of the room.
With no hesitation, the professor spun around and cheekily responded by flipping off the whistler.
40. The Moment Of Truth
When I was in kindergarten, we would have days when parents would come in and make food for all the kids. This particular day, we were having pancakes. I'm not quite sure why, but I was the only person in the class who didn't finish their pancake while many of the other students had second or even third helpings.
At the end of the class, the teacher asked us to put a checkmark on the graph of whether we liked the pancakes or disliked them. A few people had gone up and put a checkmark on like. I wasn't having any of it, so I decided to put my checkmark on dislike. EVERY single kid after me put their checkmarks on dislike even though they had all actually enjoyed theirs.
My teacher ended up getting mad at me for some odd reason, and I was sent to the principal's office. Upon arriving at the principal's office and telling her what had happened, she sent me back to my classroom. SUCCESS.
41. Baldy, The Morale Booster
When I was just 11, my father was serving his eight-month stint at sea with the US Navy. Meanwhile, my mom, not exactly the typical homemaker, stayed back with us. One day, she decided to give my brothers and me a haircut, but it didn't go well. She accidentally shaved a clean patch into my hair and refused to give me a full buzz cut to cover up the mishap.
A week afterwards, the wives of the navy men organized a Christmas party where we were all sending a video message to the ship. When it was my turn to talk to my dad, I said, "Dad, you need to come home now. Look at what [mom] has done to my hair!" Then, I bent down to show the bald spot.
When the video made it to the ship, they played it repeatedly to lift the spirits on board. The video of the "kid with the bald spot" was a hit and became the crew's favorite topic of conversation.
42. Sideburn-Splitting Humor
Back when I was a newbie hair stylist, thrilled with every customer who walked in for a haircut, I recall a maddening instance with a sloppy teenager into emo culture. He persistently gave me the vague guideline of "not too much off," refusing to share any specific hair style he desired.
With his hair being a chaotic, uneven mess from a previous self-attempt, I had no reference point whatsoever for an appropriate haircut. His vague direction of wanting more but not too much hair chopped off ended with three rounds of haircuts until he was somewhat pleased.
Thinking I was moving forward, I then asked about trimming his sideburns and how far up he'd like that to go. Here we go again with the "not too much but more than what you did" act. Two hours into this haircut, I was on the verge of losing my patience. The salon was buzzing with customers, and to top it off, I pretty much knew a tip wasn't on the table.
With his sideburns barely noticeable, I found myself snapping in frustration, bluntly asking him, "So, do you, like… want your sideburns, or what?" Seems like I was the center of attention without realizing it.
My fellow hairdressers and some salon regulars had been following this saga closely, knowing such lengthy haircuts were uncharacteristic of me and they found the teenager's behavior quite prickly. His response to my question was a sarcastic, "Uhhhhh yeah? Duh," along with a roll of his eyes.
Ultimately, after two more tries at trimming, he left sans sideburns and finally satisfied. Ever since then, my coworkers would tease me as they passed by, mimicking my now-famous question, "So, do you, like...want your sideburns?" followed by laughter.
Even some of the clients who were present during the incident would jestingly ask for their sideburns while getting a haircut. On a brighter note, I earned the badge of the most patient person on the team. It was generally agreed that many other hairstylists would've probably lost their calm or told the teenager to hit the road.
43. They Call Me Claude
People have been mistakenly referring to me as "Claude" for the past year, even though that's not my actual name. I once baked a birthday cake for a friend's boyfriend and nobody provided his real name, despite wanting his name on the cake. I thought it would be amusing to inscribe it with an arbitrary name like "Estoban" or "Tarquin".
Instead, I settled with "Happy Birthday Claude". Everyone found it hilarious, and strangely enough, they started calling me "Claude" since that incident. Surprisingly, I've become accustomed to it.
44. Befriending The Entire Student Body
In our university, there was a new student who wanted to make friends with the other 20 or so students in her course. She sent out an email that was a sweet, albeit awkward, combination of an introduction complete with full name, former hometown, and a sprinkle of humor.
It was charming in its own quirky way, except somehow, by some mysterious circumstance that I am yet to figure out, she messed up—and ended up emailing everyone. Every student in the university, all 15,000 of them, received this email. And it didn't just stop there.
Each account was bombarded with this email about a hundred times every hour for several hours. I'm still clueless about how she managed to do that but it was quite a story when the whole university was annoyed with someone they didn't even know.
I can't help but empathize with her as I imagine how she must have felt, when her own email bounced back to her the first hundred times, slowly hitting her with the uncomfortable truth—she'd become an unintentional spammer to everyone she was about to meet for the next three years.
45. Ceiling Cat Is Watching You
I used to do some late night networking work at a sizeable company. Boredom often leads me to entertain myself with silly antics. One coworker complained about someone frequently swiping his food and how our fridge had become a nasty mess. A few days later, I whipped up some creative signs.
The first was a gross image of ancient pasta, so covered in mold that the mold itself was getting moldy. I added some facts about mold and asked folks to dispose of their expired food. The sign was from "those not wanting to turn into zombies after eating contaminated food". This sign didn't last too long though.
My coworker had no clue who the food thief was, So, amidst my idle moments, I got a funny shot of a ceiling cat and captioned it, "Ceiling Cat is watching you stealin' our fuds". Interestingly, this one stayed and even made it through a fridge upgrade. It spurred someone to hang a cardboard 3-D ceiling cat above our new fridge.
46. Strung Out
In grade three, I used a piece of string and a tutorial book to create cat's cradle figures for show and tell. Can you believe everyone else started doing the same thing by the next week? But it was all over just a week later. It was the first and last time I influenced everyone like that. That's how I first learned about memes.
47. Snapped Sleeping On The Job
The day following my 21st birthday, I found myself at work, repeatedly throwing up in the bathroom for a good chunk of my shift. I was employed in an IT department at a secondary location, so not everyone was necessarily aware of the sound of me getting sick.
Yet every time after I got sick, I would pull myself together and meander back to my desk, only to nod off. I'd be leaned back in my chair when I should've been keeping a close eye on the servers.
Meanwhile, my boss hopped on the high-resolution remote-controlled webcam we used for observation back at our primary location. He zoomed in on me, out cold in my seat, and snapped a photo. Subsequently, he got creative and drew a cartoon with "Z's" floating above my sleeping form and even sketched drool dripping from my mouth.
The entire company got a kick out of my expense through a wide-span email, even the two company bigwigs were included. Thankfully, my bosses were on the chill side.
48. Total Exposure
I used to work at the "art section" of a large seasonal store. Once, close to 11 pm, a lady in her middle years came by. She seemed in a hurry and asked for my assistance in picking out some grand, beautifully framed prints. Then, she needed me to help her carry the items to her car, which I gladly did.
Since we were closing at 11 pm, most doors were locked safe for the one nearest my department. My suggestion was for her to reverse her car at that exit and open her trunk. She agreed, and I carried the prints out to where another man was with her, ready to stash them into the boot of a late '90s Firebird with a unique hatchback design. They expressed their gratitude before leaving.
The day after, I was summoned to the front desk for customer service. On getting there, I was surprised to see the woman, a sizable man, and a customer service representative. Apparently, the woman misplaced her receipt and inquired if I recognized her. In response, I confirmed that she was here the night before and I even helped load some artwork into their vehicle.
Apparently, I'd given out the wrong information. She seemed shocked and the man interrogated, "What do you mean you remember us? I wasn't in town last night!" The woman was so furious she threatened my job right before he led her out hurriedly. Turns out, she was unfaithful to her husband, and I'd just unintentionally exposed it.
The husband was furious. They stormed off, yelling as they went. My colleagues and I were taken aback, but I retreated back to my department, seeing the humor in the incident. About 10 minutes later, I spotted the husband heading my way. As he got closer, I started getting nervous. To my surprise, he reached out his hand and thanked me for revealing his wife's secret.
In response, I told him it was unintentional, and I had no idea the man she was with the previous night was not him. He shook my hand firmly and left. My boss later sought me out, intrigued by the drama. When I explained what happened, he found it amusing, but advised me to pay closer attention in future to avoid such snafus.
49. Welcome To The Jungle
Jeff, our financial guru at our car dealership, resigned in the most extraordinary style. As Guns N’ Roses was heard on the radio, he dashed into the showroom, gave a boot to a chair, hopped onto a desk, and mimed the guitar solo to "Paradise City". Then, with a bold leap and a cheeky gesture, he informed all patrons and colleagues to take a hike. A week later, however, he was back on the payroll.
Sources: Reddit
