Most Ridiculous Idiot-Proofing in Todays Products

[@metleon]

What I've learned: 1. If it's not a hammer, it will be used as a hammer. 2. If it can't be used as a hammer, it will be hammered upon.

[@vladimirirkhin]

That's like the rules 34 and 35, but with hammers instead

[@user-ml3hl6vr4t]

If it’s a hammer and there is nothing at hand to hammer on, they will try to hammer on nothing anyways

[@f.e.areproduce5298]

@@user-ml3hl6vr4t There's always ground to hammer on, or surface of any type.

[@igkslife]

Smort.

[@marc-andreservant201]

Load bank filled with heating elements for testing inverters and generators: Let's add a big "Do not touch" sticker next to the heating elements. Guy tests generator and turns it off. No more shock hazard, so it's okay to touch the heater now. Now it says to wait for it to cool down before attempting disassembly.

[@Dervraka]

Was maintaining a server room. One day the network drive wasn't connecting, instead of calling the IT department we had this one manager in the Accounting department who thought because he was "good with computers" he would "solve the problem". Went in the server room and flipped the master reset switch (which actually was an emergency shutdown in case of fires and the like.) Long story short, it shutdown the entire network of a 2,000 person organization, corrupted a bunch of data and took 3 days to get the servers operational again. After this incident the door to the server room was by keycard access only and the emergency shutdown switch was put in a cage with only IT employees having a key.

[@kaitlyn3168]

Lmao. Oh god. The headaches that must have occurred afterwards. Man...

[@dickcheney6]

The emergency shutdown switch should be behind a glass panel. If there's a fire or something extreme like that you don't have time to be finding the guy that has a key. Keycard access to the ROOM on the other hand is very much a good idea. One more thing: A security camera is a good idea for something like a server room. That way if someone is enough of a fool to bypass the "foolproof-ness" of the machine, you can just dismiss them, and show them the camera footage (and back up your side of the story if they try to claim "wrongful dismissal") In situations where the "cost" of hiring + training a replacement would be more than that of repairing the damage they caused, name the new security system after him. :)

[@ericb3157]

remind me of a story i read: the computer room had a fancy door operated by a button...RIGHT NEXT TO the emergency shutdown button! they EVENTUALLY put a cover over the shutoff button...

[@oceanbytez847]

@@ericb3157 that's bad engineering + complacency. Mistakes were bound to happen in that situation.

[@zedas1]

"Hold on to your butts."

[@btg-bp4vl]

Imagine having to explain to someone that if you rearrange the keys in a keyboard alphabetically by taking out the q key and putting the a key there that when you press that a key it will still register it as q and that swapping out the keys like that won't work.

[@fightingtosurvive6527]

HERP! DERP! is what they would say, ( they'd have a limited vocabulary )

[@expertoflizardcorrugation3967]

I remember that before first period in middle school I helped out my teacher fix some basic laptop things. Nothing technical, just see if they work and fix any obvious physical issues. The most common thing was people rearranging or removing keys. At one point we opened a laptop and looked at the keyboard. They fucking alphabetized it. It wasn't difficult to fix, but it was fucking annoying when you don't have a key puller and these were laptop keys.

[@ericb3157]

@@fightingtosurvive6527 "derp" ALWAYS makes me think of a minor cartoon character known as "Derpy", best known for the line "i just don't know what went wrong!"

[@fightingtosurvive6527]

@@ericb3157 Oh! Is it an older cartoon? I still watch cartoons at 50 , Looney Tunes, etc. up to Family Guy, but I haven't heard of that cartoon.

[@ericb3157]

@@fightingtosurvive6527 oh, it's actually..."my little pony friendship is magic." here's the actual scene: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJK4k5xjbNp1esk

[@travis4798]

A guy once told me caution tape exists for idiots and It couldn't be more true. We had chain-link fence and cones around a large hole dug for a basement, pretty tight no gaps to squeeze between, obvious massive hole in the center. People kept coming up and trying to lean over the fence, climb over it, etc. even though it led to nowhere. Next day we had caution tape up and not one person tried it.

[@christopherjones8448]

Should have installed an electric fence instead.

[@carissaleonard3418]

@@christopherjones8448 The amount of electricity needed to stop an idiot is fatal...

[@LukasJosai]

@@carissaleonard3418 And the problem is?

[@carissaleonard3418]

@@LukasJosai None. Light 'em up.

[@LukasJosai]

@@carissaleonard3418 Aye aye capt'n!

[@top_banananaplays]

Not an engineer. But the amount of labels you see around on walls telling you not to climb on them. Also work in a factory where every surface has a "do not stick your hand in here" label. I wouldn't put my hand in a machine that could crush my hand into a blood mess with bones sticking out at all angles but apparently there's people who need the warning.

[@elvingearmasterirma7241]

About that! My dad worked for a short while as both the environmental manager and the safety engineer at a mine (he quit the safety part after losing around fifty years off of his life due to stress). There was a guy... Who stuck his hand.... Into a moving conveyer belt. Now keep in mind this is for a lead and copper mine. No he did not get to keep the hand. Oh and there was another guy who also stuck his hand into a moving fan in the mine, underground. No, he also didnt get to keep his fingers!

[@top_banananaplays]

@@elvingearmasterirma7241 I once stuck my hand out to tickle a cat's belly. I was lucky to keep my hand.

[@elvingearmasterirma7241]

@@top_banananaplays You're lucky you even have your arm left

[@SandraSine40]

reminds me of a yt video I once saw where an old man is making glass sculptures for tourists, he makes this beautiful horse of melted glass, but near the end of sculpturing glass gets transparent, no longer than the burning orange color that it had right after getting out of the fire, he presents his sculpture all fresh and shiny on the table in front of the tourists but before he turns around he puts one paper towel over it that as soon as it touched the glass goes into flames, reminding everyone that it may not look like it but the sculpture is still blazing hot.

[@danielsjohnson]

The same thing is true in blacksmithing. Soon after your iron piece cools down enough that it is no longer red hot, it is still hot enough to burn you. For safety reasons we treat all work pieces as if they were hot.

[@lightsidesoul]

​@@danielsjohnson In the profession of the craftsman, treat everything as if it will harm you until the one who knows the trade tells you it's safe. Every gun as if it's loaded, every blade as if it's sharp, metal as if it can burn, electrical as if it's live.

[@TheNormExperience]

“When designing the exterior of the ISS you’re prohibited from making anything with holes of a certain size, so that the astronauts don’t get their fingers stuck.” To be fair...I’m not sure one would become an astronaut without an unhealthy amount of curiosity.

[@insylem]

Perhaps, but an astronaut may need to grasp certin parts for maintenance and repair

[@mirjam3553]

@@insylem And I'd bet their training also includes sentences like "If you're about to float away, grab _anything you can_" The holes just need to be small enough that gloved fingers won't fit, or big enough that they won't get stuck.

[@ShackleYT]

@@mirjam3553 to be fair, i'd much rather have my finger stuck in a hole rather than floating off into the vast emptyness of space never to be seen again. I may look like an idiot, but at least i'll be alive to be laughed at.

[@shadowdragonlord2295]

The world's greatest swordsman doesn't fear the second best, he fear the worst because he can't predict what the idiot will do.

[@devinnall2284]

Which is why Luffy is the Captain not Zoro

[@josepherhardt164]

That's like playing in a chess tourney and getting paired against a player 200 rating points beneath you. No matter how hard you try to play the board and not the opponent, your mind will play the opponent, you'll try to short-cut something and they'll stumble on the one move that loses you the game.

[@sturmovik5448]

Maxim from the military world: Professional enemies are predictable. It's amateurs that are scary.

[@KnakuanaRka]

I think it would be more the guy in the middle that he fears the most: not trained enough to make their style predictable, but still knows enough of what they’re doing to realize when they’ve thrown him for a loop and take advantage of it. And speaking of that, something is wrong with people’s definitions of what is the best if the best swordsman can be beaten by the worst. Since being predictable is apparently a bad trait, wouldn’t that make the style a bad one, and one involving more variety and less predictability be better?

[@amirferdhany3177]

@@KnakuanaRkai think it’s supposed to mean that the best swordsman is worried that the worst wouldn’t know the proper way to protect himself and try to brute force it, and might get himself killed to kill the best swordsman, basically a kamikaze. It doesn’t mean the worst will win, it means both will lose.

[@xaenon]

10:27 Pool noodles are a lifesaver - in a possibly very literal way. I lived in a house that had a basement that was NOT designed for people six feet tall. There are two great big steel beams down there and I got so tired of forgetting about them and creasing my skull. Pool noodles installed, and no more dents in my head.

[@rebel6301]

haha *BONK*

[@deemueller6470]

I have seen people baby proof houses with those. Around edges of tables, tvs, doors and chairs - even saw one doorway that had it at the bottom. The kid was in a walker. The walker couldnt go over the pool noodle at the doorway so kid wouldnt accidently go down the steps when mom opened it for a second. I have seen it under beds so no more stubbed toes. I used to cut it up and use it in potted plants instead of rocks for irrigation. The pots were so much lighter and it worked the same!

[@ShackleYT]

I used them on my ladder for my bunk bed when i was a kid.

[@tonytang7550]

"When you make something idiot proof for the world, the world would just make a better idiot."

[@adriannaranjo4397]

The fact there are grown men, working with industrial equipment, literally can't understand *round peg in round hole & square peg in square hole* makes me lose faith in humanity

[@Kath2378]

They should have sent those who messed that up one of these baby toys where you put the shapes into the correct holes as "practice"

[@christopherrogers532]

lol hang around any retail store's self checkout long enough and soon you'll see someone who can't understand the simple concepts of "Read the Screen", and "Red Light, Green Light". :)

[@PetiteMinina]

these anecdotes are the reason why I find big conspiracies theories impossible, there's always that one idiot 😂

[@cpob2013]

So 9/11 was an inside job but the Watergate idiots got caught and brought down tricky dick nixon...

[@simondemoulin5815]

I remember two stories about Pokemon GO "accidents" : The first was about a guy who play inside the industrial area. He was a trainee on site, so no problem to enter the facility (there are secure door all around). The thing is there is some area where you cannot enter the vicinity of certain building without leaving every electronic behind. I guess some chemicals (and steam maybe) can, somehow, react with the electricity. So here comes this guy, entering the area, eyes focused on his phone, 50 meter away of a safety manager... You all know how it end for the trainee. By the way, an official announcement was released a few day later about safety. The second was in the newspaper : A guy find a pikachu spot nearby and go in. He enter a property, go inside the greenhouse behind it and... I don't remember if he catch it or not, but he definitely spotted the whole plantation of mar***una. Police involved, a "great catch" (yes yes, I know) and the wannabe poke-hunter just got a slap on the shoulder for trespassing into a private property. Eat that, Team Rocket !

[@carissaleonard3418]

I'm a translator and helped in setting up some online review/questionnaires for some hospitals and clinics. Had to redo them 5 months later with new instructions to not include personal identifying information including specifically unrelated medical procedures, medications, diagnoses, medical conditions and biometrics such as height, weight and color. Can't be just a semi-anonymous number of record if you've described yourself in detail.

[@Lovuschka]

There's always someone trying to win the Darwin Award.

[@jasonferaco2543]

Yup

[@igkslife]

There's also not enough people winning it.

[@oceanbytez847]

was on a bus ride from georgia to texas 2 days ago. some guy jumped in front of our bus on the interstate trying to save the lid to his cooler. One of the best darwin contenders i ever personally saw. he got out alive that time. Not sure his luck will hold out much longer though.

[@Lovuschka]

@@oceanbytez847 Thanks for sharing!

[@Witchtheif89]

One of my favorite stories from a relative that worked as a Corporate lawyer was the reason that the back of Gas Trucks say "NO SMOKING" and "FLAMABLE SUBSTANCE" on them. This "genius" was filling up his tank, and took a smoke break while he was waiting. After a bit he decided to check on the progress of the tank, and stuck his head into the big hole on top with a lit cigarette in his mouth. He lived through it, but not with out substantial burns. During the case he argued "How was he supposed to know that gasoline was flammable?" so ... signs. All safety signage is written in blood.

[@christopherrogers532]

lol some of these people should lose their case on account of having no common sense, survival skills, or being willful stupid. O_O Should there have been signs in the first place, YES, should he have needed them, NO. :)

[@Witchtheif89]

@@christopherrogers532 There's one from a Chainsaw that reads "Do not attempt to stop chain with hands or genitals." There was also a kid in my shop (welding) who lit his head on fire with an Acetylene torch trying to light a cigarette. He had.... SO much hair product in his hair. We'll call him Hot Head till the end of time. He lived, he's fine, he decided to get really into hats, but he's fine. We put him out pretty quick. Now the MF'er that tried to weld casters onto an old oil barrel without filling it with water.... Not so much.

[@devon12346]

a lit cigarette cannot ignite gas vapors

[@Witchtheif89]

@@devon12346 The lighter he flicked to reignite his cigarette after the fumes put it out sure can.

[@janeyrevanescence12]

After my father's experience dealing with an idiot who removed a safety cover on a cannister of compressed gas, they had not only a safety briefing but they had to lock all of the cannisters up and have a sign in and out for each compressed tank. I guess they were that desperate to keep idiots from removing safety covers (and with good reason, seeing as they can be turned into missiles if the valve is somehow sheered off).

[@ericb3157]

reminds me of a Batman comic book where he intentionally did that to escape from a burning building.

[@nivekv-halla4752]

Don't wanna sound mean. But as humanity advanced in various sectors like food security, health, security etc.It was inevitable the number of people who take unnecessary risks would rise.... And then without the threat of danger ie being hunted by other animals/humans lowers ones awereness...

[@MichaelR1275]

etc.It

[@Sam-U-S-i4z]

Risk compensation. As more security is applied, more does the monkey want to risk

[@fgregerfeaxcwfeffece]

Yup, idiots thinking they are indestructible because they have been so well protected so far is a really big problem. The only real solution is education. Big example that makes it to the news somewhat regularly are anti vaxxers. Censoring of violence in media is certainly another problem. Our monkey brain kind of requires us to see things to accept them. So the lack of injury in modern every day life is also a big contributor. People don't need to get hurt themselves, seeing it should do the trick for most people. But as a society we went through a crazy effort to hide this reality from people. So many people grow up thinking they are indestructible because they have never seen serious injury.

[@TheCarpenterUnion]

@@fgregerfeaxcwfeffece trigger warnings and being offended are dangerous ideas

[@fgregerfeaxcwfeffece]

​@@TheCarpenterUnion I don't see how that contributes. Please explain.

[@truebluethecat]

"Duct tape and a bottle cap" this has been my solution for several things. Kid would see the power button on my computer and push it. Wife used to like turning the thermostat all the way up because it was cold. Then all the way down because now it's too hot. Never ending cycle like hello, it's not an on off switch. Set and Taped that sucker up. Problem solved.

[@user-ml3hl6vr4t]

Our fight is over the water heater. How can I stop him from turning it down all the time. I can’t draw a full enough tub to cover my knees or fill it up and not even have it baby bath warm

[@truebluethecat]

@@user-ml3hl6vr4t set it where it needs to be then epoxy/ jb weld the hell out of it

[@user-ml3hl6vr4t]

@@truebluethecat sounds great until I have to relight the pilot light…

[@truebluethecat]

@@user-ml3hl6vr4t good point. I was thinking more along the lines of electric.

[@user-ml3hl6vr4t]

@@truebluethecat ours is gas, the way it was installed the gas line comes up in front of the little window, and it is a miracle to get it relit with the piezoelectric start.

[@logankimmet3465]

I like how all step ladders have warnings about standing on the very top step, but everyone ignores it. *EVERYONE* . Ironically, I fell off a 4ft stool doing that, and tore a ligament in my left ankle. Took 5 weeks to walk right again and I still do it at work 😂

[@superfire6463]

I’m actually really good at not doing that

[@TheCaptainFatBelly]

@@superfire6463 can't you read? He said everyone does it. /s/

[@MichaelR1275]

Yeah, everyone loves ignoring things. He can be so annoying sometimes.

[@logankimmet3465]

@@TheCaptainFatBelly *EVERYONE*

[@crimson5689]

I don’t.... then again 3 steps up a ladders makes me dizzy

[@Ambipie]

They should make tide pods in piss green, muddy brown and gravelly gray. No kids gonna eat that. But kids eat bright colored stuff. Looks like blue raspberry green apple orange blast candy.

[@thelmagreenwood3377]

BUT, no housewife would buy it because it would look "icky".

[@Ambipie]

@@thelmagreenwood3377 wrong. "Whitens whites with the worst colors Little Tommy won't put near his mouth!"

[@thelmagreenwood3377]

@@Ambipie still, there are plenty who think just like i described.

[@tidepodpadthai2633]

They should just make them clear tbh

[@lachlanmckinnie1406]

My dad used to do scientific and medical repairs. Often enough he would get called out, only to find out the device wasn't plugged in. Still charged them the callout fee.

[@elijahaitaok8624]

There absolutely has to be a point where he stopped telling them how he “fixed” their shit so he could keep taking in the dough

[@ericb3157]

a story i read: people kept clicking on the screenshot of the "where to click" directions instead of the actual place to click. so they added a function to display a pop-up message "no, click THERE->" if someone clicked the screenshot.

[@viksreviews2891]

You may be able to idiot proof something but god makes the idiots. And he is a master at making better idiots to undo your work. Solution: lower bar needed for idiot work, therefore god doesn't have to work so hard. Keep this game going for a year or two before suddenly turning the labels and warning signs and whatnot up to 11. Then god doesn't have a chance to immediately react and boom, you've outsmarted the idiots for about half an hour

[@Teobi1]

Half an hour, that's optimistic

[@thelmagreenwood3377]

God wasn't outsmarted - He sent us Politicians to make SURE we would always have idiots in charge.

[@waynehewett4017]

How can you lower the bar ? It's that low already a cockcroch couldn't get under neath it

[@gamerboy6787]

Without doxxing myself or my company... I am part of a maintenance/supply/fix-it crew at my company. At my job, there are certain cables that hang down from the ceiling. These cables are secured with steel ties. (I know this is very little context, but again, I don't wanna dox myself or my job) Day after day, people cut these steel ties. There is literally no reason -- none whatsoever -- for the staff members to cut these steel ties in order to do their job. We don't even know HOW they are doing it, since slicing through freakin STEEL ties would require sturdy tools. We question the staff why they keep doing this. No one gives a straight answer. It got to a point where the director of the department has personally investigated this multiple times, questioning people, even laying in hiding and spying on people lol. We can't figure this out. Replacing these steel ties is a pointless expense on our annual budget.

[@TH3C001]

The solution, as cruel and unjust as it may be, is to make an example of someone. Pick an employee, any employee, in front of all of the others, and fire them for cutting the ties. Make it a spectacle. Make sure it’s noticed and heard by everyone. Then after the fact arrange a meeting reiterating why the employee was fired and that if the ties keep being cut more people will be fired. It will either stop or the suspect might come forward lol. Either way, sometimes fear is the only to enforce something. (Then I suppose the “fired” employee gets a promotion elsewhere in another location if possible, just to maintain the illusion for the rest of their former coworkers.)

[@KnakuanaRka]

@@TH3C001 Or add it to someone who was already being fired for some other reason.

[@SilentEcho9194]

Warning labels are on everything you buy on account of the dum dums who misused the item, sued and won because it didn't say to not do that.

[@tankofnova9022]

You mean like that Gorilla Glue lady who put the shit in her hair claiming she thought it was a hair product?

[@paladinboyd1228]

@@tankofnova9022, Yep.

[@SiegeTF]

ThE mIcRoWaVe DiD'nT sAy I cAn'T uSe It To DrY mY cAt!

[@theinternetidiot]

@@SiegeTF .... PLEASE dont tell me that actually happened....

[@SiegeTF]

@@theinternetidiot "Although there have been a few verifiable cases of pets subjected to microwaving, each of them were deliberate acts of cruelty, perpetrated by twisted souls who knew all too well what they were doing. Micropoochings arising from a lack of understanding of the technology, however, are still incidents of lore only." ~ Snopes

[@markrowland1366]

Developed a comnercisl carpet cleaner that cleaned five times more quickly to yet a higher standard and didn't require vacuuming before hand. I let it in the hands of an incompetent young man and idiot proofed it in a month. Then sold it by demonstrating it with the customer working. No-one bought it. To stupid to understand it would allow them a week off every month or two months paid luxury holiday each year. One complained he couldn't match the cleanliness and said I should come back and clean everything to match.

[@toddkes5890]

Charge for the cleaning, you might be able to set up your own business

[@grantharriman284]

"There is no such thing as fool proof. God is a better engineer than you, and he designs the idiots." I can't remember where I first heard that line, but it is so true.

[@user-ml3hl6vr4t]

Four minutes in, Pokémon go. I had to walk several miles a day by doctor’s orders. I had issues because my yard had two big ponds and would spawn some water based ones. I put up signs and locked up yard access. In the alley I chained up a bench and put in ashtray catch, and trash cans. Right here you could catch, you did NOT need to be in the yard to catch. Las, I made a many pocket long vest. Between 7 and 7:30, see me at location and pay $5. I then took the phones for my morning walk. Over five miles and past a poke stop. I would then walk uptown and deliver phones to businesses and the courthouse and hospital. At the best it would be $50-60 a day. I also walked a couple of Fitbit as well. Because they also needed stairs I got $10 for those. ( I made it to a 747)

[@DavidRichardson153]

Not an engineer, but I ended up designing and implementing a modification. I worked at a lyophilization (freeze-drying) firm. During my time there, we went through a few expansions, mostly minor and internal. One of the more mid-sized expansions was building a new cleaning area for a particular line of materials with separate environmental standards from our main line (not sensitive enough for an isolated clean room, though). This new area was for the special trays that had a special coating meant to protect the product that would go into it. These trays weighed just under 15 lbs each, and they were stored in their own special flip-open containers that held around 30 trays each - so totaling about 450 lbs per container (the container weighed enough to approach this number when loaded). Because of the containers weight - and because we had to transport them, naturally - we had a walking forklift (basically a smaller electric forklift that you don't sit in to drive). The arms would be obstructed from view by the containers, and because the containers were always stored up against the wall, there was a risk of not inserting the arms far enough to lift the container safely, or inserting them too much that you end up hitting (and quite possibly puncturing) the wall. We quickly discovered this problem through initial testing (no punctured wall, thankfully), so the first thing I suggested we do was guide me (I was the youngest of the group, and they figured me being a gamer made me most qualified to operate the forklift) to a point where the arms would reach the end of the container without reaching past. With that, I lifted the container up to a more manageable height, and then I took a Sharpie and marked thick lines all around the arms where the container sat with the arms reaching far enough. With my added markings, anyone would be able to spot when they inserted the arms far enough. Of course, someone still punctured a wall with the forklift when they wanted to move one of those containers. I never learned or figured out who exactly did it, but I was able to rule out who did not (no one from my team, thankfully). I went to the facilities manager with a little proposal: slide-on brackets for the arms with clamps, so we could quickly and fairly easily slip them on and off the forklift arms quickly (and thus ensure that the right length was always under the containers) while still being able to readily use the forklift for anything else that might come up. I found out after I left the firm that those brackets got stolen multiple times, and the facilities manager would try to tear the place down to find out who had been behind it. He never learned who, but he had the usual suspects (likely the same ones I suspected were behind the punctured wall from earlier).

[@Perkos1]

That seems like a job for a metal plate mounted to the wall. Or any plate really, thick rubber, or wooden plank should work just as fine.

[@DavidRichardson153]

@@Perkos1 That was done at first. Unfortunately, the firm was staffed by a lot of clumsy kleptos, apparently. Every day, I ended up having to deal with at least one thing that was damaged or broken by them. They seemed to believe that anything meant for the firm could be used by them for whatever personal reason they came up with. Plus, the forklift was pretty heavy, so even barricades like those would fail before too long - the comparatively small narrow ends of forklift arms impart leagues more damaging pressure than the large faces of the containers.

[@Perkos1]

@@DavidRichardson153 oh man, that's rough. Workers can take anything not anchored to the floor. I work with designing and delivering storage and warehouse safety solutions (racks and barriers basically) and creativity of the staff never fails to amaze me. My personal favorite was when cystomer damaged the rack before our assembly team finished their work. Before they were even legally allowed to touch it... Hot rolled steel designed for years of use got bended in... hours?

[@DavidRichardson153]

@@Perkos1 Yeah, it is amazing. Even though I was never an engineer, I had done some engineering work. My first job was a temporary engineering intern position (for a few months, I had to help change out motors for robot arms in an automotive plant's painting line), and I got to see and listen to the engineers openly wonder how certain unexpected things happened, to the motors and other machinery. It was my time at the lyophilization firm that I started developing my engineering chops, even though my listed position was "Chemist/Lab Tech." I did help develop a couple of new devices and procedures for the place, so I had some of the thought processes of an engineer. I would say those very thought processes would make me butt heads with those kleptos, souring the end of my time there and driving me to leave a few months before my five-year mark. Admittedly, as much as it does hurt over what I had done for the firm, it is relieved by the knowledge of what happened after I left. The few other good workers there left once they heard that I did, and the kelptos' free ride ground to a halt. The firm ended up limping along for another year before finally collapsing. Knowing that they couldn't handle it does give me some pleasure. Yeah, call me a business killer, but I think you'll agree, if you worked for a company and that was the majority of your coworkers, or if you were a client and you found out that was what most of the employees there were, you'd want to see the company fail.

[@BR-jw7pm]

I'm starting to think the phrase "let's remove the warning labels and let the problem sort itself out" would be a good idea to decrease the world's stupidity...

[@maritimeshark1467]

13:00 reminded me of a story In 2013 there was a Russian Proton-M rocket being built. On the accelerometers, there were arrows and different size pins, there wasn’t any way to install it the wrong way. The person that was assembling it put it on the wrong way. Nobody realized until 12 seconds after liftoff when the rocket decided that outer space was down. Edit: here’s a video kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4bLfGiso7icndE

[@melkiorwiseman5234]

If I remember the story correctly, the idiot had actually HAMMERED the gyroscope into its mounting upside-down because it wouldn't fit, never even trying to fit it right-way-up.

[@coreyspofford4166]

had to start cling wrapping areas off after painting because a giant sign saying wet paint was not getting the job done and the worst part is people would try and wipe wet paint off in more wet paint so after it sets would come back and some times have to redo the whole thing

[@olstar18]

Funny story from one of my fathers friends. He works running a machine that digs a trench for waterlines. He was digging a ditch to replace the old waterlines but he was told ahead of time that no one knew where the line actually was. They had the map with it marked but they hadn't been able to stick straight to that map for various reasons and the changes they had to put in when it was originally done weren't marked. The only man who actually knew where the water line was had died several years before so all they knew was that it was right around there. After they had been digging a ways they looked behind the machine and there was water all over the place. They not only managed to find the original line they dug straight down the middle of the pipe for a good ways.

[@kid7856]

Worked maintenance for a school system a long time ago. So many 'rules', don't leave that out it'll get thrown thru a window, don't leave that there they'll use it to get to on the roof and many, many more I've forgotten.

[@northernbelle7020]

My husband is a diesel mechanic in a mine. The engineer designing mining equipment needs to go to where the men actually fix the things... there is so much armour plating to protect stuff that the mechanics need to be 90lb, 4 feet tall, and a contortionist.

[@Daishar]

I think the best statement on any of this came from an engineering professor I had. After nearly 20 years as a Mech E, I can't think of a better statement so I stole his and use it all the time, "Every time you think you finally idiot proofed a design, the universe will create a better idiot to thwart you."

[@mr.nemesis6442]

I understand their pains. My parents straight up ignore warning and instruction signs which usually gets them into some predicament that they make other people solve. My dad flat out ignores automated voice message telling him that nobody is gonna pick up and calls lime 10 more times because “you never know if they’ll pick up”.

[@HeathInClearLake]

Transitioned from retail to blue collar. Rookie on the assembly line. Assembling fence rails, following the lead of the guy training me. A piece of wood was about 1/2" out. So I did what I saw everyone else was doing. Using the handle end of my screw-gun air tool to tap the wood flush. *tap* *tap* *tap* Big bossman sees me, runs up to my workstation, points to my screw-gun and yells "What is THAT?!" I hadn't caught on. "That's my screw-gun? Why?" "Does THAT look like hammer?"" "No?" "THEN DON'T USE IT AS ONE!" As impolite and unprofessional as it was to yell at me like that, it was the turning point for me working blue collar. My coworkers were idiots and their lead is not to be blindly followed. While they continued to use their screw-guns as hammers, I went to the tool room and found a rubber mallet to *tap* *tap* *tap*. Over time, the heavier tools broke down. They made the best hammers. Soon I was the workplace pariah as I wouldn't fall in line with their stupidity. I would use words like "pariah" and "faux pas" and they had no idea what I was saying. Later on, the bossman wanted me to certify on the forklift. I told him I didn't want to do that because of the danger involved. He told me that's why he wanted me on the forklift, that I had the right attitude about driving one. I began to realize that my coworkers viewed the forklift like a kid does a toy (think Michael Scott from that one episode of The Office). They did NOT like me taking away their forklift time and would pretend their lives were in danger whenever I hopped on. They would complain about how much I used the horn, despite what the lift-truck training instructed. Years later. 0 accidents.

[@yolandaponkers1581]

Honestly, any obviously non-edible product with a “do not eat” warning sticker.

[@user-ml3hl6vr4t]

A lot of little kids did and still think a silica gel desiccant packet is candy and would eat them.

[@fireflare908]

@@user-ml3hl6vr4t they are forbidden candy,if you get caught eating them you will get deleted

[@user-ml3hl6vr4t]

@@fireflare908 yes, I know about that. I had a younger cousin that thought that OTC medication was candy and would do his best to find and eat them. For about 18 months starting about age four, he had so many times of ending up at the ER for charcoal and stomach pumping and things of that nature. He was stubborn and unswayed…

[@Legacy-sw7bv]

Some guy once ate an entire airplane over the course of several years just to prove he could.

[@updated_autopsy_report]

@@Legacy-sw7bv I just searched up the guy and it’s quite interesting I’ll drop the wikipedia page here for anyone else that got curious lol en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Lotito

[@ivangenov6782]

Im no engineer but because it's just as laughingly bad, i will put it here: Summerland fire disaster: -building was supposed to be fireproof when it's design and the material made of helped the fire when started accidentally by three bois -fire burns through fire alarms before they could be set of -nobody calls for fire department or evacuation even tho there is clearly a fire -it was some captain of a ship out at sea that saw the fire and was one of the first and if not, THE first to call fire department -when evacuation starts some dude who was controlling rides left without stopping them leaving parents and other people to rescue children -one fire exit was blocked by a car that (i wish i made it up) belonged to the safety officer -three bois (mentioned earlier) who started the fire were fined 3 pounds each for the death of 50 innocent lives Beverly hills supper club fire -"it is fireproof" building was litelarry made of wood and carpets -litelarry no fire alarm system -when it was clear that there was a fire, supervisors didn't want to interrupt the show -when a young brave lad went on stage and shouted that there was a fire and that everyone should evacuate, the majority sat in their seats since there was no sign of a fire -when signs of fire emerged so many people tried to escape through the small exits that they all litelarry stacked each other and couldn't be pulled out by fire fighters to help the situation I swear there were litelarry no safety regulations last century and it fcking tells you something

[@stunlord]

for god's sake LITERALLY just use spellcheck

[@sarahpanther]

It's amazing how many people will try to just walk right into places that are obviously closed. Back at my old job, we used to put up signs to mark when areas were closed off. But people ignored the signs, so we started putting up poles horizontally across the doorways, which physically blocked the entrance. We even hung big, yellow "CLOSED" signs from those poles. And we STILL had people picking up those poles, moving them aside, and walking in anyway 🤦‍♀️ Even just the other day, I watched a lady walk up to a store that wasn't open. The lady looked right at the "closed" sign on the door...and reached out to try and open the door anyway 😂

[@ryawncawdor6381]

24:15 I worked for a propane cylinder company as a welder a few years go. One day the conveyor belt that shuffled all the pieces together at the end where I assembled them an welded them together broke so I was task with stamping the collars we put on top so folks can hold onto them to move them around an is where we put the copyright, material type, pressure max an blah blah. As I set up the stamper following the display of how to insert the various letters an symbols into each row slot I came to the row that said "Do not cook meth or other drugs in this container" followed by "Boiling contents in this container will cause explosion" I thought somebody was having a gag on me so I call the floor manager over an ask them what it was all about an who was pulling the joke. Nope, no joke was being played on me. It turns out that somebody tried to cook drugs in one of our propane tanks, the pressure built up an it exploded killing them an the family tried to sue for wrongful death because our propane tanks did not say they could not be used to cook drugs in so it was the companies fault.

[@Steve-ou8nw]

Who designs these awful, virtually impossible to use "safety" spouts on gas cans? They actually make it much more likely you will spill gas!

[@user2C47]

I think of myself as fortunate for finding one that was just a valve that would open if you pushed a button.

[@jimmystyles670]

And may God fucking help you, if you're trying to fill up a chainsaw, It's basically impossible to use those things depending on the design, one thing I recommend is looking up military gas cans. They're not cheap, but they're metal and will last forever.

[@elijahaitaok8624]

@@jimmystyles670 no sun bleaching either. I live in a small town in the middle of nowhere and I used to work at a store that also sells gasoline, either I'd hear about people bitching about spilled gas from those newer cans or see sun bleached older cans that were probably a bright and vibrant red once upon a time

[@potatokitty]

Lowest denominator is the most common denominator.

[@scottthomas6202]

I once installed non functional thermostats on the walls of cubicles. Each cubicle had one. The climate control system had been upgraded, so I had a barrel of old thermostats. Called them " wireless thermostats"...not a lie, technically...no wiring to them. Temperature complaints dropped to near zero.

[@Dailyfiver]

I used to spin fire professionally to entertain the long lines at a haunted house attraction. I had an alarming amount of people lift up and walk under the caution tape around me to cut through the area or to come talk to me. I had 3 foot flames shooting off of me and they showed no sign of caution. I also had people ask me if they could try (NO!) and I had some dude ask me if the fire was real. I have no hope for humanity.

[@judithgockel1001]

Not an engineer, but realized how far my world had fallen when I bought a curling iron, and found a tag that noted ‘Not For Internal Use’. Bleeech!

[@nemoniente5844]

...this confirms my theory of a doomed idiocracy on par with the current political climate...

[@Cassiopea525]

A wildlife rescue organization I volunteered at had to petition to remove a spot because the Pokemon Go folks were disturbing endangered wildlife already recovering from human interference.

[@NorgGrimm]

I just got my car from repair, had a complete exhaust pipe system installed apart from cat, and now I can't hear the engine idle over the 1st speed of the ac. Perfect.

[@sarlon51]

There is a saying i like to use that fits here perfectly. "Never underestimate the power of human idiocy".

[@serpentinious7745]

"Safety standards are written in blood" 😅 Should put that at the entrance to every job site

[@toryknotts8026]

16:26 didn't preschool teach them " round peg, round hole, square peg, square hole"?! 18:34 well that's scary.

[@LoneTiger]

22:40 Made my day, CRT's storing data. 🤣🤣🤣

[@josepherhardt164]

Actually, in the old mainframe days, sometimes you _would_ leave text stored at the terminal (CRT with keyboard) because in the limited RAM you had to run your program (on the mainframe), each end-user was only allowed so much working K. 'Twas actually a clever hack, back in the day.

[@LoneTiger]

@@josepherhardt164 When computers were coal powered, and you had to feed the gremlin inside to paint the screen as you typed. 😁

[@josepherhardt164]

@@LoneTiger And when you went out to lunch, you had to watch for the crossing dinosaurs!

[@rilesmiles4564]

Software Engineer to be here. Usig Java, I made a Swing UI based chatroom with a server for my class. I had a username feature so you could see who was sending the message. Thing is, it had no filter. And in a class of teenage boys, things are bound to happen. So I remote checked everyone's IP in class with the help of my teacher (we had assigned computers), and if their username wasn't their real name in some form, then it wouldn't register. So when my teacher asked me why I had a list of every curse word and racial slur imaginable, I explained to him that we're in a class of teenage boys. I can't take any chances on their maturity. Totally worth that A.

[@danorris5235]

I'm a machinist. There are two kinds of mechanical engineers: 1) The kind who knows they are indeed mortal, capable of mistakes, sometimes design nonfunctioning parts, think up assemblies that are impossible to mate, have the humility to realize that there's no shame in being corrected, gets that manufacturing technology only goes so far, and understands intimately that being surrounded by machinists and welders who are experts in their field is a benefit, and ultimately that their job is not THAT complicated and there's a huge difference between intelligence and education. (These guys are awesome to work with, and I fight tooth and nail to keep them if they're in hot water). 2) Is never wrong, thinks education proves intelligence, screams at machinists and welders for not being able to change things like how much heat or pressure a material can withstand, invents excuses for every failure, whines endlessly about how difficult their job is (being fully unaware that half the team is also formally educated, too), can't wrap their head around basic GD&T, designs the most ludicrous things like .0005 tolerancing on a counterbore for a bolt head, trying to mate 3/8-16 and 3/8-24 threads together, thinks magnets make parts flat instead of parallel, and even goes as far as to attack anyone when being confronted with the undeniable fact that they are indeed incompetent and ultimately laughable for the umpteenth time that month. (Absolutely delusional, and the worst kind of person to work with, and they actually think the manufacturing team is working FOR them 😂). Unfortunately Type1 is only about 30% of them, and 80% of the Type2's don't even have the self awareness and IQ necessary to realize they're Type2's in the first place. Some of the examples in this video just prove the rampancy of Type2's and their neverending quest to pretend they're smarter than an inbred dog.

[@tankofnova9022]

21:39 Why is this getting more common? No matter which reddit reading channel I go to this lazy shit is everywhere!!!!!

[@neonblade8591]

seems like whatever tts site they use needs some idiot proofing of its own

[@carolinelabbott2451]

I thought it was deliberately done that way.

[@chasefrost1401]

The best way to combat against stupid people is to stop idiot-proofing.

[@Benjamin1986980]

I work in the Houston industrial district. There are so many pipes cris crossing this city that we don't even do digging anymore. My company exclusively does hydro excavation, where you dig with a pressure washer and a vacuum. It's more expensive and slower, but if you hit a pipeline, the hydro excavation rig cleans it instead of ripping through it. To compare, one of our suppliers accidentally dug through a hydrogen pipeline. No way of stopping it, and the flame was so hot it was invisible. They had to depressure the whole system, cutting off supply to the entire area so that they could patch it up. Cost a millions, and it was a miracle no one died

[@michawhite7613]

Why do you even have a disable wifi button? That's Doofenshmirtz level engineering

[@Jacqueline_Thijsen]

To extend battery life when you don't need an internet connection. The wifi receiver uses some electricity to search for or stay connected to the wifi signal. These days, with so much being done in a way that will always need a network connection, the switch doesn't make much sense anymore.

[@DigitalJedi]

I'm a builder for a robotics team. The things I build are often away from me with our competition group. I make everything as strong as I can and the weakest parts are the hubs, to protect the motors from these goofs trying to back-drive a worm gear and snapping something important.

[@Pokemc0831]

As for the hammer thing, I can say I am one of the idiots for that rule. I have used my smartphone as a hammer just for reference

[@Backtobassics500]

Remove caution, warning and danger signs off of everything. Things will sort themselves out.

[@ARedMagicMarker]

I am convinced that warnings, fool proofing, and cautions are responsible for at least an extra billion in the world population. XD

[@paladinboyd1228]

Only problem is if they survive they’ll sue.

[@LukasJosai]

@@paladinboyd1228 That only works in the US, their court system is terrible. Here in europe people are expected to know fire is hot

[@lexprontera8325]

Yeah, I used to think so too. Let the problem solve itself What could go wrong? Well... They get OTHERS hurt or killed, including ME. They DON'T DIE, they get maimed, disabled, more workload for healthcare, society, and ME. They survive, then they SUE.

[@f.e.areproduce5298]

@@lexprontera8325 Then if there were creatures from horror movies, like Ghouls/Vampires/Zombies or what other creature can exist, there will be people that will make someone feel both like their brain cells are dying, while making person learning abou this feel like one of most inteligent people on planet earth.

[@BR-jw7pm]

24:35- I really hate those stories of people hurting themselves by being idiots then suing and winning for their idiocy... there should be a "common sense" law where if your stupidity backfires, you lose the right to sue

[@nubgaming1013]

Well many times there is more to the story than what people here. The McDonald’s coffee suit is a great example of a legitimate case being misreported and propagandized.

[@BR-jw7pm]

NubGaming oh yeah, that was malicious slandering. I mean more doing something the person should know is a bad idea (ie: a guy who put his fingers into an active lawnmower to remove debris and lost a finger then sued the company he bought the mower). Even if she did accidentally spill coffee on herself while driving, the fact of the matter is the coffee still caused harm to the woman so that doesn’t count IMO.

[@kainepeterson6638]

One time, when my dad was doing his apprenticeship in the operator engineer union, he was assisting an excavator operator and a the surveyor fucked up. They thought they were safe to dig, and the operator dropped his bucket into the earth and it went *dink* and immediately gas began to hiss and spray out of it. My dad said he’s never run so fast in his life. My dad and the operator were already moving when the foreman yelled “gas gas gas! Move!” They had to shut down the whole work site and the school across the street until repairmen could come take care of the destroyed section of pipe. Luckily no one was hurt. Surveyor got sent home lol

[@vezoth6055]

*Jeff Goldblum voice* Stupidity, uh...finds a way

[@LaikaLycanthrope]

A silent grooming vac would be nice for pet use. I don't need the noise, I just need to see the results.

[@mikearisbrocken8507]

Former product, manufacturing and test engineer here for another company. I created my own CPK and GR&R template that ran with a macro that would also lock all the sheets so that the Taiwanese, Chinese and some Mexican engineers would NOT edit them to make the results look better. They asked me for the template without the lock but I would play dumb and say I don’t remember the code or sheet passwords… I did, I was just tired of their cheating to the customer and managers. Also macros and formulas were like magic for a lot of them, I believe we need some Excel classes on HS and college. PS. I am Mexican BTW.

[@sundavar]

i once heard that software engineering is a battle between software engineers and the universe, software engineers trying to create a bigger better more idiot program and the universe trying to create a bigger better idiot, so far the universe is winning

[@davalious5107]

I'm reminded of a quote I heard years ago: "You can't idiot proof everything because God designed the idiots and he's a better designer than you."

[@florianricquart4114]

"CAUTION : FIREPLACE HOT WHEN IN USE" Isn't it kind of the point?

[@deadmantwen]

Idiot proofing is really just idiot resisting.

[@SamiTheAnxiousBean]

the way this question is worded is gold

[@DreamBig98]

Im not an engineer nor an architect… but a friend of mine once said that the school he went to were going to do some renovations and an architect thought it was ok to have all chemistry chemicals in the same drawer/shelf… Thankfully one of the teachers said “NO”… it was also something about carrying chemicals to dye fabrics in from the lab to a room, a couple doors away, where the dyeing takes place.. that also got a hard “NO” from the teacher… Hope the textile room got its own shelf for chemicals…

[@jaywalsh1329]

Ahh, my favorite was when we had to devise a process to deteriming if we created a risk by having too many warning labels. Literally a warning system for too many warnings....

[@2MeterLP]

Call me an anarcho-capitalist, but companies should not be responsible for telling people fire is hot.

[@Mortiz21]

I know I'm not the most intelligent guy, but these really make me feel like an Einstein.

[@TH3C001]

I’d say the ability to recognize your own level of intelligence or lack of would actually make you fairly intelligent.

[@attempted_realist]

Designing cars' driver and passenger seats, we connected parts with bolts. Bolts were occasionally missed, so we added a visual-inspection-verification paint-marker mark on each bolt to verify it was installed. Still was missed on occasion, so management required we add a paint mark on top of each of the first paint marks. We tried to explain why that wouldn't help, but it fell on management ears. Eventually, because it inevitably failed, we installed a robot that checked for the presence of all required bolts, and it stopped the production line if any were missed.

[@MacCoy]

21:38 Saved Saved Saved Saved Saved Saved Saved

[@charlessedor5901]

We were framing a house on Daupin Island , Al. We had to literally nail HUNDREDS of straps on the floor joists / beams underneath the house . ( The house is on pylons about 12 to 14 feet in the air ) We were told to use specific nails with the straps . Roughly 20 plus per strap . We stated we've never used those nails before and would rather use our normal nails . We were told the ENGINEER who drew up the plans demanded we use special nails . So we did . I leave that job for another . I get told by my previous boss ( the strap house ) that after I left , the ENGINEER came back out , inspected the straps , decided he didn't like it and wanted all the straps replaced . Needless to say , I didn't ask for my old job back .

[@derpsquad3306]

21:39 "Could not be sayee-sayee-sayee-sayee-sayee..."

[@uuouuo5480]

As soon as it did that, scrolled down. "Updoot Everything". No surprise there...skipping audio seems to be their "thing".

[@TheRealE.B.]

Conversely, just because your tool/machine/computer program is hard to use doesn't give you some sort of moral high ground of "not designing for idiots." Yes, I can figure out how to use your program, Bob. That doesn't mean I want to devote space in my brain for a complicated set of instructions to complete what should be a simple, intuitive task. When the tool has become more complicated to navigate than the task itself, someone has f***ed up. This applies to paperwork, computer programs, UI design, etc. With that being said, IKEA furniture is fun, and people who can't figure it out are dumb.

[@14deadratsinatrenchcoat]

Balconeese test lmao

[@Khaisz.]

5:00 "Your solution was to stop people from touching the computer. It worked" fucking glorious. People can't mess up stuff if they can't touch the stuff and mess it up in the first place. Sure some will find ways, but at least you minimized that from like 20% of the people to like 0.1%

[@Zxzero36]

One would think that due to ingress they would learn and ban places like that for pokemon go

[@kaitlyn3168]

I would think the developers of that game would've thought about that beforehand. Like ok maybe they can't predict when and where construction sites will pop up but like hospitals, cemeteries, and the like that have restricted access areas because, you know, dangerous chemicals and substances that can severely injure or kill people need to not be in reach of idiots. But maybe the developers thought their player base was smart and actually used their brains for once.

[@Zxzero36]

@@kaitlyn3168 iirc for pokemon go I think it actually said where the location was and iirc had photos provided by the community. Think the bigger problem would be controlling the spawns so they don't appear there or placed for people to wander into.

[@kaitlyn3168]

@@Zxzero36 ah. That's interesting. I never played it so i didn't know that. Still, you'd think that someone in the player base would think "hey maybe we shouldn't go in the construction site that's still being worked on". craziness really

[@user2C47]

You also have to consider the theme of Ingress and how that affects the type of person who will play it. Ingress players are referred to as "agents" in the game, and tend to be pretty serious nerd types, and generally good and friendly people. Pokemon does not have such a dark theme and tends to be played more by "normal" people. Source: Have a founder badge.

[@sarahamira5732]

I hope those people breaking into that site to play Pokemon go were charged and fined for trespassing lmao

[@evelynwildman1290]

“You can’t engineer around stupid” I fucking love that! Need it on shirts n bumper stickers. Stupid people make me crazy

[@aretailcashier450]

“There is considerable overlap between the dumbest tourist and a cleaver bear”

[@Inddesign]

As an industrial designer i am quite interested in this topic, by all means, share your experiences if possible. Thanks for the upload!

[@heatherdixon4184]

If you EVER need someone to test something for you to see if it can withstand an idiotic rushed busy body who has the grace of a sheep falling down stairs while choking on a chain saw let me know! Cause I olny got two brain cells and boath are fighting for 3d place!

[@athena8794]

When the boat I work at is at one of our two docks, we have to run hoses up to the top of the seawall to pump out the septic tank and fill the drinking water. The hookups are in two holes in the sidewalk up there (normally covered by lids, but we can't pump and have the covered at the same time). We put an orange traffic cone between the two hookups hoping that people will notice and stay clear of the hoses and the holes. Nope. People either don't notice the cone and stumble into the hole (not deep, but could still damage your ankle), or see the cone, decide something interesting is going on, and walk right between the hoses to look over the railing. Seriously, I wind up using the line "you really don't want to stand there. Our sewage hose is pointed directly at you" at least two or three times during rigging and just as many while downrigging.

[@t__dd1673]

Gorilla glue company having to say that the glue product is not for hair because of a stupid woman thought the gorilla glue spray was hairspray

[@maximum_axiom]

Not an engineer, but in Chicago, there's a planetarium next to Lake Michigan's shore. All across the walkway towards there, they have these no diving/no swimming signs. I feel like there would be waaaay too many injuries from waaaay too many idiots if those weren't there. Ah, who am I kidding, people probably jump in and get stuck anyways :/

[@normanhines5189]

As a defense contractor for the USN, we had three levels; idiot proof, sailor proof, and Marine proof.

[@supremegodemperorpalpatine4872]

Just when you think you've made something completely idiot-proof, the universe produces a whole new class of idiots...

[@420alfonzo6]

These are a perfect example of why the children's toys where they put the square block into the square hole are so important.

[@connerpeterson7357]

Utah resident. Anything is a target when you get far enough out of the city. The more beat up the sign, the more likely it is to become swiss cheese.

[@angc214]

Percussive maintenance always works. Hit it hard enough, and it will start working again. I'm stealing the term Balconese test. Can't wait to try it.

[@davidchurch3472]

We had an issue with temperature setting on our building heating. I screwed a plastic basket to the wall covering the control panel, and it completely fixed the problem!

[@DarkLightBlade17511]

I work as a pipe fitter. I've been dealing with idiots magicaly damaging stuff in the hull and overhead. I typicaly have to perform "Darwin proofing" modifications on a plan. On a ship when they have to drop a unit on another. They always damage pipes that come from below. We have a choice to wait for them to put the unit on which could be out till next month or put it in and not get shit from the building manager. So i grabed a welder and he helps me cover pipe in 1/2" angled steel. He did good and gave him a bag of his favorite coffie. Did they try to put the next unit on? Yes. Did they have a meltdown cause they couldn't f put it down properly? Yes. Did it cause the company to come and talk me out as to why i did this? Yes. Did they see our 5 year long paper trail the pipe crew had for damages we kept fixxing costing a hefty amount to fix? Yes. Oh that was a long fight i won in my second year working there :D