In days of yore, new apprentices were often sent to the hardware store to ask for a long weight, hopefully unaware that they were really asking for a long wait. Shopkeep would play along and send the young person back and forth, as they only had medium waits in stock. All good fun and harmless banter?
In these days of increased health and safety awareness and productivity management these fools errands are a thing of the past, or are they?
What is the best prank you've played on a newbie, or were you ever caught out by one?
B |
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I worked in dockyards and workshops and there were always pranks going on - sending them to the storeman for a long weight or a northerly bearing. Being told to “Go and see the foreman and ask if you can borrow his 3” reproduction tool”. “Jim lad, go and get a snatch spreader from the chief rigger”
Punishments too - a particularly gobby lad kept leaving his toolbox in the way - that got welded to a deck plate |
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By *inaTitzTV/TS 10 weeks ago
Titz Towers, North Notts |
A friend got sent for a long weight when they'd recently started work down the pit. They twigged on straight away and just took it as an opportunity to bugger off and do nothing for a few hours  |
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"At the end of the working day I like to wait until a colleague is almost out the door before getting their attention, stopping them from leaving and them just saying 'bye'.
(Small things, amuse small minds)  "
Chunky Gent
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Thanks |
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"We use to send the new guy down to photography section to get a picture of them in their gas mask, it was for their ID 10T which they had to have on them if we went to war  "
Is this a military thing? I expect the forces are a hotbed of these kinds of jape.
B |
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"I worked in dockyards and workshops and there were always pranks going on - sending them to the storeman for a long weight or a northerly bearing. Being told to “Go and see the foreman and ask if you can borrow his 3” reproduction tool”. “Jim lad, go and get a snatch spreader from the chief rigger”
Punishments too - a particularly gobby lad kept leaving his toolbox in the way - that got welded to a deck plate"
Northerly bearing 👍 excellent.
B |
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"A friend got sent for a long weight when they'd recently started work down the pit. They twigged on straight away and just took it as an opportunity to bugger off and do nothing for a few hours "
Up there 👆 for thinking...
B |
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"We use to send the new guy down to photography section to get a picture of them in their gas mask, it was for their ID 10T which they had to have on them if we went to war
Is this a military thing? I expect the forces are a hotbed of these kinds of jape.
B"
Yes, we used to tell the new guy we needed to identify them if we were gassed so needed the ID with there mask on, some of the hazing was wild but it wasn’t restricted to the new guys. Abductions were common and lots of other things I can’t write on fab. Lads crawling down the jet intake for the first time and you would start the igniters clicking away, taping people to chairs and covering them in alsorts, tying people naked to the flag pole, all sorts. |
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"They should be a thing of the past. What a waste of time. "
True, but usually they were more of a waste of time being around. For a lot it was a way of getting rid of them so they could crack on with the job. |
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By *aizyWoman 10 weeks ago
west midlands |
When I was I think 17 a friends older brother asked me to go the newsagent and get for him Esc*rt magazine he told me I'd probably need to ask for the magazine, this made sense to me because he was a mechanic, I asked the newsagent, he asked me a couple of times if thats the magazine I meant, I kept saying yes its about cars he kept saying no its really not, he eventually showed me a copy of the magazine, and I have never left a shop quicker. |
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"When I was I think 17 a friends older brother asked me to go the newsagent and get for him Esc*rt magazine he told me I'd probably need to ask for the magazine, this made sense to me because he was a mechanic, I asked the newsagent, he asked me a couple of times if thats the magazine I meant, I kept saying yes its about cars he kept saying no its really not, he eventually showed me a copy of the magazine, and I have never left a shop quicker."
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I was working in Malaysia in a jungle. The home owners of the place I was staying told me the bathroom was kept separate to the house, and was was deep in the jungle.
“Go straight ahead until you see the chickens, then turn right. Listen for the sound of frogs, when you can hear them then you’re close. But watch out for tigers”
Off I go walking into the forest, 10 mins in and I can’t find any chickens, and I convinced myself I saw a tiger. So I ran back and when I got home everyone there was laughing. I couldn’t figure out why. Then it clicked they were pranking me and the bathroom was in the house (obviously). |
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By *aizyWoman 10 weeks ago
west midlands |
"When I was I think 17 a friends older brother asked me to go the newsagent and get for him Esc*rt magazine he told me I'd probably need to ask for the magazine, this made sense to me because he was a mechanic, I asked the newsagent, he asked me a couple of times if thats the magazine I meant, I kept saying yes its about cars he kept saying no its really not, he eventually showed me a copy of the magazine, and I have never left a shop quicker.
"
I saw the funny side once I'd kicked his motorbike over! |
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By *avinaTVTV/TS 10 weeks ago
Transsexual Transylvania |
At university we duck taped a friend to a garden chair and left him sitting on a table in the middle of the canteen at lunch time, with a magazine open on his lap.
After 5 minutes, over of us went back in to turn the page for him.
Someone in the canteen eventually cut him loose 20 minutes later.
🤣 |
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They definitely still happen 😁 Some of my favourites have been
- Bagging contaminated air
- Fetching a length of fallopian tubing
- Grabbing some ice making solution (this wasn't even a newbie 😅)
LvM |
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By *irthandgirthMan 10 weeks ago
Camberley occasionally doncaster |
We did 'lightning watch' on my first unit. Newbies had to stand out on the flightline with a laminated map, pen and a torch. There was a full set of instructions, including cloud recognition charts. The unwitting participant had to stand out in the rain and when they saw the lightning had to flash the office with the torch and point to the lightning and mark it on their map.
We made them sign for pre-use checks on their earth leads and insulation mats. |
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Sending the new bloke/woman into the bank to cash the petty cash cheque, with a radio of course in case of a shout and as the signal was notoriously poor in the building the radio on full volume..
Then as we were parked outside and could see when they got to the counter, someone might say 'this is a robbery' as they passed the cheque over..
The staff were used to it but the response from the newbie was fun.. |
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