Ever felt a fool ?

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 8:52 am

Have you ever done something or had something that was a right show up ?

The sort of thing you just pray that no-one else saw?

Come on.... spill

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 10:25 am

Apart from my hand me down winkle pickers ?

I had a brilliant idea once that backfired badly.

I regularly had to blend a two part epoxy resin mix, normally with a hand held drill with a spiral attachment.

My idea was to put the attachment in a pillar drill, turn the drill on, and raise the container onto the spinning spiral.

I had to hold on for dear life with both hands, it did the job perfectly.

What I failed to consider was how to turn the pillar drill off, working alone.

Pulling the can away as quickly as I could showered a wide area with streamers and clumps of seriously stinky, rapidly hardening, heavy duty adhesive, including all over my arms and clothes.

Everybody agreed it was a clever idea.......and that I was a prize plonker for trying it out when alone.

Saint_ · Post by **Saint_** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 12:08 pm

Big time. I was riding my bike between to buildings on my way home from work when I was younger and in the shadows was a black-painted bike rack. I hit it at full speed. I can't imagine what it looked like, I flipped over the handlebars, the bike flew straight up four feet, then came straight down on me. I was completed entangled, bruised, battered, and scraped up. I pretty literally saw stars.

The same thing happened at the mall about five years ago. I was walking foward very quickly looking into stores and not much ahead. A concrete bench was placed in the middle of a carpeted area, and it was carpeted with the same carpeting making it nearly invisible. I hit the bench shins-first and catapulted over it onto my head. I thought I had broken both shins it hurt so bad....

Saint_ · Post by **Saint_** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 12:13 pm

I once moved houses and I needed to take the 220v outlet for the electric dryer with me, since it was a strange plug and I knew the one in the new house wouldn't fit. I scanned the circuit breaker box and flipped what I thought was the right breaker...it wasn't. The resulting flash and arc of electricity blew me across the hall and melted my screwdriver to my ring. (not to mention I couldn't talk right for an hour.)

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 12:25 pm

Great one's :wah::wah::wah:

Sorry gotta do some name dropping here for my first which was the most recent...

I was at Newbury race course In November 2010. I was between the pre-parade ring and the saddling enclosure.... walking very slowly completely engrossed In my racing cards. I was very slowly wandering alone reading as I went and then stopped momentarily. My husband called out to me to get out of the way. I turned around and my eyes met with a horse's chest. I looked up and sitting on the horse was Champion jockey and god of racing A.P. McCoy... the horse who's chest I was level with was Big Bucks. I had wandered onto the track leading out of the saddling enclosure that leads down to the start of the race. I was holding up the entire field In a queue behind Big Bucks. I muttered my apologies and AP gave me a smile that made my day.... alright ... more of a snide laugh at me for being such a numpty.

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 2:05 pm

Ghee, everything happens in a classroom-to teacher and student alike. Life in four walls....

Scrat · Post by **Scrat** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 10:18 am

Thanks for opening the thread again. Anyway I was rebuilding a mooring winch one day, another couple of guys had screwed it up and I got stuck with doing it right. I wasn't happy about it. At one point I had to remove some 1 3/4 in nuts using only a combination wrench. I was having a hard time with one of the nuts and the wrench slipped off and I busted on of my knuckles. Highly pissed by this time and in an act of utter stupidity I threw the wrench at the wall on the other side of the compartment. The wrench hit the wall and ricocheted directly back the way it had come, bouncing off my skull about 2 inches above my eyebrows. I have a nice 1/2 in scar there to this day. I have not thrown a tool in anger since, pain is a great teacher.

No one saw it, when Asked I just said I hit my head on a valve stem.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 10:46 am

Scrat;1408947 wrote: Thanks for opening the thread again. Anyway I was rebuilding a mooring winch one day, another couple of guys had screwed it up and I got stuck with doing it right. I wasn't happy about it. At one point I had to remove some 1 3/4 in nuts using only a combination wrench. I was having a hard time with one of the nuts and the wrench slipped off and I busted on of my knuckles. Highly pissed by this time and in an act of utter stupidity I threw the wrench at the wall on the other side of the compartment. The wrench hit the wall and ricocheted directly back the way it had come, bouncing off my skull about 2 inches above my eyebrows. I have a nice 1/2 in scar there to this day. I have not thrown a tool in anger since, pain is a great teacher.

No one saw it, when Asked I just said I hit my head on a valve stem.

Even worse when you're scarred from your senior moment.

Another I recall was In my mid twenties. We had a lot of small children In the family and they were obsessed with farm animals. We lived In rural Sussex so they were everywhere you went. I did a lot of looking after my late sisters small children while she was at work so it was a regular thing to point out the ' piggy wiggy's ' etc In the fields as we drove around.

So I'm on the train whizzing through the countryside In spring looking out of the window and I exclaim In a loud excited voice ' oh wow look, baby baa lambs '.... Then I realised I had no children with me and I was In fact dressed In a suit on the Gatwick to Brighton commuter express at rush hour...... oh the shame...

Scrat · Post by **Scrat** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 12:23 pm

I have a couple along the lines of Saints. An encounter with a 10,000 volt (actually 9,600 V, I checked) oil burner transformer. I was not hung over after that. Another time I was working on a pair of old GE electric furnaces. One of them needed a new element and while trying to remove the panel I failed to notice the capacitor among all of the wiring. Capacitors will hold a charge even with power turned off, I welded my nut driver to the panel and had was seeing spots for awhile. The customer saw the flash from the kitchen (and heard some choice words) and freaked out. She expected to find a body.

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 2:31 pm

A welded nut driver sounds painful.

Scrat · Post by **Scrat** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 9:25 pm

Didn't hurt, just scared the hell out of me. I've gotten a lot of minor zaps too but that kind of comes with the job.

I'll say nothing about my nuts. :yh_rotfl

Accountable · Post by **Accountable** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:58 am

Scrat;1408953 wrote: I have a couple along the lines of Saints. An encounter with a 10,000 volt (actually 9,600 V, I checked) oil burner transformer. I was not hung over after that. Another time I was working on a pair of old GE electric furnaces. One of them needed a new element and while trying to remove the panel I failed to notice the capacitor among all of the wiring. Capacitors will hold a charge even with power turned off, I welded my nut driver to the panel and had was seeing spots for awhile. The customer saw the flash from the kitchen (and heard some choice words) and freaked out. She expected to find a body.
Ah I remember capacitors from ground radio school. I got zapped once or twice with the smaller ones but never anything serious.

Wandrin · Post by **Wandrin** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 9:17 am

I've qualified, more than a few time, as a fool. There was the time I was bored in chemistry lab in school and decided to make nitroglycerin. That didn't work out well. There was the time I built a rather large Tesla coil...

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 11:04 am

Wandrin;1409004 wrote: I've qualified, more than a few time, as a fool. There was the time I was bored in chemistry lab in school and decided to make nitroglycerin. That didn't work out well. There was the time I built a rather large Tesla coil...

You've just reminded me of the day aged about 13 years old, my chemistry class was cancelled rather quickly and we were all sent to the gym Instead.... my chemistry teacher got Phosphorus stuck on his thumb that then caught fire... I can still smell the burning flesh... we called him ' Stumpy ' after that.

Wandrin · Post by **Wandrin** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 12:30 pm

oscar;1409006 wrote: You've just reminded me of the day aged about 13 years old, my chemistry class was cancelled rather quickly and we were all sent to the gym Instead.... my chemistry teacher got Phosphorus stuck on his thumb that then caught fire... I can still smell the burning flesh... we called him ' Stumpy ' after that.

That must have been very embarrassing for a chemistry teacher.

fuzzywuzzy · Post by **fuzzywuzzy** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 4:17 pm

oscar;1408849 wrote: Have you ever done something or had something that was a right show up ?

The sort of thing you just pray that no-one else saw?

Come on.... spill

Nope ...sure you can tell us about it though lol lol

The resulting flash and arc of electricity blew me across the hall and melted my screwdriver to my ring.

Hmmmm biting my tongue.

along-for-the-ride · Post by **along-for-the-ride** » Sun Oct 28, 2012 9:28 am

I own a white PT Cruiser. Several years ago, after I went grocery shopping I went to the car, opened the truck and started unloading my groceries into the trunk. A gentleman came towards me and smiled and said, "Thanks". I was confused, then looked at the car. It wasn't MY white PT Cruiser. We both laughed, and I hurriedly put my groceries back into the shopping cart to take to MY car, which was parked nearby.

Yes, it was funny and yes, I felt like a fool.

Snooz · Post by **Snooz** » Sun Oct 28, 2012 10:41 am

"Ever felt a fool"

Yes but we were divorced years ago.

Snowfire · Post by **Snowfire** » Sun Oct 28, 2012 10:52 am

SnoozeAgain;1409184 wrote: "Ever felt a fool"

Yes but we were divorced years ago.

:wah: Whey Hey

Snowfire · Post by **Snowfire** » Sun Oct 28, 2012 10:57 am

along-for-the-ride;1409177 wrote: I own a white PT Cruiser. Several years ago, after I went grocery shopping I went to the car, opened the truck and started unloading my groceries into the trunk. A gentleman came towards me and smiled and said, "Thanks". I was confused, then looked at the car. It wasn't MY white PT Cruiser. We both laughed, and I hurriedly put my groceries back into the shopping cart to take to MY car, which was parked nearby.

Yes, it was funny and yes, I felt like a fool.

I had a similar experience. About 20 years ago I borrowed my Stepfather's Nissan Bluebird and parked it at the train station car park. Later that evening I jumped in it, put the key in and started it up. It was only when I went to put into gear that I stared at the Automatic stick and scratched my head. Same model, same colour (that faded red ), same year and condition, same interior. Mine was parked about 5 spaces away

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Sun Oct 28, 2012 11:50 am

Snowfire;1409189 wrote: I had a similar experience. About 20 years ago I borrowed my Stepfather's Nissan Bluebird and parked it at the train station car park. Later that evening I jumped in it, put the key in and started it up. It was only when I went to put into gear that I stared at the Automatic stick and scratched my head. Same model, same colour (that faded red ), same year and condition, same interior. Mine was parked about 5 spaces away

Me too.... On holiday aged about 14... my Father parked up In a busy high street while I went In a shop. I came out and got In the passenger seat, even started talking about what I bought. I thought my Father was rather silent so turning to look at him I saw a bemused elderly man In the drivers seat who was parked up waiting for his wife. My Father was parked about 5 cars down In an Identical Rover laughing his socks off at me.

fuzzywuzzy · Post by **fuzzywuzzy** » Sun Oct 28, 2012 1:59 pm

SnoozeAgain;1409184 wrote: "Ever felt a fool"

Yes but we were divorced years ago.

Classic!!!

along-for-the-ride · Post by **along-for-the-ride** » Sun Oct 28, 2012 2:41 pm