I was a defense lawyer for civil claims, so none of those really stand out, except the guy with the chainsaw, about to cut off the board he is standing on. One case I had, where a crew was installing a pipeline in a ditch, they used a metal chain (instead of a fabric piece) to lift a piece of steel pipe into the ditch with a backhoe. The guy in the trench was guiding it by hand when the backhoe hit an overhead powerline. The juice went down the chain, through the guy in the trench (wearing steel toed boots of course) and promptly BURNED OFF his big toe. In depositions, one guy was asked where the supervisor was at the time. He did not want to answer, but finally said "Uh, the super was in the seat of the dozer." "And what was he doing there?" "Uh.....shooting pheasants."
So the roofers were pouring a large amount of hot, liquid tar on the roof above the checking section at an industrial plant in the mid 1980s. There had been water leaks for a few years, and management finally decided to repair the roof, without spending the time to find the leaks.
I was a junior detailer working on the manual drafting board near the checkers; all of us wore suits, per company policy. We heard the roofers talking, and then the sounds of running liquid came from above. There was a furry of profane remarks, as several dozen gallons of hot tar fell, like a waterfall, into the checker area, and the adjacent drafting area. No one was seriously injured, and the company paid for new suits, jackets, and shoes, no questions asked(but I don't think anyone cheated the company).
Aftermath: the chastened roofers found the leaks, patched them, and scheduled a re-pouring. Everyone was evacuated from the area before hand, just in case. The pour went smoothly, with only one or two minor leaks.
Several years later, at a different building of the same company, one night during a severe thunderstorm. I was one of the drafters on 2nd shift, operating a primitive CAD system called Applicon. Gene "Ratboy" was our slime mold boss, and every night he led a walk through a manufacturing area during our break.
He led the way while thunder boomed and the rain cascaded, when we came upon a large pool of standing water, coming from a leak in the ceiling. While the rest of us hesitated, he started walking toward the water, which was making crackling and other weird noises. I was one of the people who tried to warn him that something was wrong, but he mocked us for our concern and turned away, intent on walking through the roughly 50 foot diameter puddle.
This allowed one of the foremen to reach us. He was carrying a warning sign, and shouted for us to not step in the water. Gene, who knew it all, laughed and told the foreman that he was wearing slip-resistant shoes. The foreman asked Gene if the shoes would protect him against 50K watts of electricity surging in that puddle? Gene, chastened, led us around and away from the puddle. He was even more of a jerk the rest of the week as the story spread around the company, and he was the subject of a "Dumb Bunny Gram" from the drafting department head.
Ratboy died soon after of cancer, and on a stormy night, I paid my respects at his grave, having tanked up on Pepsi a few hours before. Most of the rest of his shift made the pilgrimage at one point or another...
I was a defense lawyer for civil claims, so none of those really stand out, except the guy with the chainsaw, about to cut off the board he is standing on.
ReplyDeleteOne case I had, where a crew was installing a pipeline in a ditch, they used a metal chain (instead of a fabric piece) to lift a piece of steel pipe into the ditch with a backhoe. The guy in the trench was guiding it by hand when the backhoe hit an overhead powerline. The juice went down the chain, through the guy in the trench (wearing steel toed boots of course) and promptly BURNED OFF his big toe.
In depositions, one guy was asked where the supervisor was at the time. He did not want to answer, but finally said "Uh, the super was in the seat of the dozer." "And what was he doing there?" "Uh.....shooting pheasants."
Some people really have talent. No no no I meant Irish and the creator of this video.
ReplyDeleteSo the roofers were pouring a large amount of hot, liquid tar on the roof above the checking section at an industrial plant in the mid 1980s. There had been water leaks for a few years, and management finally decided to repair the roof, without spending the time to find the leaks.
ReplyDeleteI was a junior detailer working on the manual drafting board near the checkers; all of us wore suits, per company policy. We heard the roofers talking, and then the sounds of running liquid came from above. There was a furry of profane remarks, as several dozen gallons of hot tar fell, like a waterfall, into the checker area, and the adjacent drafting area. No one was seriously injured, and the company paid for new suits, jackets, and shoes, no questions asked(but I don't think anyone cheated the company).
Aftermath: the chastened roofers found the leaks, patched them, and scheduled a re-pouring. Everyone was evacuated from the area before hand, just in case. The pour went smoothly, with only one or two minor leaks.
Several years later, at a different building of the same company, one night during a severe thunderstorm. I was one of the drafters on 2nd shift, operating a primitive CAD system called Applicon. Gene "Ratboy" was our slime mold boss, and every night he led a walk through a manufacturing area during our break.
ReplyDeleteHe led the way while thunder boomed and the rain cascaded, when we came upon a large pool of standing water, coming from a leak in the ceiling. While the rest of us hesitated, he started walking toward the water, which was making crackling and other weird noises. I was one of the people who tried to warn him that something was wrong, but he mocked us for our concern and turned away, intent on walking through the roughly 50 foot diameter puddle.
This allowed one of the foremen to reach us. He was carrying a warning sign, and shouted for us to not step in the water. Gene, who knew it all, laughed and told the foreman that he was wearing slip-resistant shoes. The foreman asked Gene if the shoes would protect him against 50K watts of electricity surging in that puddle? Gene, chastened, led us around and away from the puddle. He was even more of a jerk the rest of the week as the story spread around the company, and he was the subject of a "Dumb Bunny Gram" from the drafting department head.
Ratboy died soon after of cancer, and on a stormy night, I paid my respects at his grave, having tanked up on Pepsi a few hours before. Most of the rest of his shift made the pilgrimage at one point or another...