re: Funny shite you’ve seen at work.

Years ago I worked in a large subsea and pipeline valve manufacturing plant. The GM of the plant liked to walk around and point out things that needed to be cleaned up.

One day he walks through inspection and paint/final prep, where I started, and points out a pallet of extremely expensive inspection equipment that some engineers had been using for an R&D project, and had casually left on the ground near the paintbooth. GM goes ape on the painter about why he's leaving that equipment on the ground like that blah blah. GM walks away, painter moves the pallet back behind the Inspection desk.

Engineers come out later to continue, yell at painter, there is some exchanged words, move pallet next to paint booth, return inside.

GM comes back, reams painter again about why he didn't move it as told. Painter tries to explain, GM doesn't want to hear it, pallet goes back behind desk as GM walks away.

Engineers come back out, pallet is moved back by paintbooth while painter is at lunch.

True story, the GM returns again, and is waiting on the painter when he returns from lunch and threatens firing if he sees the pallet next to the paint booth again.

Painter this time doesn't say a word, doesn't protest, apologizes and says it won't happen again. GM walks away. And here is the funniest thing I've ever seen at any place I've worked. The painter fetches a forklift immediately and proceeds to put the entire pallet of equipment straight into the scrap metal dumpster.

At this point half the plant knows what is going on and everyone in the building is having a hard time keeping a straight face when the engineers return to use the equipment again. Not one person sold the painter out, and they turned the plant upside down looking for it but never found it.