Escape rooms are a game phenomenon that has really taken off in recent years.
Teams of players are meant to work together to find clues, and obviously, escape the room they've been locked in. All kinds of people are attracted to escape rooms, ready to take on a puzzle and even possibly enjoy a unique theme. A lot of work goes into the experience, and employees do a lot behind the scenes to ensure customers enjoy themselves.
That being said, some players prove to be too intoxicated, curious, or even too enthusiastic when they take part in a game, leading to mayhem for the escape room's employees. We got to hear about such incidents when Redditor u/nervousbeekeeper asked... "Escape room workers, what's the most absurd thing players have done?"
20. The worst kind of players
"They game was only one hour long and it was timed by us (escape room workers). There was also a clock in the player's room so they could know how much time they had left. They played for 59 minutes and when they saw they only had one minute left (they were going to lose) they said that they didn't like the game and wanted the money back and leave the place. It was stupid but our boss made us give them the money back so he wouldn't have bad reviews. Probably not the most absurd thing to do since they played for free but always wanted to express how selfish and stupid people can be sometimes."
19. Unlikely friends were made
"Had a drunk group of 4 join in with 2 sober folks they didn't know. One of the couples from the drunk group hit on me (both husband and wife), and then the drunk group ended up bonding with the sober group and going out for consolation drinks (believe it or not, they didn't escape)."
18. This poorly designed escape room
Giphy
"I went to an escape room. Once. Staff told us not to move furniture or lift anything. Then they switched off the lights. We spent a miserable hour or so. Barely made it past the first room using the light from a watch before they let us out. Turns out the flashlight was under the mattress that we weren't allowed to lift in the first room. Never. Going. Back."
17. These inappropriate teens
"We had a teenage couple come in (15-ish). They had sex absolutely everywhere imaginable... Good times. Edit: there were cameras everywhere to make sure everyone is ok"
16. Check the address
"I work in London, we once had a few members of a team arrive. When quizzed on the whereabouts of the remaining members they looked surprised, they thought they were already there. Turns out the rest of the team were in another escape room down the road, getting a safety briefing for a game they didn't book. Madness."
15. This player didn't get it
"The group was split in to two, one of them started locked up in a dark prison cell with a phone (to ask for clues). Game starts, they start moving, I come back to my desk from locking the door behind me and I hear a call. Guy is telling me to call the cops because some psychopath locked them up in a cell... **** was hard to explain to him"
14. Don't just destroy things
"Went to an escape room and the last warning of the receptionist: don't touch the clock, it is not part of the game, it is just there to help set the mood and if you break it you pay for it.
There was a very nice old clock, one of those 6feet high beauties. Apparently the first thing some nutjob did when he got in the room was to knock over the clock because 'there was obviously a passageway to another room behind it' and it cost couple grand ti repair it."
13. Thief!
"A Karen tried to take things from the escape room. A book was spray painted in gold and she tried to take it. The funniest thing was that there is a camera and she didn't know that. When the owner asked did she take anything she said no. That book cost only 2 dollars."
12. That's a big accident
"Not a escape room employee but one time I accidentally pissed myself in one. I imagine the escape room employee was horrified, my friends thought it was a hilarious."
11. Brown nosers...
"I did an escape room in middle school for my friends birthday and were a bunch of 8th grade idiots so one of the workers was there with us and several of us immediately tried to be friends with her and the nephew of the guy the party was for basically became her assistant"
10. You're not really trapped, you know
"Attended a 'Saw series' themed escape room with my SO and some randoms since the room required 4-6.
We get locked in to start, chained to fixtures like the dark room scene from the movie - lights are off. As soon as the thing starts one of the randos says, 'I have a gun in case we need to shoot someone.'
I thought he was joking. We all did.
Eventually the lights turn on and he pulls out a real gun and sits it in the sink and says, 'I'm leaving the gun in the sink in case something happens to me. It's for everyone.'"
9. Hot bulbs
"I did an escape room with my family and the workers have to tell you not to lick the light bulb. This is because some guy thought if he licked the light bulb the answer would be revealed on the light bulb. The only answer he found was light bulbs are hot and can burn you."
8. Go to the bathroom before going in
"A kid I knew from school, his family owns an escape room business. The most things that happen is people trying to take things when it's clearly nailed down or nailed to the wall then he said that a little kid pissed in a bottle."
7. Printers are so unpredictable
Giphy
"I did an escape room with a group of friends. At the end, you found a flash drive which was supposed to be plugged into a computer. We opened the document and there were instructions to print. We got print, and the printer gave us an 'out of ink' error. We assumed this was part of the game and started looking for a magenta cartridge. Then an employee slipped in the room, replaced the cartridge, and told us to hit print again.
Apparently it was not part of the game. They just ran out of ink."
6. I'm sure they were tempted to hand them the key
"I one had a group of drunk guys go in and they ran through their allotted hints pretty quickly. They asked for another hint and we said over the speakers that they were out of hints.
One of the guys threatened to start taking off his clothes until we gave another hint."
5. The luckiest guess
"My buddy guessed a lock's combo which gave us the final clue, but we had not found the other ones. We ending up solving the room backwards.
When the room administrator came in she had nothing else to say but 'What the **** did you guys do.'"
4. That would be the ultimate Alcatraz challenge
"Mate worked at an escape room and he told me that some guys tried to smash a hole in the wall to get out because it was an Alcatraz themed room."
3. It can't ALL be a clue
"First thing I had to learn working at an escape room: Everything, yes EVERYTHING, in the room was going to be dismantled, pulled on, or messed with in some way. Have a screwdriver in the room? Maybe there's a clue in the light switch cover. Blacklight? Must have to take it completely apart. TV for clues? Must have to unplug/change inputs. And anything not nailed down is bound to be broken"
2. Escape rooms aren't for everyone
"Had a group come in, I noticed they had been drinking a little, but seemed mostly fine. So I let them into the room and start the clock.
They were just wandering around. At the half an hour mark they were laying on the floor and rolling around. They didn't do any harm to the room. I don't remember if they even solved one puzzle. When I let them out after an hour they claimed it was fun. But they didn't really do anything? And did they remember it the next day? Idk"
1. These players with super strength
Giphy
"At an escape room near me they had a group of lads on a stag do.
These guys got very drunk and during the escape room, thought they could escape via the sewers. The managed to rip out the manhole cover which was bolted down into concrete. This cover is now permanently broken as its too expensive to fix they said. Advised us to not escape via the sewers..."
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The old wives' tales.
They are the stories of legend.
I think we all need a big DEEP Google dive though.
Where did they originate?
WHO ARE THE OLD WIVES!
You don't hear about them as much anymore.
It's like science and logic are suddenly a thing.
But they sure are a good way to keep your kids and their behavior in line.
Redditor the_spring_goddess wanted to discuss the tall tales we've all been fed through life, so they asked:
"What is an old wives tale that people still believe?"
"Wait an hour to swim after eating."
What a crock!
So many summer hours wasted.
I want revenge for that one.
Say Nothing
Giphy
"An undercover cop has to tell you he's a cop if you ask him."
LonelyMail5115
"Pretty much most advice when it comes to cops are old wives tales. I’m not even a cop but most of the advice you hear is pretty off."
I_AM_AN_A**HOLE_AMA
Say Something
"That you have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing."
Severe_Airport1426
"I really think this one is important and should be the top regardless. As it’s a piece of advice that needs to be relearned and the only way to do that is through awareness."
crappycurtains
"This used to be true. I think they changed it after some guy named Brandon went missing back in the '80s or '70s. You used to have to wait 24 hours if the missing person was an adult because they had 'a right to be missing' and then everyone realized that was stupid and stopped doing it."
AlbinoShavedGorilla
Body Temps
"That drinking ice cold water after eating oily foods will solidify the oil and permanently remain in your body. I informed my coworker that if your body temperature ever reached that point, you’d have bigger problems than weight gain."
chriseo22
"Oh, I have a cousin who 100% believed this. One of those guys who believed every early 2000s internet rumor and old wives tale. One night I chugged a big glass of ice water after dinner and he started freaking out and saying my guts were gonna harden."
"I sarcastically told him to drive me to the hospital if that happened. Obviously, nothing happened and the next morning I said something like 'Thanks for being on standby in case my guts filled with hardened oil.' He just walked off muttering under his breath."
apocalypticradish
Arms Down
"When I was pregnant, I was told by young and old alike that I should NOT raise my arms above my head or exert myself in such a manner because it could cause cord strangulation to my unborn sons and daughters."
Fatmouse84
10 Years Actually
Unimpressed Uh Huh GIF by Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Giphy
"Chewing gum stays in your stomach for 7 years."
"I remember accidentally swallowing a piece of gum when I was a kid in like 1995 and just accepting my fate like welp, gonna have this in my stomach til high school I guess."
Gecko-911
I was so afraid to sallow my gum when I was young.
This tale is haunting.
High/Low
Hungry Debra Messing GIF by Will & Grace
Giphy
"You can tell the sex of the baby by how you carry."
LeastFormal9366
"Pregnancy certainly wins awards for the most old wives tales. So much absolute BS was repeated to us by everyone we talked to."
IllIIIlIllIlIIlIllI
The Cursed
"If you’re a woman and you wear opal jewelry but opal is not your birthstone (October), you’ll never be able to have children, or will be widowed, or just generally have bad luck or something. You can counteract this by having a diamond in the same piece of jewelry as the opal, though."
"I have a nice opal ring that my parents gave me years ago, and I’ve had other women give me this 'advice' unprompted more than once when I’ve worn it. I have absolutely no idea where it started, but I’m pretty sure this little chunk of silicate rock has no concept of what month I was born in, let alone of how my reproductive organs work."
SmoreOfBabylon
Stay In
"Going outside with wet hair will make you get pneumonia. Or an earache. Or maybe arthritis. Depends on which old wife you listen to."
"Jokes on them - I haven't blow-dried my hair in decades and usually leave the house with wet hair in the morning. On winter mornings, the tips of my hair get frozen. No ear infections or pneumonia or arthritis yet."
worldbound0514
Dreams and Facts
"You never make anyone up in your dreams you've seen everyone in your dreams somewhere else before and never make anyone up entirely."
"How would you possibly prove that to be true? My partner adamantly believes this and tells me this 'fact' whenever I have a dream about someone I've never met before."
mattshonestreddit
"My late wife used to tell me that before she met me she would have dreams of standing at an alter on her wedding day but could never see the guy's face, no matter how hard she tried. After meeting me the face was filled in with mine. Don't know if it's true but one of those things I like thinking of every now and then when I miss her."
Darthdemented
Cracked
Getting Ready Episode 2 GIF by The Office
Giphy
"Some people still believe cracking knuckles causes arthritis."
Choice-Grapefruit-44
"There's a doctor (Donald Unger) that cracked his knuckles a couple of times a day for 60 years, but only on one hand, just to prove it. Both hands remained exactly the same."
MacyTmcterry
I love my knuckles.
Do you have any tall tales to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.
