Night shifts are where it all goes down...
Thanks to all the folks on Quora who shared their stories.
A Bank At Night Is No Place For Children, by Abdul Quadir Saifee
I used to work as PC support in those days and was working for a Bank. One of the tasks in the night shift was to image new desktops with the company image (to install a new Operating system).
It was around 2 AM and I was alone on the whole floor, engrossed in installing the OS. Suddenly I heard a kid running and laughing. I got shit scared. I thought I might have just imagined it.
After around 5 minutes, I heard two kids running and laughing and now I was sure its what I heard. Two kids, running and laughing, on an empty floor, in the dead of night. I was spooked really bad.
I decided to follow the sound.
Then, I saw one cubicle light was on and a guy was sitting there.
They were his kids, around 5-6 year old, who were playing. He told me that he had some unfinished work and thought to tag along his kids, till he finishes it up.
I wanted to shake him up badly and shout that he almost gave me a heart attack, but in the end just said "cute kids".
Continue to the next page for more night shift stories!
Night Patrol, by Robert Sim
Being a military camp guard as part of a small detachment, I was frequently assigned to do night patrols around the camp perimeter. For one of the patrols, I was walking along with a partner, wanting to complete the round before I turned in for the night.
Walking past a building, we suddenly heard footsteps coming out from the building. We paused and checked our watches, 2am odd in the morning. We decided to walk around the building, checking every exit. As it was a secured building that stores millions of dollars worth of equipment. Each exit was armed with an intrusion detection lock. Each lock was armed.
We heard more footsteps, and decided to radio back to the guardhouse, "Is there any night ops going on?"
"No. Everyone in camp had checked out." (The guardhouse holds the keys to important keypresses. When these keys are turned in, no one except for the essential staff, i.e. camp guards and other personnel on duty are in camp)
"There's footsteps in building X. All locks are red (locked and armed). Advice?"
"Er. Continue your patrol. Will check in with duty orderly spec."
"Roger."
The DOS checked the building out soon after, and there wasn't anyone around.
Continue to the next page for another scary night shift story!
Probably not what you are looking for, but this is the scariest thing that happened to me while I was night shift "security" at a data center (I was just an 18 y/o kid and my job was to sit in the office all night alone).
This was in the very early days of the Internet so there was no Facebook, Youtube or Quora to kill time. Usually I took the time to study, or practice guitar, but sometimes one needs a break from that too.
I decided to photocopy my face, which led to my butt and ...other parts.
I was the only one in the building, so it was super easy. But then the paper got jammed ...after having copied my other parts. There was about one hour before the early people would start coming into the office. I had no idea how to open the very expensive copier. There was no manual anywhere.
I was pulling parts off the machine, trying to remember where it came from so I could put it back (no smart phone to just snap a picture, as a note of how to put it back together). I had pulled off and replaced a ton of parts that gave me no access to the jammed paper, and there were only thirty minutes or so until the first people start coming in. What if someone decided to come early today?
Long story short, I managed to figure out how to remove the offending jammed copy with literally only about three minutes to spare. I hadn't even had a chance to return to my "security room", and met them in the hall as I was walking back from the copy room, my photocopy neatly tucked into my pocket. Close call.
Continue to the next page for another creepy night shift story.
The Coffee Machine, by Vikram Murthy
Ah, night shifts!
Those sleepy eyes and weary hands not willing to work but still have to work.
I remember one such incident that happened to me when I was in a week long night shift work.
After 2 nights of work on the 3rd night, things were going as normal. The work was engrossing at that moment and I came to the pantry area to fill up my water bottle. As I was filling the bottle, a coffee vending machine next to me started making all sorts of rattling noises and it started shaking.
Imagine, around 1 AM in the night with no other soul in sight and this happens. I was s**t scared at the moment (thanks to the Transformers series). I froze there for quite sometime. The bottle started overflowing and the machine continued its drama.
Finally I gathered some courage to switch off the water tap and then slowly tilted my head to look at the coffee machine.
There on the little display of that machine were these words.........
****AUTO FLUSH****
That is the day (or night) where I learnt a very important aspect of coffee vending machines: Auto Flush!
Continue to the last page for one final scary night shift story...
The Man And The Closet, by M Melanie Chevalier
Years ago, while I was attending Arizona State University, I worked the night shift at a book store. Modern World Books. As a college student it was a great place to work. $25 an hour and flexible schedule. I typically worked in the stock room, on the computer, but one night I had to work the counter for an overnight shift.
During one of my rounds, making sure everything was in place, a very large man tried to shove me into the mop closet. I am sure that he had ill intent. When I say large, I mean he was a mountain.
I was carrying a knife at the time in my right hand, blade flat against my wrist, hidden in a way that the cameras wouldn't see I was carrying it. I instinctively threw up my hands, pushing him away from me. In the moment, I somehow got the knife up to his neck. As soon as he felt the knife against his neck, I had the advantage. I backed him out of the store and told him he was not allowed back in.
He called the police and said he wanted to file charges against me for assault. The police viewed the store video and told the guy if he continued and insisted on pressing charges against me that they would also have to file charges against him for attempted rape. They then said that he would most likely not win his case, that I would get off on self defense which would then be used in the case against him.
I was terrified that I would go to jail for defending myself. I was sure I was going to be fired because I was carrying knife, against store policy.
Amazingly, the video did not show the knife in my hand. You could only see this hulk of a man pick me up and throw me into the closet. Then for what appears to be no reason, him backing away looking scared. It was obscured the entire time by the way I was holding it.
Not the most terrifying night I have ever endured. But it is up there on the list.
Have you ever had a scary night story happen to you? We want to hear in the comments.
Psst... don't forget to share :)
When a friend insists we travel to certain cities because we would "just love it," they're setting the bar pretty high.
And a city can also boast a rich history or an attraction that makes us curious enough to find out what makes it so appealing.
But, alas, when we finally reach the destination, it's never exactly what we thought it would be.
Curious to hear from strangers online, Redditor tshirtguy2000 asked:
"What city is overrated?"
These are not officially real cities but they do have a rotating population.
It's Always A Party There
"Party city."
"As a former slave associate at party city. I 100% agree."
Lotsa Crime
"Cabot Cove, the murder capital of the world."
"Sure, the murders are all solved, but would you really want to live in a city with that much, easily solved, crime?"
– Andvare
Neighbor To Springfield
Shelbyville. Those f'kers steal trees from neighboring cities.
the simpsons episode 25 GIFGiphyThese were once considered destination cities but their popularity eventually took a nose dive.
Not Pair-A-Dice
"Atlantic City. Venture a few blocks off the boardwalk and it's incredibly depressing. Very clearly an area exploited by the big casinos while the locals have been driven to absolute poverty, while they still force a smile to work the shops that are required for the tourist traffic."
– juanzy
Lots Of Water
"Niagara Falls, Canada. I grew up there. Mayor pumps most of tax $ to casinos and tourism with flashy vegas-esque attractions."
Meh Beach
"Myrtle Beach. I'm not even saying that it has a good reputation, I'm just saying that any shred of positive thinking about it makes it overrated."
Where A Creek Is An Exciting Attraction
"Lamb's Grove, Iowa. It's not the paradise on earth that people always say it is. Don't get me wrong, it's got great Chinese food but the motel 6 is meh at best."
– shah357
Impressions for these cities fell far below expectation.
Do-Bye
"Dubai. It's the clickbait of the world. 'We have the biggest/tallest/most expensive YOU WON'T BELIEVE when you see THIS...' It's hot as f*k, everything's a man-made tourist trap; labor exploitation and racism are rampant, and they try so hard to prove to the world how modern and Westernized they are. Really, it's just government propaganda."
Truth be told, many cities can be overrated.
It just depends on a person's experience, or a resident's perspective about what it is about the location they live in that is nothing worth writing home about.
If I had to choose, I would say Las Vegas is overrated, but that's because there is nothing in Sin City that is of personal interest to me.
I may be severely judged for my opinion, but that is a gamble I'm willing to take.
Redditor William84000 asked:
“Women of reddit, what question do you have of men that you'd really like an answer to?"
His question started an informative thread for women to ask men the questions they've been wondering and receive honest, real-life answers.
Ouch...
“How long does it take to recover if you've been hit in the balls?” Snowy-avocado
“Anywhere from 5 minutes to literally turning to dust like we were Thanos snapped.” secondhand_organs
dust whirls GIFGiphy“The Big Dumb Object...”
“I've always wanted to know: why do you like loud machinery so much? For older men it's mowers, leaf blowers and such. For younger men, it's modified cars and motorbikes. What's the deal with the loud machines?” marshmellow_bunnyx
“Power and tools. Tools are a thing that gets stuff done, and they are loud because they contain the natural essence power of violent explosions and fire. Most men like powerful things, instead of powerful people.”
“In sci-fi, this is called 'The Big Dumb Object', and is pretty much a trademark of sci fi books written by men” Connect-Zebra7173
To shave or not to shave?
“Does body hair on a woman bother you that much?" reillydean28
“Leg/arm hair? Don't even notice. Armpit hair? Not my thing but not my choice/decision. Pubic hair? I'd prefer not, but it's not going to stop me from getting the job done." wHUT_fun
It’s a power and control thing...
“Why send a d*ck pic?" stavinlawrence
“I think for most men it's a power dynamic thing. Either it gets them off or it just makes them feel in control."
“Then I assume there's the added bonus of if she likes it she might send a nude back. But these losers have a greater chance of buying a "get bigger penis pills" that actually work before a girl appreciates an unsolicited nude." InertialEclipse
"Do you notice the little things?”
“Do you notice the little things about women like a new hair cut, when they wear makeup or a nice outfit?” xforeverlove22
“I can't speak for everyone but for me, nope. Not at all. My uncle had a moustache for like 20 years and one day decided to shave it off. I didn't notice it. I noticed there was a weird atmosphere around me like ‘come on, say something’, so I small talked with him.”
“A few hours later after he left they asked me if I seriously didn't notice that his moustache was gone. My answer was ‘What moustache?‘ And makeup would definitly fly over my head.” PleaseTakeThisName
Lets just not touch people without permission...
“What things have women done that make you uncomfortable?" charloget
“Had a few grab my junk at random. Even had a couple that just forced a kiss on me. I don't usually experience women trying to pick me up, but the few times I did was never great. It was either negging, overly sexually aggressive and always in a group." bahamabanana
On today's episode of sink of float...
“Do penis' float like a buoy? I heard they do but have never been able to verify it.” TheFantasticV
“I mean it's buoyant but it can't really do much besides lazily sorta half float there. Still amused the f**k out of my wife to learn.” secondhand_organs
GiphyEveryone just wants to be loved...
“What makes you feel loved?” linedizzy
“A compliment, a hug or a kiss we don't have to initiate.” Nuitari8
Plastic surgery?
“Do guys care if women get cosmetic procedures done?” dookieconductor
“I don't necessarily care about the work itself, I'd be more concerned about understanding why she felt like she wanted to get it done and help her feel body positive for whatever work has been done or if she feels like she needs work.” -notjosh-
Math will kill a mood everytime...
“What does it feel like when you're having sex and you're trying not to 'get there'? Is it frustrating? What do you do/think about to keep it from happening?" uhohoreolas
“I sometimes do math like 333*3... But often I am fine with just controlling things to focus mostly on her pleasure instead of mine. Tho sometimes she is excited and ends up moving in unaccounted ways while I am a hair away and there is no stopping it. I definitely don't find it frustrating. It is still very enjoyable." Fkire
Some of these Q&A's were unexpected but now we know! This important thing here though is knowing it's ok to ask questions sometimes.
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