If there’s one thing the world will never run short of, it’s human stupidity. Spend just a few minutes online and you’ll find plenty of evidence, but this recent Reddit thread might be the best example yet.
Here, people gathered to share the most ridiculous rules they’ve encountered, all of which exist because someone once made a shockingly dumb decision. Scroll down to enjoy these hilarious precedents, and don’t forget to upvote your favorites—they deserve some credit for making us all feel a little smarter!
#1
On almost every clothes iron in the United States there is a warning label to “not iron your clothes while wearing them.” I assume there’s a few stories behind that warning.
Image credits: zeebious
#2
Taking your shoes off going through airport security because one guy had a sneaker that contained a small explosive. Thank god he didn’t hide a bomb up his a*s.
Image credits: Known-Ad9610
The responses in this Reddit thread might have you doubting the existence of common sense, but they’re nothing short of entertaining. Bored Panda connected with the post’s creator, u/seequelbeepwell, to find out what inspired them to ask the question.
“I was watching YouTube videos about life in Japan and noticed how much trust they place in people to do the right thing,” they told us. “It got me thinking that maybe Western culture is different because we seem to have a few bad apples that end up creating most of the rules.”
To their surprise, the responses didn’t quite match their expectations. “I would’ve thought Florida would come up more, but Alabama seemed to take the crown,” they said. “A lot of people were venting about work-related rules. Reddit is on the side of the lady who spilled McDonald’s coffee on herself.”
#3
I worked in an office where one numb nut decided to take his lunch break at 4pm everyday so he could leave early. Manager said to stop doing that. So he quit taking a lunch break Monday-Thursday. On Friday, he took all 5 lunch breaks at once and went home at noon. After that the manager assigned everyone a lunch break time. If you didn’t take it during your assigned hour you did not get a lunch break. It felt like the most Mickey Mouse middle school rule ever. Magically, that rule went away after numb nut was fired a couple of months later.
ETA: We were a customer-facing department. We had to ensure coverage for walk ins, appointments, phone calls, etc. if this wasn’t the case I doubt manager would have cared when we took lunch.
Image credits: RhondaTheHonda
#4
Employees must wear appropriate undergarments. As the manager at the time, I was involved in too many conversations that were part of what eventually led to this policy. No underwear with see through pants, bras showing, visibly lacking bras, underwear visible through clothes, strings pretending to be underwear that were visible above pants. I feel like I’ve seen it all. I counseled many employees on professional attire.
Image credits: HotMess1909
#5
There was a rule against hanging off pipes at an old job because someone tried doing chin-ups on them. Pulled the pipes out of their bracketing and flooded the entire building.
Image credits: No-Bad5781
The thread didn’t disappoint when it came to office stories, either. Bored Panda also spoke with one Redditor, u/ribbediguana, who shared a particularly funny one about how her office banned post-its after a critical message was lost. She gave us more details about how it all went down.
“It was a very small recruitment company,” she explained. “Honestly, the person who wrote the note could’ve just taken care of the task herself. A client called in on a Friday, right before lunch, needing a temp for Monday. The person who was supposed to handle it—the one who received the post-it—was out at a client lunch. Back then, if you weren’t out with clients on a Friday, you weren’t working hard enough!”
“The person who took the message left the post-it on her co-worker’s desk,” she continued. “But it wasn’t seen, the role didn’t get filled, and it made the company look bad. The business owner was furious on Monday, and a lot of passive aggression filled our tiny office of just five people.”
The fallout was intense. “The person who lost the message was demoted for a month, losing out on commission. The co-worker who missed the note quit shortly after. I didn’t last long either—it was a giant red flag about the emotional state of the business owner.”
#6
Warning tags on Halloween costumes “this cape does not give the wearer the ability to fly”.
Image credits: austintrotter
#7
My Alma mater now has a line in the student handbook that charcoal grills are not permitted in the dorm rooms.
Image credits: xeryon3772
#8
Decades ago, I was shopping at a toy store, looking for a Lego table. I found a flat Lego table box, picture of two kids sitting at the table (fully constructed). The label read, I s**t you not, “children not included” .
After the post-it ban, the company’s solution was to use a carbon copy phone message pad and still leave the note on the desk, but follow it up with an email, u/ribbediguana said. “Yet, there were no changes to the rule about getting tipsy with clients on a Friday!”
“And that was just the start,” she added. “The business owner also told us we needed to ‘look more expensive’—this coming from someone who constantly had food on her shirt and stockings around her ankles.”
One incident that prompted this change involved a recruiter wearing flat shoes to a client visit. “We were told we had to wear stilettos, suits, cufflinks, and jackets—even in 104-degree weather,” u/ribbediguana explained.
In the end, it seemed the boss was the common problem. “She was a mess,” u/ribbediguana summarized. “I’ve worked at three recruitment firms, and they all had the same type of women running the show. Let’s just say, I’m not a fan of recruitment anymore!
#9
The "no drinking allowed at work" rule at my job is because of me back when I was an alcoholic.
Before that it wasn't an official rule because they just assumed everyone would realize it wasn't allowed.
Got it written in the handbook and everything! I'm a bringer of change.
Image credits: SomethingClever42068
#10
Man it makes my stomach hurt thinking about this - but all those signs at the Hoover Dam that tell you not to put your dog on the railing… How many puppies fell in the Hoover Damn for this sign to exist?!
Image credits: TheLadyLeanneREAL
#11
I worked in a place where post it notes were banned. Because a person once wrote something important, and stuck it on another persons desk but it fell off.
Image credits: ribbediguana
As for u/seequelbeepwell, they don’t think it’s the rules themselves that are ridiculous, but rather when people knowingly ignore them. “For example, I ate expired salad dressing the other day,” they confessed. “I saw the expiration date and still ignored it. Let’s just say it was one of those bathroom moments that required a shower afterward.”
“On that note, I think my next post will be the opposite,” said u/seequelbeepwell. “What are some everyday goods and services that seem like they were created specifically for idiots?” We can’t wait to see what people come up with for that one!
#12
Label on engine oil: “not safe for human consumption.” Thanks, Fast and the Furious.
Image credits: Wal-Mart_Toilet
#13
You can't take pictures in the ossuary at Kutna Hora anymore because someone took pictures of themselves kissing and whatever else to the bones.
Image credits: JojenCopyPaste
#14
Horses are forbidden to eat fire hydrants in Marshalltown, Iowa. I love to know WHY IN THE HELL IS THAT A LAW.
Image credits: Queen_Queenn
#15
We have to keep the loading dock doors closed at work because somebody decided it was a short cut. We have a long loading bay where the trucks back all the way inside by a couple truck lengths and some lady tried to drive all the way through. She hit the dock and destroyed her car and the dock plate, which was impressive because its a huge steel plate. So now we have to keep the doors closed no matter how hot it gets.
Image credits: One-Permission-1811
#16
Where I used to work they sent round a company wide email (50 odd stores) banning carrier bags from the warehouse because someone slipped on one and broke their leg. She actually broke it because we were roller skating in the warehouse and put slipped on a bag in the accident book because we didn't know what else to say.
#17
In our theater, we had to make the “no throwing tools” rule. Which you would think that’d be OBVIOUS, but no. Apparently common sense isn’t that common anymore
Image credits: TheGummyCandyStars
#18
Climbing on the rail on a cruise ship can get you banned for life.
Image credits: LeoMarius
#19
One rule that stands out is the "no food in the computer lab" policy—thankfully, I wasn’t the one who spilled a soda all over the equipment! Sometimes, one person’s mistake leads to valuable lessons for everyone.
Image credits: AffiliateJourney101
#20
An operator in the control room of a power plant was caught sleeping during his shift. The resulting rule was outlawing any napping/sleeping anywhere on site at any time. Not at breaks or lunchtime, at your desk, in your office or in your car in the parking lot at lunch. And to top it off, keep your office door open at all times to show that you’re working at your desk. They could have just said not to sleep in the control room, but that would be singling a person out.
Image credits: tatorpop
#21
The abolishment of last meal requests in Texas because one guy had such a massive meal request.
Image credits: Oyster_-
#22
I used to work for a school district in the cafeteria. We got 10 days of PTO per year.
One year, a coworker decided that she was going to take an 8 day cruise the second to last week of the school year.
The following year? No taking time off except in medical emergencies the last month of school.
#23
I am a photographer. One of my new event photography clients gave me a list of instructions that included “Do not photograph close-ups of our employees’s low cut shirts” and I wondered which photographer had done this previously. Yikes.
#24
We just had a mandate come down about our dress policy, we wear badge reels and because some idiot at one of the other hospitals had one that was inappropriate- instead of telling them to change it, they changed the policy that we can ONLY wear badges with the system name on it. Never mind that 99.9% of us wear cute, fun, and appropriate ones, we’re all punished because one dips**t displayed their dark humor where patients can see it. They should know the dark humor is for lockers outside of the public view LOL
#25
You know those warnings on hand sanitizer that say “do not drink”?
#26
The 'Do Not Put Your Hand Underneath The Lawn Mower When Running'. Some knucklehead back in the 90's wanted to trim his hedges and thought that his lawn mower would do the trick. So he fired it up and was going to lift it up by the deck and lost all of his fingers from the middle knuckle up. He successfully sued Toro Co. for not warning people not to put there body parts by a sharp metal blade spinning at 100's of rpm.
Image credits: 76yankee20
#27
How overtime was bid for.
A coworker figured out a way to game the system so he could maximize the available overtime, leading to complaints that there was very little left over for others to sign up for. The rules were changed 4 or 5 times and each time he found a way around the rules. Eventually they just started skipping over every other of his OT requests and put in a maximum number of OT hours someone could work in a calendar month and boy did he cry about that for months that he wasn't getting 20 hours a week of OT.
#28
I know a country that had full face covering bike helmets banned because shop breakers created a trend of using them to mask their face.
Image credits: Just-a-naughty_boy01
#29
Doritos have rounded edges due to some peoples’ insufficient chewing habits.
Image credits: DopeCharma
#30
At my local KPOT place, you have to verbally order your broth instead of on the tablet because someone managed to order 10 soups at once.
Image credits: knockoutcharlie
