"I see stupid people!" or "spot the blithering idiot"

[journeyman Mick]

Firstly, a big thanks to Bruce (E Maculata) for providing the title for this thread

I've been on a well earned break at Burleigh heads for the last two weeks and I've seen lots of stupid people/blithering idiots. There's probably plenty at home too, but I don't actually get out that much so I probably miss most of them.

Went to a large shopping complex today (which is probably a prime place to find stupid people). Running through the paved plaza type area that runs between all the shops were ribbons of bright tile shards. Now I'm assuming some blithering idiot of an architect came up with that one. Nothing wrong with it aesthetically, however the brightly coloured tile pieces were all finished in a very smooth glaze. Normally outdoor or wet area tiles are finished in a matt glaze or have grit embedded in them to provide grip when wet. These ones were very glossy and, because of the rain, extremely slippery. I almost went base over apex several times and I'm reasonably sure footed.

At one stage we came across a eatery employee who had just had a fall. She was lying on the ground in an extremely awkward position. A couple with two kids had stopped to offer assistance. She could barely wriggle the fingers on one hand and felt a lot of pain in that arm. I was thinking concussion, broken collar bone, dislocated shoulder and possibly worse. The couple said that someone had gone to get help so I turned to go, figuring that there was nothing I could add.

"Help" turned up in the form of the victim's boss, who proceeded to haul on the woman's other arm :eek: to get her up (and presumably back to work :eek: :eek: ). I exercised remarkable restraint and did not give him a swift clip on the ear for his valiant help. Instead I yelled at him to stop, pointing out that she was in obvious pain and had not asked to be moved. The couple also joined in telling him to stop and wait for the ambulance to arrive. He seemed quite suprised at our outburst. I explained to him that until we knew the extent of her injuries she should not be moved. His reply was that when the ambo's came they'd move her anyway. I politely pointed out that they wouldn't just yank on her good arm and tell her to get up and that he really didn't want to lift her. I may have used some threatening body language at this stage to bring home my point.

Anyway while this was going on a woman turned up and started examining the victim, from her actions I believed she had medical training, certainly more than just first aid training too. I decided to leave before I clocked the employer one.

What was this guy thinking :confused: :confused: :confused: . It seems to be that so many people are incapable of actually solving a problem or dealing with an unfamiliar situation. Sure, unless you've done first aid no one will actually spell out to you that you shouldn't move an injured person without assessing their injuries first, but surely even a very stupid person would understand that hauling on a persons arm when they're lying on the ground is going to be rather uncomfortable at best, especially if they're hurt.

You can do courses for almost everything nowadays, and it seems that you need to be trained for even the simplest of tasks before you will be considered for employment. Maybe we need a training course in how to use what's between the ears. Common sense 101 maybe? I learnt a lot about the limitations of the human body as a kid by climbing trees, riding bikes, jumping, swinging, running and falling, lots of falling.

Do we really need to tell people that they may burn themselves on hot things, sharp things can injure, diving into shallow water may see you in a wheelchair forever and that you shouldn't specify slippery tiles for a public outdoor area?

Like Bruce, I see stupid people :mad:

Mick

[E. maculata]

Mick I wonder if we could put a tax or levy on them, to compensate for the harm caused by their stopidity.......They really never cease to amaze me, for instance on Friday in Brisbane the traffic started backing up on Ludwytch (sp?) road, after a few kays we get to see the reason, an old guy either coming or going to the vege markets had decided that anything a 10 tonne truck could carry well so could his ancient LWB F-100, There were veges, carrotts, pumpkins, you name it to the roof in the cab, with just enough room for his poor old frame. In the back thewere in boxes to the roof of the old fibreglass canopy, and just like a nightmare from a SE asia doco, the boxes stacked 4 high on the canopy roof. The reason for the stoppage, he had got half way across an intersection when the best way to explain it is the venerable f-100 just imploded, and collapsed under all that weight, the diff was broken it looked like the chassis rails had bent, and the rear quarters reasembled concertinas, even the cab and canopy roofs were bowed down. The sight of him standing looking on in sheer puzzlement, just exclaimed "book me officer for I am a stopid person" and I'm sure the police heard the laughter from us as we went past chanting "where is your sign"

BTW didn't have acamera in the car, and have been looking for a shot of it, if anyone have seen one of this episode, please yell, for I don't think we'll ever see that again.

[vsquizz]

Mick, Stupid people will do stupid things but it takes an educated person to make a real F***-up. Training doesn't matter (Except to the Underwriters) because you don't have to be responsible for your own actions. I'll vote for anybody who makes the law Common...so common old me can understand and live with it....anybody who brings out a bounty on lawyers will get my other preferences.

A guy comes out of his house the other day and starts going off at me to disconnect the reversing alarm on the Bobcat...yeah right, he'll be the one I end up running over so he can sue my a**e off.

Recently a builder sent us the plans for a site. Plans have express instructions for site (Childcare) to be dead flat. Site has 7 metres of fall left to right and shows 1.5 metre ret wall at left (top) and 2.5 metre ret wall at right (bottom)....Now let me see Mr Rocket scientist designer/Architect dude who knows everything...1.5 plus 2.5 = 7 :confused: :mad: . I'm supposed to quote on this.....

Life is not like a box of chocalates...its like Dumb and Dumber

[boban]

....anybody who brings out a bounty on lawyers will get my other preferences.

Yeah lets kill em all....

[DanP]

Yeah lets kill em all....

Me first!!! <----- (Boban)

Dan

[Iain]

Many moons ago I was working on a secondment with Tree's Bee's and Fleas (CF&L) and we on our way up into the high country in the snow.
In a Landcruiser Tray with chains we barged into a couple of feet of the white fluffy stuff and after about 5 kms found and old Holden sedan well and truly stuck.
Two very cold youngblokes emerge and tell us they spent the night in the car and were going to drive out today.
They had chains in the boot, why not on the wheels was beyond us.
We managed to move the car and turn it around and the two occupants fitted the chains.
We made sure they had fitted them properly and then they took off.
What they hadn't done was secure the loose ends of the chains so I bellowed 'OI' and they stopped.
I told them that about 8" of chain was flying around (it was hitting the bodywork of the car), their response, ';who gives a F***, they're only hire chains'.
We just let them go and wondered what 5km of chain smashing on inside of bodywork would do to the car.
#1. Chains in car and not fitted
#2. In snow with inapropriate vehicle
#3. No one knew they were there.
#4. No warm gear or sleeping bags etc
#5. Wonder if they are still with us.

[PAH1]

Where we lived in Tucson they actually passed a "stupid motorist" law- the quotes are real they actually called it that. Tucson does not have stormwater drains in parts of the city nor do some underpasses and creeks are a whole different kettle of fish, after all it does not rain in the desert. The emergency services kept getting called out to vehicles that had driven around road closed signs and got stuck in creeks, underpasses and streets without stormwater drains. The final straw was when a mother with a young baby/child drove into a flooded underpass around road closed signs, got stuck, she got out herself but the baby drowned. The law is simple, if you drive around road closed signs and get stuck you pay for every emergency vehicle that turns up to get you out, and they make sure they send every available one. The fines were in the order of thousands and the stupid part is that people kept doing it.

[Daddles]

Coming back from Coober Pedy one day in January back in the early eighties. This was before the new road (we were doing the survey for the new road). About a hundred and forty degrees ... celcius. A good three hours from anywhere. There's this car stuck on the side of the road. Flat tyre. They had a spare. It had air in it. Didn't have any tools did they. Or water. This was late arvo. They'd been there since morning and we were the first vehicle through. We were foolish enough to rescue them, no doubt creating a problem for someone else at a later date.

Richard

[Harry72]

We get them all the time at work, like fools who stand behind/near forklifts/Skid steer loaders ... they dont steer/move like cars do they.

The funny ones are so called bright sparks that have been to uni for many years, sure they can solve complex equations but they aint got an once of common sense.
A metalurgist was desigining a new process and needed to pump some molten lead into his contrapion so our maintance dept gave him a small air driven pump... he came and seem us to ask for help as the pump was running real slow and the lead was freezing up because of it, so we go for a looksy he had somehow got some reduction thread knuckles and rigged up a gas line to run it... got about 1m from the gas tap to isolate it and WOOF up she went!(also seen a MacMahons contractor run a jackhammer of gas... was very spectacular to watch considering he was working next to a furnace)Our gas lines are very clearly labeled at all outlets and have special fitting so this cant happen, Oh well cant idiot proof anything!

Another metalurgist came up and wanted a dross sample off one of the pan/kettles, he tried using a plastic scoop(the kitchen kind)Hmmm that wont work... so he ask's for a shovel yep that gets some dross off the pan... but the plastic bag he tried to put it into was no good... wana know the moral of the story, the dross is approx 450°c Hmmm they train smart people at uni dont they?

Its not easy to be smart and have common sense at the same time... just kidding please dont take offence if you've been to uni!

[Kev Y.]

I was unfortunate enough to render assistance to a motorist one afternoon on my way home from melbourne ( ok SHE was good looking and so was her friend )

As I was approaching the broken down car I noticed a cloud of blue smoke/haze comming from under the bonnet, I stopped and approached the car, all the time aware of a "tink, tink" sound comming from the engine bay..

I enquired as to what had happened, and was answered with " we checked the water at Pakenham, and it was OK, then the oil warning light came on about 5ks back..."

IT appears that as well as a water leak (it WAS a new motor ) it was also using a bit of oil.. The blue haze was the result of HER pouring 4lts of oil into the HOT motor....

SHE then asked me if I thought the motor would be ok when it cooled...

I offered to give them a lift as it was on my way, My parting comment was "I guess your husband is going to get a wonderful fathers day present on sunday "

Moral.. Women and cars should be kept well apart!!!

[AlexS]

In the mid '70s we were working on the Strzelecki track when a bloke came along in a Falcon towing what had once been a tandem caravan. He pulled up & asked us how far to Adelaide. All the front wheel studs on the van had sheared off, so the van was nose down, the tow hitch was bent, the @rse of the falcon was dragging on the ground, and he wanted to get to Adelaide quickly before he did any more damage. :confused:

He was towing it down from Qld. because the railways quoted him $140 to freight it - too expensive!

[LineLefty]

IanW,

I must be a stupid person too then! We, being west aussies, hired some snowchains when we headed up to thredbo for a looksee. We passed a permanent sign that said "snow chains requried past this point" so we dutifully stopped and put the sow chains on, shaking our heads at these reckless people drving past tooting at us from their unchained cars.

Needles to say, there wasnt any snow around, but how were we to know that the sign meant "Snow Chains required past here, only put them on if you're driving in snow you idiot!"

Obviously we only got a few kms up the road before we realsied something wasnt right here............

[Christopha]

On my way to Adelaide for the woodshow a couple of years ago when I noticed a ute heading toward Tailem Bend towing one of those big four wheeled Broomwade compressors...... the road breaker was coming along behind on about 40feet of hose....... Boing! Bounce! Fertang! Clonk!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

[JackoH]

I seem to remember a story about a certain gentleman who accidentally filled his petrol powered ute with diesel, (or was it tother way round). Not a million miles from Adelaide!

[PAH1]

I seem to remember a story about a certain gentleman who accidentally filled his petrol powered ute with diesel, (or was it tother way round). Not a million miles from Adelaide!

The Wee Waa AFL team did it to their hired team bus on their way back from a game (more years ago than I care to remember). Nobody thought to check that a minibus would have been anything other than a diesel. Quote of the day "this diesel has spark plugs"-about 5k out of town.