Pranks we did when younger... and still do?

Anything goes (within forum guidelines of course)
Post Reply
radiopilot

Pranks we did when younger... and still do?

Post by radiopilot »

Ok... was reading the prank Gunsmith did at the wedding with the fart sounds and it got me thinking of the pranks I pulled on unsuspecting victims... here goes for a laugh.

Back in the 1980's I worked at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in West Palm Beach, FL... it was a government run turbine engine research facility/refurbishment for military engines, etc run by the UTC Corporation and there were approx. 6-7 thousand engineers and scientists, along with the gamete of technicians, etc.

I worked in the lab engineering dept and had access to a lot of neat stuff, so here goes...

Whenever a new engineer (from college) came in for orientation, etc. he always sat at a particular desk, so I got the notion to 'bring him in' to see what his character was like... having access to liquid freon in a can (remember that), and thin walled instrumentation tubing, I rigged up his desk with the tubing so that the tube was pointed at his crotch under the desk drawer, ran the tube concealed all the way to my desk in the drawer... so when we were all working intensely on our projects
(there were about 15 engineers in the room with the young engineer in the front of the room sort of classroom style), I signaled to my colleges the fun was ready... I sprayed the freon into the tube and it took several minutes for the 'cool freon' to reach the crotch of the young engineer when all of a sudden the kid jumps frantically out of his desk holding his crotch screaming 'WTF' and looking around embarrassed at what just happened... meantime we are all trying to hold our laughter and compulsion to give anything away... after a couple of minutes later when he regains himself I spray the freon again and he really jumps out of his desk with his hands coupling his crotch... we then just started laughing but didn't give it away while he tried to find the cause of the freezing rush of air... he still couldn't find it and later in the day did it again until he reach under the desk and found the tube... we were just rolling on the floor and was one if not the best pranks I've pulled on young engineers. :lol:

I have other pranks that were just as hilarious we've pulled on friends but will wait for others to post theirs before I post another one.


Nick
mdrburchette
Posts: 5754
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2006 5:49 am
Your car is a: 1972 Fiat 124 Sport
Location: Winston-Salem, NC

Re: Pranks we did when younger... and still do?

Post by mdrburchette »

That was good! I was always a sweet young lady and stayed out of trouble but I do enjoy reading about everyone else's pranks!
1972 124 Spider (Don)
1971 124 Spider (Juan)
1986 Bertone X19 (Blue)
1978 124 Spider Lemons racer
1974 X19 SCCA racer (Paul)
2012 500 Prima Edizione #19 (Mini Rossa)
Ever changing count of parts cars....It's a disease!
mbouse

Re: Pranks we did when younger... and still do?

Post by mbouse »

that just proves it. government workers are incouragable.
So Cal Mark

Re: Pranks we did when younger... and still do?

Post by So Cal Mark »

and we all wonder why jobs have been outsourced.... :?:
radiopilot

Re: Pranks we did when younger... and still do?

Post by radiopilot »

LOL.. They closed up lab at Pratt & Whitney down in West Palm Beach after the Cold War ended, only thing there is Sikorsky Test Facility and RocketDyne Labs...

OK... same company, same engineer 6 months later...

The company (UTC) gave awards monthly and yearly for Top Gun Engineer of the Month, etc... This particular month for the awards coincided with retirement awards for personal getting retired, so we had the instrumentation guys make an award that was a duplicate of the 'Top Gun Engineer' award with the new engineer's name for this month... we had access to the award display cabinet and placed the made up award in the case the day before.

Now Embry-Riddle University had onsite courses and the new engineer was enrolled and was taking class that day... so when he got out of class he went back to the engineering lab office while all of us went to the retirement awards and came back into the office with cake and drinks in hand, naturally he asked why we had cake and drinks... we said "didn't you go to the Top Gun Engineer Awards ceremony"... he asked why? We then said he won the Top Gun award and proceeded to take him to the display case to show him the 'fake award'... naturally he was upset big time, became irate and stormed into the supervisor's office demanding why he wasn't told about the award and how in the hell he missed his own award, etc.

Now the supervisor was not aware of our little prank and we could hear him pleading to the young engineer he never got the award and that his name wasn't added to the roster of engineers to get the award... so the young engineer took him to the display case to show him the award... soon enough the supervisor came to understand a prank had been pulled and tried to explain to the young man a prank had been pulled... in the mean time I think we laughed so loud... I think some us were hysterical laughing for hours... for days the young engineer was angry but took it in stride and understood we weren't the 'stiffs' he'd heard about in college about engineers...

Till this day I chuckle when I tell others about this...

Nick
mdrburchette
Posts: 5754
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2006 5:49 am
Your car is a: 1972 Fiat 124 Sport
Location: Winston-Salem, NC

Re: Pranks we did when younger... and still do?

Post by mdrburchette »

So Cal Mark wrote:and we all wonder why jobs have been outsourced.... :?:
Because radiopilot has chaced all the young engineers away? :P

These stories sure changed the way I look at engineers!
1972 124 Spider (Don)
1971 124 Spider (Juan)
1986 Bertone X19 (Blue)
1978 124 Spider Lemons racer
1974 X19 SCCA racer (Paul)
2012 500 Prima Edizione #19 (Mini Rossa)
Ever changing count of parts cars....It's a disease!
radiopilot

Re: Pranks we did when younger... and still do?

Post by radiopilot »

mdrburchette wrote:
So Cal Mark wrote:and we all wonder why jobs have been outsourced.... :?:
Because radiopilot has chaced all the young engineers away? :P

These stories sure changed the way I look at engineers!
Just to clarify... engineers don't outsource jobs... accountants and CEO's who are NOT engineers are the ones outsourcing jobs and manufacturing to other countries in the course of getting things done cheaper/faster and using so called 'Lean Manufacturing' something engineers never created but formed by accountants and bean counters.

Sure engineers use lean manufactuturing everytime they design and create products, ie. they use a OTS shoulder bolt for $2-3 bucks a piece and design around it rather than design new bolt costing hundreds of dollars and engineering time man hours... etc.

If you talk to most engineers in this country almost all are against outsourcing jobs and design to other countries... Boeing in Seattle with the 787 Dreamliner is now understanding this problem when they outsourced the design to Japan, European countries, etc., the design was very badly done, the workers were not up to par to Boeing's long standing design excellence and the result is two years late on the delivery and first flight of the 787 Dreamliner... it still has tons of problems... when I worked for Boeing in the early 2000's I indicated it was a mistake to outsource this work and that all engineering/technology for this airplane should remain here in the US, maybe some parts could be manufactured elsewhere but the design should stay here... no one listened... CEO's at Boeing are in BIG BIG trouble and some have been fired, demoted, etc.

When I design anything with companies (I work on my own behalf) I insist that the design/manufacturing remain here and that the jobs should stay here... now the accountants and bean counters in charge of where the product is made is outside my jusrisdiction.

Ask any engineer on this forum if what I say doesn't hold true.

http://www.zimbio.com/Boeing+787+Dreaml ... ng+Problem

http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/fligh ... enter.html

Just one of hundreds of problems at most companies that outsource work to other countries... trust me the freon on the crotch just made that young engineer a better engineer and is probably the owner of his own company or manager of one... lessons learned.

Nick
radiopilot

Re: Pranks we did when younger... and still do?

Post by radiopilot »

Geez... I could never have realized posting a prank done over twenty years ago was going to elicit the negativity in people like this... I thought this thread was going to take off like wildfire with pranks other's have done over their lifetimes... but I guess it hit some nerves in people. :shock:

Nick
mdrburchette
Posts: 5754
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2006 5:49 am
Your car is a: 1972 Fiat 124 Sport
Location: Winston-Salem, NC

Re: Pranks we did when younger... and still do?

Post by mdrburchette »

I agree wholeheartedly. Hope you know I was joking. Most engineers I know have a dry sense of humor..you've changed that. Did I really write "chaced"? Where did that come from?
1972 124 Spider (Don)
1971 124 Spider (Juan)
1986 Bertone X19 (Blue)
1978 124 Spider Lemons racer
1974 X19 SCCA racer (Paul)
2012 500 Prima Edizione #19 (Mini Rossa)
Ever changing count of parts cars....It's a disease!
mbouse

Re: Pranks we did when younger... and still do?

Post by mbouse »

har har har... as an accountant, i had to be told this was an engineering joke. now i get it.... har har har... :mrgreen:

engineers... like a deck of cards - -
need to be dealt with.

some accounting jokes concerning engineers:
what do you call an engineer in your pool? Bob
what do you call an engineer in your sink? Dwayne
what do you call an engineer on your wall? Art
what do you call an engineer in your garden? Doug
what do you call an engineer on your work paper? Mark
what do you call a former engineer? Ben
what do you call an engineer at your door? Matt

i have more, really i do... but just typing them out has got me laughing uncontrollably. :wink:
Foster48x

Re: Pranks we did when younger... and still do?

Post by Foster48x »

I've been a perfect angel all of my life :wink: so I don't have any good prank stories. What I do have is a huge list of engineering jokes...

YOU MAY BE AN ENGINEER...
If you refer to your spouse as "\woman at home.wife,"
If your favorite TV show is "Mr. Wizard" instead of "Baywatch,"
If when your family is expecting, you are more interested in the ultra-sound equipment than the test results,
If when someone asks "What's new?" you answer "C over lambda,"
If you know Bill Gates' e-mail address, and don't remember your own,
If you are always asking your friends from marketing to hold two leads to a giant capacitor,
If you find your head nodding up and down every time you read Dilbert,
If your pocket is full of too many mechanical pencils,
If when your 3-year old asks "Why is the sky blue?" you start explaining it to them,
If you can explain which direction the water spins as you flush the toilet and why,
If you go to the air show, and you start calculating how fast the sky divers are falling, you may be an engineer; if you start telling all the people around you, you definitely are.
If you need a spreadsheet to figure out who owes what for lunch,
If you plan your family vacation on a Gantt chart,
If you pre-plan your route on a map of the exhibits through the annual computer show at Moscone Center,
If you read PC World and Popular Mechanics while on vacation,
If you are willing to debate for two hours the possible results of an experiment that takes five minutes to run,
If you know the altitudes at which you must turn off electronic devices on an airplane, and why,
If on a camping trip, your spouse starts complaining about bug "bites" and you respond that "Yes, we do need more memory in our computer,"
If Dilbert is your hero
If you stare at an orange juice container because it says CONCENTRATE
If you want an 8X CDROM for Christmas
If you can name 6 Star Trek episodes
If the only jokes you receive are through e-mail
If your wrist watch has more computing power than a 486DX2-50
If your idea of good interpersonal communication means getting the decimal point in the right place
If you look forward to Christmas only to put together the kids' toys
If you introduce your wife as "mylady@home.wife"
If your spouse sends you an e-mail instead of calling you to dinner
If you can quote scenes from any Monty Python movie
If you use a CAD package to design your son's Pine Wood Derby car
If you have used coat hangers and duct tape for something other than hanging coats and taping ducts
If, at Christmas, it goes without saying that you will be the one to find the burnt-out bulb in the string
If you window shop at Radio Shack
If your ideal evening consists of fast-forwarding through the latest Sci-Fi movie looking for technical inaccuracies
If you have "Dilbert" comics displayed anywhere in your work area
If you carry on a one-hour debate over the expected results of a test that actually takes five minutes to run
If you are convinced you can build a phazer out of your garage door opener and your camera's flash attachment
If you don't even know where the cover to your personal computer is
If you have modified your can-opener to be microprocessor driven
If you know the direction the water swirls when you flush
If you own "Official Star Trek" anything
If you have ever taken the back off your TV just to see what's inside
If a team of you and your co-workers have set out to modify the antenna on the radio in your work area for better reception
If you ever burned down the gymnasium with your Science Fair project
If you are currently gathering the components to build your own nuclear reactor
If you own one or more white short-sleeve dress shirts
If you have never backed-up your hard drive
If you are aware that computers are actually only good for playing games, but are afraid to say it out loud
If you truly believe aliens are living among us
If you have ever saved the power cord from a broken appliance
If you have ever purchased an electronic appliance "as-is"
If you see a good design and still have to change it
If the salespeople at Circuit City can't answer any of your questions
If you still own a slide rule and you know how to work it
If the thought that a CD could refer to finance or music never enters your mind
If you own a set of itty-bitty screw drivers, but you don't remember where they are
If you rotate your screen savers more frequently than your automobile tires
If you have a functioning home copier machine, but every toaster you own turns bread into charcoal
If you have more toys than your kids
If you need a checklist to turn on the TV
If you have introduced your kids by the wrong name
If you have a habit of destroying things in order to see how they work
If your I.Q. number is bigger than your weight
If the microphone or visual aids at a meeting don't work and you rush up to the front to fix it
If you can remember 7 computer passwords but not your anniversary
If you have memorized the program schedule for the Discovery Channel and have seen most of the shows already
If you have ever owned a calculator with no equal key and know what RPN stands for
If your father sat 2 inches in front of your family's first color TV with a magnifying lens to see how they made the colors, and you grew up thinking that was normal
If you know how to take the cover off of your computer, and what size screw driver to use
If you can type 70 words a minute but can't read your own handwriting
If people groan at the party when you pick out the music=7F
If you can't remember where you parked your car for the 3rd time this week
If you did the sound system for your senior prom
If your checkbook always balances
If your wristwatch has more buttons than a telephone
If you have more friends on the Internet than in real life
If you thought the real heroes of "Apollo 13" were the Mission Controllers
If you think that when people around you yawn, it's because they didn't get enough sleep
If you spend more on your home computer than your car
If you know what http:/ stands for
If you've ever tried to repair a $5.00 radio
If you have a neatly sorted collection of old bolts and nuts in your garage
If your three year old son asks why the sky is blue and you try to explain atmospheric absorption theory
If your lap-top computer costs more than your car
If your 4 basic food groups are: 1. Caffeine 2. Fat 3. Sugar 4. Chocolate
All jokes courtesy of some random site on the Intrawebby.
radiopilot

Re: Pranks we did when younger... and still do?

Post by radiopilot »

Foster48x wrote:I've been a perfect angel all of my life :wink: so I don't have any good prank stories. What I do have is a huge list of engineering jokes...
That's a long list and one that is used often from this guy's site:

http://www.allowe.com/Humor/book/You%20 ... gineer.htm

Come on... even in camping/college we pulled some nice pranks on everyone at one time or another... it's part of what makes us human.

Nick
Foster48x

Re: Pranks we did when younger... and still do?

Post by Foster48x »

radiopilot wrote:
Foster48x wrote:I've been a perfect angel all of my life :wink: so I don't have any good prank stories. What I do have is a huge list of engineering jokes...
That's a long list and one that is used often from this guy's site:

http://www.allowe.com/Humor/book/You%20 ... gineer.htm

Come on... even in camping/college we pulled some nice pranks on everyone at one time or another... it's part of what makes us human.

Nick
There's a billion of them. Here's some more http://members.tripod.com/b_u_d/engineerjokes.html

Ok, maybe I have a couple of prank stories. But no one can top this guy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Exr5WVoRjuw
katsi

Re: Pranks we did when younger... and still do?

Post by katsi »

radiopilot wrote:Just to clarify... engineers don't outsource jobs... accountants and CEO's who are NOT engineers are the ones outsourcing jobs and manufacturing to other countries in the course of getting things done cheaper/faster and using so called 'Lean Manufacturing' something engineers never created but formed by accountants and bean counters.
As a controller, also known as an accountant or lesser appreciated term of bean counter, I have to disagree with you about outsourcing jobs. It's governmental policy that ultimatly leads to the outsourcing of jobs. Moreover, the consumer who purchases non US goods in favor of less expensive forign made goods is what leads to oursourcing jobs. Most jobs going over to india land in the short term realm and this is due to the fact that India does not have an issue with providing health care. They simply do not provide it for employees. That's the way it is. The salaries are about the same as here in the US. Yet, they have crappy government provided health care and they deal with it. It's people over here that complain about health care that leads to governmental involvement that ultimatly leads to the loss of jobs. In addition, it's people who choose to purchase goods manufactured abroad from the suffering and slave labor of others as long as they don't have to here about it that drives the jobs overseas. Our unions have stiffled profits combined with our government's lack of tarrifs to protect the US industries, moreover; US worker combined with consumer demand for cheap, forign products that is responsible for the migration of formerly held US jobs. Not the accountants.

So, just to claifiy things, its ultimatly the liberal left, pansy assed views combined with short term windfalls and poor government reprensentation that drives jobs overseas. Combine that with a largly un-educated voting base and a presidency that is up for sale to any forign person not willing to show a birth certificate and mix generoulsy with the demands of the US consumer, who ignores global issues, and then you will come up with the reason US jobs have been oursourced oversead. In conclusion, when you want to lay blame on a single profession or group, then blame it on the liberals. Blame it on the un-consious consumer. Blame it on the other governments undercutting the US with cheap labor and the laws that make it legal to take advantage of the poor.
radiopilot

Re: Pranks we did when younger... and still do?

Post by radiopilot »

I'm not starting a political debate here... but I will defend my statements that FINANCIAL ACCOUNTANTS/CONTROLLERS and CEO's are the reason jobs are shipped overseas and it has nothing to do with the govenment... it's the $$$$ that controls where the product is made... international finance is the reason goods are produced in one country over another...

When goods that formally were made here in the US and now are made in another country... it wasn't engineers who thought that would be best... it's someone in accounting/finance/corporate headquaters that determined it's cheaper to make it in that country... what... you think the engineer will continue working at the factory once it's closed? I have plenty of stories to tell you!

Ultimately it leads to the wussies and democrats and whose in office this year... but when Bush was in office over 8 million jobs were lost... why weren't the so called tax-cuts to the rich during his administration didn't create 10 million jobs? Maybe had to do with an 'accounting mistake' somewhere in the Tax-Cuts Bill? :shock:

Birth certificate?? Another Beck follower should have guessed... You see the Secret Service did not do it's job when they checked and double checked each candidate before even putting their name in the hat for the presidency... yeah... it's a big conspiracy all right... Do away with the Secret Service, they didn't do thier job! Rush at 8:00 don't miss it...
It's hogwash from the conservative right because they couldn't get their man in office.

Liberals fault... always the mantra these days... wasn't it a liberal Kennedy who sent man to the Moon, yeah... that's right all those jobs overseas making space components to ship back to the US so we can rocket man to the Moon... It was also a liberals Clinton during his era that created the DOT-Com technologies by also having Europeans/Chinese making all those computer chips... yet they're all nicely packed in Silicon Valley or is California part of China these days?

The list is so large that it would take me a day to write... but this post started as pranks and not politics... so we can agree to disagree on many things but I never mentioned 'outsourcing' in my first prank post! :wink:

Nick
Post Reply