Have you fallen for any of these pranks?
When you start a new job, no matter the industry, there is one fundamental truth that you pretty much have to accept: someone will take the piss out of you at the start.
In no other career is this camaraderie through embarrassment more prevalent than in construction.
It may seem harsh, but getting the new lad with a really good prank is always very satisfying.
A recent survey from Homevalue has revealed Ireland’s favourite pranks to pull off on the sites.
The poll was conducted by Empathy Research, and polled over 1,000 adults on their favourite jokes.
While some classics topped the list, some creative pranks have made their way up the ranks too.
One such joke includes the ‘the over-head strength test’, where “an unsuspecting apprentice is asked to lift a plaster bag over their head, only to have the bag pierced, and the contents poured all over them”.
Clip via Mantas Dargis
The full list of favourite pranks as revealed by Homevalue, is as follows:
- Being asked to fetch the ‘long stand’ – 27%
- Being sent to get a ‘glass hammer’ – 25%
- Being sent to get the ‘left-handed screwdriver’ – 17%
- The over-head strength test – 12%
- Being handed cables by the electrician and being told ‘they’re live’ – 5%
- The ‘Wheelbarrow Proficiency test’ – 4%
According to the survey, 40% of all people polled have experienced some sort of builders’ prank while working on a building site or know a friend or loved one who has been directly pranked.
Almost three in 10 (29%) adults surveyed claim that they have direct experience of working on a building site or of working with someone who has a trade/skill, so there’s every chance that they may have come away from the survey with a few new ideas to bring to the site.
So if anyone asks you just how good you are with a wheelbarrow, or if you know what a left-handed screwdriver is, you can get avoid getting caught out.
Now if you’ll excuse me, my boss just told me that I need to go and buy a chocolate teapot for the office.
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