I might as well work in a day care

Today in our office I experienced possibly the funniest moment at work this semester. I was filing papers in "the bullpen," the little area in between two of the assistant directors' offices. I was in there, a) because there were forms to be filed (obviously) and b) because one of the assistant directors was being excoriated over the phone by a truculent parent. While part of the reason for going in there was to witness this, the more amusing part was what came next.

One of my bosses, let's call him Brandon, was in there as well. Since very little is going on in the office these days, he was schmoozing with the other assistant director and one of my other bosses. In the process of said schmoozing, he picks a tack off the corkboard. Then, inexplicably, he starts poking at the water cooler. I resumed filing, not really thinking much of it, but then I hear a hollow "pop!" and I look over to see Brandon looking sheepishly at the rest of us, and saying "Hm. I didn't think I could puncture it but I guess I could. Good thing I didn't do it below the water line." You should see where this is going.

We all went on talking (or filing, as the case may be) but then all of a sudden Brandon yells "Oh shit!" and I look over to see a healthy stream of water cascading from where the water bottle meets the cooling/dispensing unit. In a realization that should have occurred the second the bottle was punctured, it dawned on him that the hole had caused a hemorrhage, and he frantically started spinning the jug around to try and find it, plug it, and stop the half-full jug from flowing all over the place. Of course, this would have done no good whatsoever. At this point, all three of the other people in the room at the time are watching and laughing as Brandon frantically tries to find the pinhole he created using a thumbtack.

I ran out to go to the bathroom and stole the roll of paper towels from the dispenser. I assumed that some solution would be found before I got back, and that everything would be more-or-less fine. But I came back to the exact same frantic scene: Brandon spinning the jug around and around, searching for the puncture, and the other two watching. Having now made even more water come out by spinning the jug, one of the other guys pointed out that the only way to get it to stop is to take the whole bottle off.

If you're not getting the physics of this, basically since the air was allowed into the jug, simple air pressure started forcing the water up and around the seal-less joint of jug and cooler. Everyone involved should have realized this much, much earlier than they did. So Brandon ripped off the entire jug, and set it on the floor. Of course in the process, this sent a deluge of water crashing against the wall, which contributed healthily to the puddle now forming at the base of the water cooler (and, incidentally, near the mass of electrical cords on the ground). No one was hurt, but even so, it is a blog-worthy incident, especially for those of you who know who have worked in GW Housing and know who "Brandon" is.