office folklore

An old friend has just emailed me my favourite piece of office humour... or is it office folklore? I think people really do half-believe this one.

Notice spotted near more than one printer or photocopier in the past (or at least, it should have been...!)

Warning

This machine is liable to break down when you need it most.

A special sensor has been fitted to this machine enabling it to detect when it is being used for critical operations of supreme importance to the operator. It then waits for a random period of time and breaks down for no apparent reason.

Nobody knows how this is done. It just knows.

Under no circumstances:

• whistle carelessly as you approach the machine: this is a dead give-away
• threaten the machine with violence: this merely aggravates the situation and can lead to personal injury to you when the breakdown finally happens
• try to use another machine: they can communicate with one another, so this could lead to mass breakdowns throughout the building
• let anything electronic know you are in a hurry.