25 Safety Failures That Would Make OSHA Squirm

Eric Lund

Jun 22, 2022 1:00 PM EDT

Anyone who's ever worked even a mildly physical job has probably been asked to do something stupid, or they've witnessed that stupid thing firsthand. Once you've seen someone end up in the hospital and with a lifetime of back pain because they wanted to save 5 minutes painting a fence, you realize how much of a bargain safety can actually be. An extra 20 bucks on the right kind of carabiner or an extra 10 minutes spent searching for the proper ladder is worth it, especially when the only person who makes money off of saving time is your boss.

But when we decide to forego safety and just sort of wing it, we get some phenomenal spectacles. There's always gonna be someone who is willing to literally risk their life to do it cheaper, so we're never going to run out of dudes 70 feet in the air, balancing on three ladders lashed together with jump ropes. Here are some more safety failures of OSHA-defying boldness.