Dad says to dig a hole and don't stop "until I tell you," kid digs a hole over 6ft deep: 'There was a momentary look of shock on his face'

Author image for Brad Dickson
Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Apr 2, 2024 7:00 PM EDT

Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, there was this book about kids who go to a labor camp to dig holes and learn how to not be little terrors. It was all the rage for some reason. This book, and later accompanying film, were, of course, called Holes—a fitting title if you've ever seen one. Anyways, yeah, the kids dig holes to build character, and a whole bunch of evil adults scheme to reclaim some lost treasure and fulfill their own generational trauma. A "hole" lot of other stuff happens in the process, which doesn't necessarily relate to digging holes… something about this guy and this donkey in this boat with these onions—but I don't want to spoil that for you. Besides, Dude in a Boat With Onions doesn't make for nearly as good as a title.

The adults in the book really seem to think that character is built through hard work and suffering (especially by digging holes.) It's that same idea your parents pushed when they decided you should spend your entire summer of 8th grade spitting and hauling cords and cords of firewood for them. Speaking of digging holes… This kid got one up on his old man by maliciously complying with his dad's order that he dig and keep digging a fence post hole until he was told to stop. Safe to say, the old man was impressed, if not taken aback, by the result.

Advertisement
  • 01
    r/ r/MaliciousCompliance 8 hr. aç • Barjack521 Dig until you tell me to stop? Sure thing pops. M Obligatory posting on mobile so formatting blah blah blah. So now the story. This happened back when the earth was young and MTV still played music videos in the ancient age known as 1997. I was 13 and spending yet another weekend helping my dad with yard work and home improvement projects. (Not complaining, I
    via Barjack521
  • 02
    learned a lot about home repair and rather than get a teen job in retail my dad paid me to assist him up until I left for college). Now just because I didn't hate it doesn't mean I was a little 13 year old however. On this day we were putting up a trellis in the garden for plants to grow up. Simple job, sink two posts, cement them in place and fit the trellis between them. My dad gave me a post hole digger, which if you're not familiar with looks like
    via Barjack521
  • 03
    someone glued chopsticks to a pistachio shell so you could open and close it with a hinge. He showed me the spot for the first post and said dig it as deep as you can. So I went and made a foot deep hole thinking that was enough to sink the 6 foot posts we had. He comes back and tells me not to be lazy and dig deeper, in fact "keep digging until I tell you it's deep enough".
    via Barjack521
  • 04
    So that's where my malicious compliance came in, I knew he would be back from the garage in about half an hour so I went to town on this hole. I didn't stop for a break and just kept digging until the post hole digger fit in the hole completely and I couldn't open it to lift dirt out. At that point I taped a spade to a branch and made the hole even deeper.
    via Barjack521
  • 05
    When he came back he said something along the lines of "let's see if you did it properly this time" and he drops the 6 foot post into the hole where it promptly disappears. There was a momentary look of shock on his face then he started laughing, like bent over, can't catch your breath laughing. To this day I have never seen the man laugh as hard as that. When he was done he told me that I guess I did what he told me but now I would have to figure out how to fish the post out of the hole. Luckil
    via Barjack521
  • 06
    To this day my dad still tells this story as a warning about giving vague instructions.
    via Barjack521
  • 07
    irreleventamerican • 8h ago Oh man, I love this story. The malicious compliance is awesome, but your dad's reaction made my day. Thanks for sharing. ☆ 1♡ Re ↑ Share
    via Barjack521
  • 08
    chaoticbear. 8h ago I don't know what's worse, the fact that I've spent so much time on reddit that I thought this was a repost (see also this classic MC story from the archives)... or the fact that there were two smartass kids who each did this. ;) ↑ 1 3 Re ↑ Share
    via Barjack521
  • 09
    Il-leto 8h ago • Love the MC but really love your description of post hole diggers. I've used them and would never have come up with that. 1 Re ↑ Share
    via Barjack521
  • 10
    ThriceFive 8h ago • That was a great MC - I was laughing out loud too imagining the look on your dad's face when that pole just went shoomp out of sight. ↑ 1 1 Re ↑ Share
    via Barjack521
  • 11
    Schlormo 8h ago Absolutely adore this, thank you for sharing!! A lot of these malicious compliance stories can get heavy; the lightheartedness in this really made my day. ↑ 1 B Re ↑ Share
    via Barjack521
  • 12
    Original-Material301 . 7h ago post hole digger ....I was replacing the entire fence at my dads a couple of months back and now you tell me there's a tool that makes the entire post hole digging process 10x easier? ... well I'm going to add one of these to the list when my fence is due. ↑ 1 B Re ↑ Share
    via Barjack521
  • 13
    Tarik861 8h ago This is the greatest description of a post hole digger that I've ever seen! (But you forgot to mention how it will mash the out of your fingers if you don't hold it just right.) ↑ 1 3 1♡ Re ↑ Share
    via Barjack521
  • 14
    MySaltySatisfaction .5h ago Your dad sounds great-not only to pay you for the work you helped with, but to laugh when he saw that hole so deep the post disappeared. Happy you and your dad still bond and get mileage out of this story. It was really funny. ☆ 1 Re ↑ Share
    via Barjack521
  • 15
    prankerjoker . 8h ago The saying goes, "it's not how big the pole is, it's how deep you can bury it." ↑ 1 3 Re ↑ Share
    via Barjack521
  • 16
    Helpful-Peace-1257 · 4h ago It brings me joy that this is my parenting style. I'm a hard lot of things to my kids, but on a malicious compliance, questioning authority, and speaking up for themselves never yields a punishment. ↑ 13 Re ↑ Share
    via Barjack521
  • 17
    "Dig until you tell me to stop? Sure thing pops.' W
    via Craig Whitehead

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

dads malicious compliance kids funny parents parenting parenting stories parents
Scroll Down For The Next Article