Employee tries to dry wet socks in office microwave, sets off fire alarm and gains new nickname: 'HR sent an email reminding everyone not to "cook clothing"'

Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor

Oct 4, 2025 11:00 AM EDT

Tell me the worst thing a coworker has done in your office, and this story will still top that!

There should be 2 types of offices: 1 for people who know how to act around others, and 1 for people who have never been out in the world before. Since every workplace just combines everyone into one building, all the regular folks get stuck with some absolute weirdos every now and then.

Some office behaviors are kind of annoying, but innocuous at the same time, like microwaving a lunch that smells great… but leaves that scent in the office for hours, leaving everyone's stomachs grumbling. Worse is when that lunch totally reeks, and that person chooses to eat at their desk during a very prolonged lunch hour. Worse still? When your loud coworker has a very long conversation at top volume, describing medical ailments or their marital problems. (Although if you love gossip, this is almost the same as having a juicy TV show on this background. Glass half full!) Then there are the types of coworkers who just barely work at all — they come in late, leave at 2 PM all the time, and whenever there's a heavy workload, they've got responsibilities outside of work that take precedence.

Still, none of those things could possibly be worse than the shudder of fear that would run down my spine if I discovered my coworker was microwaving their sweaty socks. Oh my gosh. That's the kind of thing that should result in immediate PIP. Please, oh please, don't ever do this again, dude. Why in the world would you subject your coworkers to this?

Their defense is that their coworkers sometimes microwave their gloves to dry them. Ok?? I mean I guess?? Why are all of you nuking your clothing all the time?? Socks and gloves are very different things! Do not! Do not do it!!!

Up next, read about the reason that this daughter and her parent are disagreeing about when the 4 and 7-year-old can have grandparent visitation time: "She's the reason I'm an absent grandparent."

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