Dumb Moves

[lightman]

I hate to be like those Facebook posters telling everyone about everything they are doing! But, I'm sitting here cooling off and waiting on the insurance adjuster to come by. I've been out in the garage sweeping up broken glass all morning. Being in a hurry, I backed my Wife's nearly new Expedition out of the garage with the back glass open. The safety glass just exploded. Its all in the Expedition, all over the garage floor, all over the 30ft X 50ft driveway. I'll probably be finding glass for the rest of my life! It was a collective bo bo but its like pulling the trigger and being responsible. I did it![smilie=b:

Its not the end of the world. We have both full coverage auto insurance and homeowners insurance. We'll be out the deductible and without one vehicle for a day. I still feel like I've qualified for the dumb move of the week award!

You'all help me out here! Make me feel better! Share some of the dumb moves you have made.

[MT Gianni]

12 years old, I had a Benjamin pellet gun 177. It would shoot bb's if you kept the muzzle up and they were 1/4th the cost of a pellet. I was emptying it out on my palm when the trigger went off. Sure enough my booger hook was in there, bb bounced off and it bled good for a while. i didn't tell my folks the story but watched it hard for red streaks. 42 years later it must be OK.

[RKJ]

I backed out of a garage bay with the drivers door open, ran it right into the door frame of the shop. Cost me a pretty penny. Of course I was young & dumb when I did that, I would never do something like that now that I'm (much) older & wiser. :roll:

[RogerDat]

Read every thread involving the tinsel fairy. They all involve an oops. Some are a what was I thinking oops, some were who would have thunk that would cause the evil fairy to visit. Many spread lead almost as far as you spread pieces of safety glass.

Tied a stack of lumber on top of some sheets of plywood to the top of the car. Done lumber many times but not with plywood. If you have never seen it you have no idea how far and high a sheet of plywood will fly at 50 mph. Wheeeeee! No one close behind (wonder why) and a side road so no one was hurt by my mistake but the wood took a beating.

[3leggedturtle]

It happens. If you were perfect you’d been crucified by now! Todd/3leg

[Kraschenbirn]

Once upon a time, took out the window of the driver's door of my Wrangler. Had the top off and noticed it was starting to rain, so I drove it into the garage and, getting out, banged the window into a piece of rebar hanging off the end of my metals rack. Stupid part was that I'd been unloading leftover materials from my work truck and had to duck under that bent piece of rebar on my way out to move the Jeep.

Bill

[mattw]

When I was about 13, I was mowing the pasture with an IH 856 with a year-round cab. It was hotter than hades and I had the door locked open... darn apple tree limb got it the way and tore the whole thing right off. Dad was fit to be tied!

[FISH4BUGS]

Pulled the slide back on my Ruger RST4 and put #10 into the chamber. Dropped the magazine and looked at it. Empty...so the gun was empty. Right? Wrong.
Reloading the magazine and touched the trigger. BANG! (this was before they started putting in the magazine cut off).
Into my right inner thigh, bounced off the inside of my femur, out at mid back thigh, back into to center of my calf and stopped above my ankle.
Still have the bullet in my leg after some 50 years. The docs said it wasn't harming anything so let's leave it there.
Dumb move? Yup...I shot myself with an unloaded gun!

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I resemble this remark, LOL

I hate to be like those Facebook posters telling everyone about everything they are doing!

>>>SNIP

Back to the topic, auto insurance.

It was 1986, My job transfered me to a new location (Glencoe). The company parking lot was long and narrow. Everyone parked nose first toward the building, but the narrow lot did allow for parking on the opposite side, but no one ever parked there. One icy day, I back out, away from the building, with my 1981 Saab 900 turbo and did a "Rockford", I was on the accelerator pretty good...and BAM ! I hit a co-workers car (4 door sedan), he was parked were no one usually parks, I was young and dumb and wasn't looking. My front fender slamed hard into his car, my front axle lined up with the Door post of that 4 door sedan and I bent the frame of the co-workers car. He had a for sale sign in the window $800.

So I go back into work and find the co-worker and tell him I hit his car. He didn't believe me, till he seen it. I asked if I could just buy his car, even though I didn't know I bent the frame at that time, I knew I hit it hard and figured the $800, minus whatever parts I could sell off it and minus whatever the junkyard would pay...I figured I'd be ahead compared to what my insurance premium would raise to (I was 21 with a couple speeding tickets and one other collision claim). He wouldn't let me buy it. He wound up getting a claim of $1200.

Now the rest of the story, as this is about Insurance.
Right after the claim, My insurance dropped me, they also dropped my parents, who had clean driving records and no accidents and 4 other vehicles on the policy. The Insurance company was a division of a small family owned bank...the bank where my Mom worked for the last 35+ years. My Mom was not happy about it, she had retired the previous year and took it as a snub.

I am not a fan of any insurance and/or insurance companies, this was one of the reasons why.

[lightman]

Thanks for the replys everyone. The only thing injured was my pride. I'm glad that you guys that were injured were able to recover.

[am44mag]

When I was around 10, I had the bright idea of shooting at rocks with a Daisy BB gun. Got a big, bloody welt on the side of my neck and learned about ricochet as a result. Was rolling on the ground holding my neck for a while after that one, lol.

[brass410]

have a DR wood chipper/shredder chipping and shredding brush weeping willows to be exact, discharge screens kept clogging with the leaves, no problem, we'll just take them out it doesn't have to be shredded that fine (1/4 holes in the screens). This is when you should immediately stop and re-evaluate your thinking skills......... naw it'll be OK However this time the entire chute clogged, and with out shutting off the 18 HP motor and so much as a blink I whipped open that chute door a reached in to clear that chute (against the rotating flails in the cutter box) and guess what????? Now I can count to 4 and7/8 on one hand and I consider myself very lucky at that. needles to say my middle finger is a constant reminder.

[country gent]

Was at a high power match at Washenaw Sportsman club and a father and his daughter were shooting beside me. After 600 yds I put their scope and 2 rifles on my cart to lighten their load walking back to parking lot. Dad I and a couple others were talking and she was loading the gear into a bronco. she got verything in and didn't notice the rod and ball handle of the freelands stand sticking out. Closed the window and it exploded. Dad looked over looked at me and said that's number 3 weve broken. I dropped a canoe loading it and broke the wing vent window on my pick up the night before a trip.

[trapper9260]

When I was a teenage I am not sure the age anymore for how long ago. But it was late winter and there was a ant hill near the duck coop and I had dump some gas on the hill and light it and then since it did not do much after the fire went out.I was with my brother and then I took the metal old gas can and yes i dump it over the ant hill. before I know it I was just over 10feet back wards on my butt and wonder what happened and there was flames on the tar paper on the duck coop.My brother and I had put the fire out. For year did not told our dad what happened till after I got out of the navy and he said I was wonder why the gas can was round at the bottom and that was all he said.

[clintsfolly]

Went to the tool repair shop to pick up my miter saw put in the trunk of the wife’s Mustang hatchback and closed the lid! BOOMglass everywhere and my wife and I both dressed up headed for a wedding!

[rl69]

Hard to pick just one I have 50 years of making dumb moves

Back in high school a buddy got his car stuck. I grabbed the keys to dads truck to go pull him out ( no need to wake him at four in the morning) everything went good,got him pulled out, I pulled into the car wash to clean the truck, the out side and the underneath. I got it good and clean vacuumed it out,no way he will ever know. Pulled back threw the wash and hung the mirror on the hose ripped it clean off.

[RED BEAR]

When I was in my early twenties i was walking back in the swamp . Had a little 44 Philly derranger saw a knot on a tree looked like a good enough target so I took a shot. The next thing I rember is waking up with a heck of a head ache. Walked back home when wife saw me she said what the heck happened to you. Had a goose egg the size of a tennis ball at the top of my forehead. And what I thought was a few minutes turned out to be all afternoon. Went back later and saw small hole in tree maybe 3/4 inch deep but no ball. Last time I ever shot at a tree.

[Shopdog]

Two things come to mind...... "it could be worse",and the other..."it depends on your perspective".

A biz acquaintance of the wife just had a big tree fall on their house.No biggy,call the insurance guy.Problem is/was the house is under contract to be sold.... was going to closing in a week or two.Buyer still wants it but dang,what a thing to happen..... from "their" perspective.

20 or so years ago I rebuilt an 1890's Queen Anne Victorian house that a 250 y.o. white oak tree fell on.We were neck deep in historic pres work at the time.Have done 1/2 dz + "book" houses and buildings ( National Trust of Historic places,has a book listing these $$$$ properties).....so,from my "perspective",ehhh no big deal. But for our friends.... sheeesh,what a royal pain.

Be patient,let your agent do what you're paying them to do.Good luck.

[Hossfly]

Had a Dodge truck with those extendable mirrors backing out of the garage one Sunday morning wife says you better pull over some or that mirror will be damaged, I said naw it will flip backwards.
She was right it caught in the door wheel channel and exploded. Bad thing it cost bout $175 at the dealer ship. Couldn’t find one at the wrecking yard so they ordered one for $75 ,nice folks.

[Tom W.]

I was bringing my new gas grill home from a church function in the back of my PU when it slid all the way to the tailgate and flipped out the back onto the fourlane......Why I didn't strap it down I'll never know......

[Minerat]

I back my wifes car into the garage. The door frame still has the scars where I ripped the drivers side mirror off her 1990 Corsica shortly after we got it. $800 to fix, so filed a claim.

[Finster101]

I'll not cite a single incident but I do things all the time that I look around to see if anyone saw it. If not, it's usually no harm no foul but every now and then one get's in to my pocket. Silly mishaps are one thing but I can't break something and not fix it.

[MT Gianni]

In 76 I rented an apartment next to a body shop. BS-ing one afternoon about someone whose wife was in Idaho Falls and turned onto a median that was now raised after being previously painted. Kept going until her front drivelines pepped from being unable to climb just stretch past where they should have. Had to order parts for a brand new rig, 4 weeks later she got it back, and did it once again returning home. As my buddy said " She must have been really good looking, cause the're still married".

[Big Tom]

In my case, if I was the one causing the little inconvenience, the worst thing would be my wife telling me for the next 10 years, maybe 20 that I need to remember to close the doors of the car when moving it and if I needed some more driving lessons ;-) If your wife is different - well there is your thing that should make you feel better ;-)


.... I backed my Wife's nearly new Expedition out of the garage with the back glass open....

[lightman]

Well, you guys are making me feel better. I about got too hot this morning cleaning up all of that glass. And good and tired! Man was it everywhere! Insurance man came by while I was sweeping and took pictures. Local body shop owner came by after that. I'll get out early tomorrow and get the rest of the glass picked up. The Wife is using my truck when she has to go someplace. Heck, we're even still married!

[samari46]

Here's my dumb move. I have a bunch of 1/4" x 3' brass brazing rod. So figured I'd make me a cleaning rod. Chucked one end in my sears 6" metal working lathe. Just started the facing of the rod and suddenly the rod bends and starts beating the heck out of the brick wall. Shut it off and waited for it to stop. So after that dumb move tried it with the back gear engaged. No suprises that time. Frank

[Texas by God]

I have a list. Several entries a month. Since 1958.

[lead-1]

Is your driveway gravel? A few years back I was loading stuff in my truck in a hurry because we were going cross town to set up my youngest son's grad party. Well the rear hatch on my truck cap had bad lift arms on it so I used a board on one side to support it, as I put the last armload of stuff on the passenger seat and closed the door I ran around the back of the truck and on the way I reached up and grabbed the hatch to shut it.
When I pulled down I twisted the hatch because the board was still in there and the tempered glass exploded in the gravel driveway. I spent a bunch of days shoveling gravel and glass into buckets to sift the glass out, I wouldn't have worried about it and it would have eventually worked it's way to the bottom of the gravel but that whole area was a spot both dogs ran thru and I was worried about their paws getting cut.
Could you imagine my friends asking what in blue blazes I thought I was doing sifting rocks out of the driveway.

[fast ronnie]

Cleaning my guns one night sitting at the bench which was at the foot of the bed. Had cleaned the 1911, dry fired a few times aiming at the stand in the living room holding two 55 gallon fish tanks. Finished dry firing, put the mag back in and racked the slide. Laid it down on the bed and went to the next gun. Dry fired that one for a little while and laid it on the bed. Picked up the .45 again and dry fired at the fish tank stand again. At least I hit what I was aiming at as the neighbor's couch was on the other side of that wall. The bullet bounced off the steel frame and landed at my feet. All it takes is ONE SECOND. Fortunately only my feelings were hurt. Talk about Brain fade!!!!

[tommag]

I was about 7 or 8. Shooting at discarded power line insulators. Thought I could break one if I just got closer. I put the muzzle a couple inches away and bang, ouch theres blood on my face. The bullet flattened into a pancake and the curve of the insulator directed right back at me. I have a scar on the bridge of my nose right between my eyes. A half inch either way would've been serious.

[Col4570]

Some years ago,backing out of my yard with my head out of the drivers window my fender touched the house Drainpipe I applied the brake and the car stopped but my head continued to move with the inertia and hitting the Door PostThat day I went to work with a painful line down the side of my eye which by home time had gone yellow, by morning I had a fine Black Eye.In response to the many questions from workmates all I could reply was "You should see the other Bloke".

[smokeywolf]

Let my little Arab mare break into a gallup just 150 yards from home. Had a grazing bit in her mouth (don't know why, usually had a hackamore with a bosal on her), she had no intention of slowing down. Like the good barrel racer that she once had been. She turned into the driveway to the property where I boarded her and made like the back of my Chevy Camaro was a barrel. Broke a metatarsal on my left foot on the corner of the rear spoiler on my Camaro.

Never let a horse break from a walk when you're gettin' close to the barn.

[lightman]

Is your driveway gravel? A few years back I was loading stuff in my truck in a hurry because we were going cross town to set up my youngest son's grad party. Well the rear hatch on my truck cap had bad lift arms on it so I used a board on one side to support it, as I put the last armload of stuff on the passenger seat and closed the door I ran around the back of the truck and on the way I reached up and grabbed the hatch to shut it.
When I pulled down I twisted the hatch because the board was still in there and the tempered glass exploded in the gravel driveway. I spent a bunch of days shoveling gravel and glass into buckets to sift the glass out, I wouldn't have worried about it and it would have eventually worked it's way to the bottom of the gravel but that whole area was a spot both dogs ran thru and I was worried about their paws getting cut.
Could you imagine my friends asking what in blue blazes I thought I was doing sifting rocks out of the driveway.

Thankfully the driveway is concrete. I swept up all of the glass that I could see and washed the whole driveway off with the water hose to get all of the tiny slivers. It still took a while and took a lot out of me too!.

[shaper]

I was young and dumb with a BB gun. Somehow I had a 12 ga. shotgun shell. My friend said " Lets shoot it with our BB guns". We cut the paper shell off and dumped the powder and shot out. After all, we didn't want to get hurt. We found a perfect V in a small sapling to hold it in place. I was to shoot at it first so we backed off to what we decided would be safe. I took aim and shot. The BB hit the primer , it went off. The primer ignition sent that BB right back to me and hit one of my front teeth. It didn't brake but it did die later and had to be pulled. This is the first time I told this story.

[Hannibal]

Fella I knew in the Navy had a crescent shaped scar on his forehead. Took 3 months of getting to know him and half a fifth of Jim Beam to hear that story.

Very similar to yours. Main difference was it involved a vice in the tool shed instead of a tree fork.

[MrWolf]

Started me thinking of all my screw ups. Just way to many to choose. Thank God all the time I am still here.

[bikerbeans]

I had an almost new 1993 ford f350 with a goose neck hitch. After working and driving for about 16 hours I unhitched the trailer and drove away without lowering the tailgate. Diesels have good torque, the tailgate ripping off hardly slowed the truck down.

A few years later I bought a new f350 with a gooseneck hitch. First day on a jobsite I needed to move a gooseneck trailer. I had the bright idea I would save my new tailgate by removing it. I did, and before I could put the tailgate in a safe place a rubber tire wheel loader backed over it.

BB

[lightman]

You're not the first to make do that with a gooseneck.

[rl69]

Let my little Arab mare break into a gallup just 150 yards from home. Had a grazing bit in her mouth (don't know why, usually had a hackamore with a bosal on her), she had no intention of slowing down. Like the good barrel racer that she once had been. She turned into the driveway to the property where I boarded her and made like the back of my Chevy Camaro was a barrel. Broke a metatarsal on my left foot on the corner of the rear spoiler on my Camaro.

Never let a horse break from a walk when you're gettin' close to the barn.

I have a Arabian paint (scared of her own shadow) we were visiting the neighbor when she started geting real stupid so I kicked her and said lets go,and go we went. About half way home I lost my hat. I sat back grabbed the rains she wasent having none of it. She pitched me over her head my side slammed into a culvert broke two ribs. I got up walked home,climbed back on and went and got my hat slowly very very slowly.

[rancher1913]

not me, but at work yesterday one of the guys decided to not make sure everything was lowered on one of our new 2 million dollar coil units and hit a bridge. mangled the half million dollar injector head and put the unit out of commission until we can get it fixed, even rushing parts it will be several more days. the lost revenue is about 75 grand a day. really really glad it was not me.

[dubber123]

not me, but at work yesterday one of the guys decided to not make sure everything was lowered on one of our new 2 million dollar coil units and hit a bridge. mangled the half million dollar injector head and put the unit out of commission until we can get it fixed, even rushing parts it will be several more days. the lost revenue is about 75 grand a day. really really glad it was not me.

We have a low bridge maybe 50 yards from the front of the shop I am working at. Its been interesting a few times :)

[Thundarstick]

Thank you God, thank you God, THANK YOU GOD! That I sill have all my fingers and toes, both eyes, haven't killed anyone, and have just enough scars to remind me of past boo boos!

If you aren't country, you may not relate, but when I was a teen too young to drive an auto, the folks use to let us drive a small farm tractor with a box on the three point hitch hunting and fishing. Well, one of my cousins dad had bought him the most beautiful little 20ga SxS (in case you can't see it coming, this is why kids should have starter guns). He was sitting on the finder shooting doves off a gravel road, while I was moving on down the road driving that tractor. Then it happened, he broke that shotgun open and dropped the butt stock over the fender well into a tire lug. I remember it like yesterday, there was a dull punk sound. Then seeing that shotgun go spinning in super slow motion about 15 feet into the air then come crashing down into that gravel road and sliding along for about fifty feet! You can bet it was a long slow drive home! I still get a little sick thinking about it even now!

[cabezaverde]

This thread makes me feel so much better.

[lightman]

LOL! Yeah, me too. Got the back glass replaced yesterday. Waiting on an opening at the body shop to get the scratches in the paint touched up. Finally, I think, got all the glass step up. What a mess!

[KCSO]

I once made the mistake of parking behind my 89 year old dad. "Darn it kid you know better than to park behind me!" My buddy is a body man and he was looking for a new gun...he got it.

[frkelly74]

Day before yesterday I put two 16 foot 2X8 planks on our 8 foot trailer. I have done it lots of times, this time I had them tied down a little too far forward and it only took one too sharp a corner to pop the back glass on the minivan. The boy said " that's going to take a lot of duct tape to patch that up" . Now the opening is covered with a sheet of aluminum coil stock with screws all the way around. Very pretty and it makes such a nice thundering noise as you travel down the road.

[popper]

Do NOT turn left from the right lane of a one way street, on your first time to the city, just after getting your drivers license,in your Mom's bug. Yes I've vacuumed up a few GM windows from the driver's seat. Don't use a bumper jack to change a boat trailer tire.

[buckwheatpaul]

Once upon a time (2005) in a county far far away my wife bought a new car and drove it to work and some knucklehead opened a car door into my better-halves new car and scratched it....she came home and was complaining and after a while I went out to work and it involved a Ford tractor......needless to say I slapped her new car with the bucket on the tractor and did several $'s worth of damage......I went inside and told her and then she started laughing at my rants and what got me the most was: "All I was complaining about was a tiny little scratch!"
I have consistently added to that since that one incident.... but that is all that I am confessin' to!

[jsizemore]

I was admiring my new to me Benelli super90. The unloading procedure is different for them then all other autoloaders. Dropped the hammer on an empty chamber that wasn't. Killed the bottom window pane of the upper sash, storm window and wounded the meeting rail. Pasture was clear in front of the window but may of made some small birds and bunnies mess their drawers. I didn't replace the inside window pane. It's a great reminder of Benelli unloading procedure and keeps the smug look off my face. I haven't really noticed any ammo savings,yet.

As long as you don't do it again, you'll be fine.

[mold maker]

Why are other folks mistakes so much funnier than ours? I'm laughing, but I ain't telling that I broke both mirrors off my new dodge. Yes they were extended so i could better see to back out.

[buckwheatpaul]

This post should be under humor because like mold maker said....other peoples screw ups are just plain funny! Thanks for all the entertainment.....PAUL
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[Houndog]

Freightman,
If you never have anything worse than that happen you will have lived a blessed life!