The last several times someone has fixed popcorn in the office microwave, the circuit breaker has popped, taking down computers and throwing us into darkness.
My brother and I were working today and one of the girls poked her head into our office and asked, “Does the microwave only blow the power if you fix popcorn or can I fix something else?”
Stifling a laugh, I replied – somewhat sarcastically mind you – “Yes, it can tell the difference inside between popcorn and anything else.” She turned and walked away. That was that, I figured.
When she passed by our office on her way back to her desk, she saw us smiling at her. She continued where she left off on the first trip, adding an explanation, “Don’t laugh! I wasn’t sure if it made a difference with the popcorn popping inside the microwave and all that.”
Laughing openly this time, I told her, “Yeah, the popping of the corn sends vibrations through the microwave that go out the power cord causing an overload.”
I’m not sure which I noticed first, the lightbulb go on over her head, or the embarrassed look on her face. “Hey!” she said, “I was serious about the power question!”
More laughter from both my brother and me.
“And,” not that I thought it could go any further, she continued, “I thought you were serious when you told me the microwave knew the difference if it was popcorn!!!”
We were laughing so hard at this point, we couldn’t even duck. 😉
Editors note:
We love you R! (NAME WITHHELD TO PROTECT THE MICROWAVE CHALLENGED)
My brother’s version of the story is here. I agree. I’m glad we don’t sell microwaves…