The Badge That Lost Its Magnetism: Office Petty Revenge Served Cold (and During Lunch)
Ever had a coworker who just knew how to push your buttons—and then vanished for lunch, leaving you to hold the fort? Imagine if you could serve up some deliciously petty revenge, cold and calculated, with just a touch of office mischief. That’s exactly what happened in this legendary story from r/PettyRevenge, where one employee decided to fight back against a serial lunch-dodger—not with confrontation, but with a magnet.
In this tale, the villain isn’t an evil boss or corporate overlord, but a badge… and an even bigger badge-holder who just couldn’t learn his lesson.
When Petty Revenge Is Magnetic
It started, as so many office wars do, with an “asshat coworker” (as the original poster, u/RRtexian, lovingly dubbed him) who perfected the art of cutting out for an early lunch whenever things got hectic. The result? Our hero was left clocking hours with a grumbling stomach, all thanks to this slippery saboteur.
That’s when fate—or perhaps just poor badge etiquette—delivered an opportunity. The lunch-ditcher’s Kronos magnetic badge, key to clocking in and out, was left unattended atop the break room fridge. Right next to it: a magnetic calendar. You can almost hear the theme from Mission: Impossible.
With a flash of inspiration (and maybe a little hunger-induced spite), u/RRtexian grabbed the coworker’s badge and gave it a thorough rubdown with the fridge magnet. The result? The badge’s data was wiped clean, sending the coworker on a wild goose chase to HR for a new one—during his precious lunch break. And because some office villains never learn, he did it again... and again. Three times, to be precise, before the message finally got through: Don’t leave your badge where a hungry coworker might get creative.
Magnetic Mishaps: More Common Than You Think
What makes this story so relatable—and hilarious—is how it taps into a universal truth: Office technology is only as good as the humans wielding (or mishandling) it. The Reddit community, as always, jumped in with stories that prove magnetic mischief is practically an office rite of passage.
One top commenter, u/88KURIOUS, shared a classic floppy disk fumble: a coworker who meticulously stored her disks on a metal cabinet… right next to a giant magnet. Each morning, her files had vanished, scrubbed clean by sheer magnetic ignorance. As u/Bawkalor noted, “This story has been around since at least the time of 8" floppy disks,” and it’s still as funny as ever—unless you were the one losing your files, of course.
The thread quickly devolved into a greatest-hits of office tech errors, with references to PEBKAC (“Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair”), PICNIC (“Problem In Chair Not In Computer”), and the notorious ID10T error (pronounced “eye dee ten tee”—go ahead, write it down). One user, u/Stormy8888, joked about the “stunning ignoramus magnet disk wipe title,” while u/FrostyMudPuppy brought up the infamous “cupholder” support call, where a user mistook their CD tray for a coffee accessory. As one commenter brilliantly put it: “It's a miracle so many people have pants on when they show up to work.”
Even acts of badge sabotage weren’t unique to this office. u/Agitated_Basket7778 revealed that a “devious tech” at their workplace would randomly erase coworkers’ time clock cards with a hard drive magnet, driving their supervisor to eventually scrap the whole system and return to good old-fashioned paper. “Magnet mischief,” as u/delulu4drama called it, is apparently a time-honored tradition.
Lessons in Lunch, Laughter, and Low-Voltage Vengeance
If you’re thinking the lunch-ditcher was a slow learner for leaving his badge out three times, you’re not alone. As u/TheGypsyThread observed: “You'd think after the first time he wouldn't leave his badge unattended...” But in the world of office politics, some lessons take a few repeat performances to really stick.
Not all commenters were satisfied with the level of pettiness, though. u/National_Pension_110 confessed, “You’re a better person than me—I would have thrown the badge in the garbage disposal.” (To which u/Pristine_Egg3831 replied, “Now I understand why garbage disposals break...”)
And then there’s the creativity of badge-related pranks: u/naked_nomad admitted to microwaving a coworker’s badge, while u/xboxgamer2122 recounted convincing a temp to photocopy her own backside to “get access.” (Don’t worry, she kept her trousers on. HR was not amused.)
Amidst all the laughter, some commenters pointed out the importance of patience and empathy for the less tech-savvy. As u/88KURIOUS wisely shared, “One of the reasons I’m actually patient with help desk… because of real stories like these.” We’ve all been the newbie (or the hungry, overworked coworker) at some point.
The Takeaway: Don’t Skip Lunch… or Leave Your Badge Unattended
So what’s the moral of this magnetic misadventure? Sometimes, petty revenge is the only way to restore workplace balance—especially when it’s served up with a side of humor and just the right amount of inconvenience.
But maybe, just maybe, the real lesson is to treat your coworkers (and their lunch breaks) with a little more respect… unless you want your badge wiped, your files vanished, or your “cupholder” support tickets immortalized in Reddit lore.
Have you ever plotted (or suffered) a petty act of office revenge? Is there a legendary tech blunder in your workplace history? Drop your own stories in the comments below—after all, sharing our collective office mishaps is the best way to keep lunch breaks, and laughter, on the menu.
And if you ever see a badge on the fridge… maybe just leave it alone. Or not.
Original Reddit Post: Make me miss lunch?..