When Monitors Attack: The Hilarious Tale of the Office 'Jack-in-the-Box'

Picture this: It’s a quiet afternoon in the IT department. You’re catching up on tickets, sipping coffee, and mentally preparing for the inevitable post-lunch slump. Suddenly, you open a returned monitor box and—WHAM!—the monitor springs out like a digital jack-in-the-box, nearly launching itself into orbit and giving you a near-heart attack. Welcome to the wild, unpredictable world of tech support.

That’s exactly what happened to Reddit user u/xTheatreTechie in their now-legendary "Monitor in the Box" story from r/TalesFromTechSupport. And honestly, it’s the kind of tale that proves truth is always stranger (and funnier) than fiction in the world of IT.

The Calm Before the Storm

Let’s set the stage: A beloved colleague is retiring. There’s a tinge of sadness, a sprinkle of nostalgia, and one last act of closure—returning all the remote work equipment. Our hero, the ever-diligent tech support pro, receives the gear neatly packed in the original boxes. So far, so good. Nothing out of the ordinary.

But as every IT veteran knows, the most unassuming situations often hide the most chaotic surprises.

The Explosive Reveal

Enter the Monitor Box. With the innocence of someone about to open a box of donuts, our protagonist opens the monitor box—only to have the whole thing "explode open," nearly launching the monitor off the table. In a scene worthy of a Looney Tunes cartoon, the monitor, powered by the compressed spring base, tries to make a daring escape, only to be caught at the last second.

What caused this literal leap of technology? Turns out, the retiring user, unsure of how to detach the monitor from its adjustable stand, decided to push it down to its lowest possible height. This compressed the spring mechanism with the kind of tension you’d expect in a slingshot. Then, thinking they’d done a perfectly reasonable job, they boxed it up and sent it back—unknowingly creating the world’s first office "Jack-in-the-Box."

When Tech Support Meets Slapstick

If you’ve ever worked in IT, you know that returning equipment can be a minefield of tangled cables, mystery stains, and missing dongles. But nothing quite prepares you for a surprise like this.

It’s easy to chuckle at the absurdity, but there’s an underlying lesson here about the gap between user expectations and the reality of hardware design. Manufacturers often design monitor stands with removable bases for easy transport. But unless you’ve done it before (or bothered to read the manual—who does that?), it’s not always obvious how things come apart. So, you improvise. Sometimes, that improvisation turns a mundane task into a slapstick comedy routine.

Laughing Through the Chaos

Instead of getting frustrated, our tech support hero did what every great IT pro does: found the humor in the mayhem. Rather than scolding the user, they shared the story and had a good laugh together—a fitting final memory before the user sailed off into retirement.

It’s moments like these that make tech support both maddening and magical. Sure, the job can be a grind of resetting passwords and fixing printer jams, but every now and then, you get a story you’ll be telling for years.

The Takeaway: Always Expect the Unexpected

So, what can we learn from this "Monitor in the Box" adventure?

Never underestimate the creative ways users will handle equipment.
Always open returned hardware with a healthy dose of caution (and maybe some safety goggles).
Remember: a little laughter goes a long way in building rapport and surviving the madness of tech support.
If you’re not sure how to disassemble something, it’s okay to ask! (Or, at least, warn your IT department that you’ve created a potential booby trap.)

Got a story that rivals the monitor jack-in-the-box? Ever had a mouse returned in a lunch bag, or a laptop shipped with a "protective" layer of socks? Share your funniest, weirdest, or most unbelievable tech support stories in the comments below. Because in the world of IT, the only thing more powerful than a spring-loaded monitor is a good laugh.

And remember: next time you open a box in the IT department, expect the unexpected. And maybe, just maybe, wear a helmet.

What’s your most unexpected tech support surprise? Drop it below—let’s keep the laughter rolling!

Original Reddit Post: Monitor in the Box