Quora Question: What is the craziest office scandal that happened at your job?

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From Quora What is the craziest office scandal that happened at your job?

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Back in 1983 or so, I worked at the Davis–Besse Nuclear Power Station (DB), which is located in an unincorporated plot of land on the picturesque shore of Lake Erie near Oak Harbor, Ohio. I worked as a programmer/analyst in the MOVATS (Motor-Operated Valve Analysis and Test System) department.

At the time, DB was going through a refueling outage, so no megawatts were being made. During this refueling outage I estimate that around half of the people employed there were scum-sucking contractors (SSCs), the outage was already three months or more behind schedule, and all departments on critical path were working 24/7/365. They didn't close for Christmas or Thanksgiving. The direct employees didn't have to work, but the contractors did. I think it's worth noting that the contractors got paid by the hour, and the bottom end wage was $50.00 per hour for an engineer. That translates into $160.00 per hour in 2025 dollars, which shakes out to $9,600 per week. Big bucks!

The staff was so large at DB that the administration building couldn't hold all the workers, so management, in its infinite wisdom, parked a line of single wide house trailers next to the administration building and divided them into cubicles. This was prime real estate, as the trailers had their own heating and air conditioning, and were quiet.

Security is a big deal at nuclear power plants, and DB was no exception. They had armed guards all over the place, most of whom were complete assholes; jack booted thugs (JBTs). They carried S&W revolvers, and as a result during morning inspection one chili slurping Caliban killed a filing cabinet. Each JBT was supposed to unload his pistol and dry fire it twice. So... you figure it out.

Some of the JBTs were women, as in female. Out of these, a few were not bad looking, and young, and so worked the third shift.  Eleven to seven. A smallish staff of SSCs was also on third shift, and all these SSCs were from out of town. Lynchburg, Virginia mostly, because of the Naval base there, which is where a man could get nuclear experience - nuclear powered ships and subs and UFOs.

Peanut Gallery: Is there a point to all this?

Mad Jack: Button up.

Wellsir, what with out of town men who hadn't seen their wives or sweethearts in some time, but who had a nice size wad of the old long green, and the female JBTs who were working nights and not getting much pay, one of the girls had a bright idea. What if, just hypothetically you know, what if the girls and guys got together in a trailer for a little party?

The DB whorehouse lasted for months. No one knows for sure how long things were going on, but money was being exchanged and fun was being had, and productivity slowed a bit. One thing you could say is that morale went up.

But all good things must come to an end, and so when I reported to work one morning there was a certain amount of tension and laughter in the air. I can't remember who told me the story, but I verified it twice, and that, as they say, was that. No more DB Ranch.

I gather the ending was a bit spectacular, as it involved some JBT walking in on a couple making the beast with two backs, which is definitely against regulations. Or if it isn't, it should be.

Thanks for reading.