Work fridges — anyone who has ever been employed at an office has dealt with them before. But that doesn’t mean that people know how to handle work fridge etiquette. Even though you’d assume that everyone would be well-aware of the rules (such as, only eat what you bring), chaos still happens daily.
In fact, next time you think about taking food that isn’t yours, remember this story that unfolded in 2018. A man actually asked the upper management to see the security footage tape when his lunch mysteriously disappeared. (Pro tip: Cameras can be placed all over an office, so it’s quite possible that you may get caught red-handed if you have a coworker as ruthless as this.) The man’s reaction is pretty relatable too, since stealing lunch is almost like stealing money. You paid for the food you brought in. Obviously, you have a right to eat it.
The victim’s coworker, Zak Toscani, chronicled the entire incident on Twitter. And even though Toscani also works as a stand-up comedian, he probably didn’t know his first tweet about the theft would blow up the way it did. Still, though, he did the world a favor and made sure everyone stayed informed.
Here’s what happened when they all had to deal with a stolen lunch.
1. Toscani admitted that his office didn’t usually have a lot of drama.
So this stolen lunch situation was actually one of the most exciting things that happened at work.
It’s probably because stealing a coworker’s lunch is such a petty offense that it’s bound to change someone’s entire opinion about the perpetrator.
You’d have to question their common sense.
Who is the person who thinks it’s okay to rifle through food that doesn’t belong to them? What if they messed around and ate the boss’s lunch? They might face some serious consequences.
2. The lunch in question wasn’t smelly or old.
But office-dwellers do have to deal with expired food.
For example, shrimp fried rice, if left on its own for some time, may give off a bit of a smell.
Since another unspoken office rule is “Don’t stink up the kitchen,” Toscani was able to rule out one theory.
It’s obvious that no one simply threw out the employee’s food because it lingered in the fridge for a few days too long.
3. They spotted the culprit easily enough.
But unfortunately, she left for the day.
That means that the drama had to continue until she returned. Who knows if she’d even have remembered the lunch by then?
But, there was another strange part of this story.
The employee didn’t eat the lunch. She just randomly threw it out without even really investigating it. Why?
4. The rice was only in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
So, she didn’t have a lot of time to do the crime.
Toscani’s coworker didn’t even get the chance to try the dish. It wasn’t like these were leftovers getting a second chance at life during his next workday.
The man got the food to eat it that same day.
Knowing that, it’s very kind that he chose not to push matters further.
5. The next day, the company’s Human Resources team had announcements.
They sent an email warning any other potential lunch thieves.
Even though, honestly, adult employees should know better. Around this time, everyone in the office had heard about what happened.
That means the woman who trashed the meal had all eyes on her that morning.
And she didn’t even know. Toscani watched the perpetrator closely as she opened her email. He was quite surprised by her reaction. Indeed, she didn’t look even a tiny bit guilty.
6. Instead, she seemed surprised that a lunch was stolen.
According to Toscani, the employee covered it up well.
Well, sort of. She loudly proclaimed that she couldn’t believe someone would actually do that.
But everyone knew what she did.
She was guilty of the crime in question. Sure, she didn’t eat the food. But spontaneously throwing away a fresh lunch that isn’t yours is still bad.
7. Then, the woman confessed.
Well, sort of.
After being accused, the woman gave a puzzling response. When the man who lost his lunch referenced the situation, the perpetrator acted completely nonchalant.
And we don’t approve.
In fact, she couldn’t seem to understand why the man went to HR. The severity of the crime really went over her head.
8. And she didn’t explain her actions.
Instead, she just called the victim a tattletale.
She also didn’t seem to know that she was at the center of office gossip. No matter what, that small yet questionable act portrayed her negatively.
How could you blame her coworkers for no longer trusting her?
Did she have something personal against her coworker? Did she just really hate shrimp fried rice? The woman did not explain.
9. Toscani tried to dig a little deeper.
He decided to grab some shrimp fried rice for himself, the criminal, and the victim.
It could have been as a way to test whether or not the woman had a shrimp allergy or anything against the product she was tossing out.
Neither party knew what Toscani was up to at the time, though.
Weirdly enough, the woman didn’t even seem aware that she was given a serving of the same kind of food she threw away. She proceeded to chow down indiscriminately.
10. And she had no idea Toscani was live-tweeting this ordeal to the world.
That, or perhaps she was too embarrassed to talk about it.
No matter what, this woman’s the poster child of what not to do at work. The only time it’s okay to take someone’s lunch is if it’s completely by accident.
And even then, there are caveats.
One should return the food as soon as possible with an apology. Sometimes mix-ups happen. But that poor shrimp fried rice never even had a chance.
11. Toscani’s tweets made others open up about their own at-work lunch crimes.
Then get ready for this: my food also once disappeared FROM THE MICROWAVE. I went back to my desk to get a fork & the food disappeared. Not in the trash, not on the counter, just vanished.
— Sophie Vershbow (@svershbow) March 30, 2018
In conclusion: People are monsters
Some are just straight-up disturbing.
The person who went so far as to steal a lunch from the microwave is probably the worst. Obviously, the food was already claimed and prepped.
In fact, the thief may have even watched their coworker nuke the food to begin with.
Plus, the person who brought the food was likely just around the corner, waiting to retrieve it. This is the type of move for a jerk who lives on the wild side.
12. Some people revealed quite disturbing revenge methods.
These incidents happen so often that obviously, people feel the need to get creative.
And some of the retribution acts border on cruel. No matter how much you want to out the lunch thief at the office, setting a mousetrap on them might be dangerous.
We don’t know if this person broke any rules.
But we certainly wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of a mousetrap, even if we did steal a lunch.
13. People weren’t all that satisfied with this story’s ending.
Why did she do it? #shrimpgate
— Catherine McGowan (@faithsreward) April 3, 2018
It had nothing to do with Toscani’s story-telling, though.
Instead, people felt cheated because they never got a clear answer about the woman’s motive. Was she being a jerk?
Did her brain just blank?
Maybe she forgot what she was doing? That could be the case. Alternatively, maybe she mistook her coworker’s takeout for her own.
14. Other people imagined the two coworkers were involved in some sort of romance.
Any chance the coworkers in question are secret lovers? 🤔
— Blair Broussard (@BlairAB) April 7, 2018
Maybe they were dating, and he cheated.
There has to be a reason why the victim didn’t want to push the issue further. Sure, it would feel horrible to cost some their job.
No one wants that.
But there has to be some sort of connection to her carefree attitude.
15. In spite of everything, a lot of people wanted shrimp fried rice after the whole debacle.
My mom and I were inspired by your tale for dinner tonight! pic.twitter.com/fboQGyGhWt
— Tom Morrisey (@SpartanTom) March 31, 2018
It’s hard not to have a craving after this story.
One just hopes they don’t end up like Toscani’s poor coworker. And next time you witness someone face a work lunch scandal like this, be a pal.
Consider taking them out for lunch as a cheerful pick-me-up.
And, maybe push that coworker to seek out the security footage. Justice must be had.
