Silently Rigged Against You

(My mother lives in Norway. She’s visited us in Britain for a few days, after which I go back to Norway with her. Not long after we arrive, my mom needs to go to the bank. As we approach, I notice a lot of people are standing still. Inside, it’s eerily silent. But we shrug it off and approach the counter.)

Mum: “Hello.”

Teller: *looks at her, startled*

Mum: “I need to sort out–“

(The teller glares at her and turns away. My mum tries the others, but they quickly back off without saying anything.)

Mum: “That’s rude.”

Me: “Hold on. There’s a manager here. Excuse me. None of your staff will—”

Manager: “SHUSH!”

(Seconds later, everyone started talking again. It turned out that a Norwegian oil rig had turned over, killing most of the crew, and the country had decided to hold a minute’s silence. Being out of the country, we hadn’t heard about it.)