The Opposite Of Light Bulb Moments

I briefly worked at an escape room, but I often tell people that job significantly lowered my faith in the average person’s critical thinking abilities. I’m not talking about being able to solve puzzles, either.

In one of the rooms, there was a lamp. The lamp was part of a puzzle (if you held several different pieces of paper together in the correct order up to the light, you’d get the code to a lock), and in the opening spiel to going into this particular room we’d tell people that they were welcome to turn any lights on and off, but please don’t unscrew the lightbulbs because we don’t want any broken glass, someone getting electrocuted, etc.

Picture this: me, barely five minutes after giving a group the rules and getting them into the game in a back office, wearing a headset and watching the group in the room over the monitors. Four of five people are huddled around the first clue. The fifth? Goes straight for the lamp, takes the lampshade off, and goes for the lightbulb.

Me: *Over the speaker system.* “Quick reminder, please don’t unscrew any lightbulbs! No puzzle will require you to do so.”

Dude: “Okay!”

Five minutes later, the same guy goes to unscrew the lightbulb again.

Me: “Again, for safety reasons, please don’t unscrew the lightbulbs. No puzzle will require a lightbulb to be unscrewed.”

Dude: “Yeah, sorry!”

Guess what he does again, ten minutes later.

Me: “Do not unscrew the lightbulbs. If we have to warn you again, we are going to have to stop the experience due to safety protocol being ignored.”

Different Player: “[Dude’s Name], sit the f*** down before you get us kicked out.”

Dude: *Backs up with his hands in the air.*

Dude doesn’t mess with the lightbulbs again, but as they’re walking out, he looks at me and goes:

Dude: “Sorry about the lightbulb thing, I thought you were telling us not to unscrew them as a red herring!”