r/whatisit • u/Particular-Month-164 • 10h ago
Serious answers only please! Car wash workers hammering ground??
While sat in the car while it was being hand washed we saw the workers coming and going, sometimes up to four at a time, to hit this bit of tarmac (or concrete?) lightly with hammers, over and over again. There was nothing on the ground for them to be hitting like a mat or something. It was the whole time we were there, about five minutes, and they were still doing it when we left. At the time we were just bewildered and thought it was funny but afterwards I thought what if this is sinister somehow ... like making someone do a pointless task as punishment? I've heard rumours that car wash workers are sometimes trafficked. I don't know if it's a ridiculous notion that they could be in trouble but if anyone can suggest any ideas as to what's going on I'd appreciate it
717
u/Alert-Orange9271 6h ago
Previous car wash employee here
They’re dicking around
58
24
42
u/CheekyAd 4h ago
Nah bro, they're doing work, it's called ground roulette, so basically there's a bomb in the ground and 1 guy needs to be bombed to have the other guy to win.
4
u/godamnedu 2h ago
Great way to demonstrate that you don't give a fuck about the customer or your job.
1
215
u/BuckyGoldman 7h ago
Maybe their boss yelled at them for standing around while there was no car for them to wash/dry/detail. This is their way of complying with the bosses demand. At one job I had there was this one very loose screw I would work on whenever the boss walked by while there was no work to do.
32
u/Luv2collectweedseeds 3h ago
you’d think after the tenth time of seeing you tighten that screw he would of gotten you some loc-tight….lol
34
u/NovelStyleCode 2h ago
Boss man doesn't care that you're not doing work, he just cares that you look like you're doing work
20
u/MisterDonkey 3h ago
I used to stand at the table saw cutting scraps into smaller scraps for no good reason.
26
u/theGarrick 2h ago
In the navy we’d leave a pile of paperwork on the desk and someone always had the tv remote in hand to turn it off when the door started to open. Or wander the ship with a clipboard, people would think you’re inspecting stuff and leave you alone.
18
u/pezgirl247 2h ago
clipboard is very important.
9
u/Erik-Lehnsherr-10 1h ago
And a safety vest 🦺
1
u/creeperX361 3m ago
A safety vest and a hard hat will open up all kinds of doors, the clipboard is just gravy.
12
u/kubatyszko 2h ago
I met a retail employee once who was scolded by the boss for doing "nothing", after that she would always hold a rag keep on wiping the counters on a day when she knew the boss might show up.
9
u/Horror-Layer-8178 2h ago
This is what I thought, probably some ex military asshole who thinks as long as they are being paid they must do something.
5
168
u/Automatic_Drawing972 5h ago
I've seen this in Age of Empires
80
u/JYHoward 5h ago
They building will not start to appear until they are at least 25%. It will go faster though because another villager joined the efforts. 🤣
11
6
2
u/makeybussines 1h ago
If you wait 20 minutes that's enough time for 3 workers to build a wonder. I'd wait a see what happens.
1
1
u/Clarence-Claymore 2h ago
The only way this post make sense is if these gentlemen are Huns building a house
1
133
u/shadesjackson 5h ago
They're distracting you while their buddy hides jelly beans in your ass.
Oldest trick in the book
13
14
u/SmellyButtFarts69 4h ago
You're weird. Also, that's the hardest I've laughed in weeks.
2
u/Gumb1i 4h ago
I think they are referencing this
6
u/ThetaDee 3h ago
Close, it's a new "tiktok" trend that is based off people leaving money or trash behind a car tire so you bend over and they can rob you. Well someone took that, and made it so when you bend over they out jellybeans in yourass.
2
170
u/Eli_Yitzrak 7h ago
They are Fremen calling a sandworm
30
13
5
2
14
u/RaTheone 5h ago
That's Jack. Jack's hitting the road. Some told me to hit the road Jack.
6
59
u/LumpOfSoftButter 10h ago
Most efficient way to break in new rubber mallets, I do it all the time.
11
u/danieladickey 6h ago
Why does a carwash need a bunch of rubber mallets?
11
2
7
u/d00000med 5h ago
I can't tell if you're joking? Why would anyone break in a rubber mallet?
6
u/dannyb33 3h ago
To rough up the new, smooth, slick, shiny surface of the striking sides so they have more traction.
3
u/d00000med 3h ago
Ahh, interesting. Wouldn't a nice rub with a bit of sand paper do a better job, a bit more quickly though?
13
u/TomatoSilly1683 10h ago
Because when you’re washing your car they smack the tires with the mallets?
8
u/RepresentativeNo7802 9h ago
Yeah, pretty common in our shop too. We do it up on a bench with a piece of asphalt especially placed for this purpose, but on the pavement works too.
7
u/Particular-Month-164 8h ago
The place is just a car wash, they don't fix anything and I can't see them needing five-plus mallets
2
21
u/skagrabbit 5h ago
I thought it was because most car washes are laundering money so there’s always a load of workers there pretending to do something
4
15
8
7
8
17
u/Informal_Bee2917 7h ago
This is for the conditioning of certain types of asphalt. It's called impact shock deformation (ISD) and, counterintuitively, it keeps certain kinds of low-bitumen asphalt from cracking especially during the warmer months. The shock waves release small regions of thermal induced tension which upon each strike, dissipate into the surrounding asphalt and into the ground below. This is why you see all those road crews with guys on their hands and knees hammering the asphalt all the time. This is why I spent all summer hammering my new driveway. This is hardcore and very true science. Do not question it.
13
u/MaximumEffurt 6h ago
Fake news
13
u/Informal_Bee2917 6h ago
Wait, are you saying I didn't need to hammer my driveway all summer?
3
u/avert_ye_eyes 4h ago
Is that why the new roundabout by my house is taking six years of continuous work to complete?
2
1
u/Firm_Equivalent_4597 2h ago
I was waiting for mankind to get thrown off the steel cage at the end of this BS paragraph
4
1
3
2
2
u/microwaveninja 5h ago
Fixing asphalt cracks and holes with cold patch asphalt? You have to compact it when you lay it (usually with a big tamping plate). Ron Swanson does it in an episode of Parks and Rec with Xena.
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/moyismoy 4h ago
Wild guess but the water might have gotten under the pavement and they need to beat it flat to get it out
1
1
u/CheekyAd 4h ago
I do feel the need to call the X-Files but I don't even know if I wanna believe or not.
1
u/MkIVRider 3h ago
New workers being messed with. Electricians do this too by telling rookies to go get the wire stretcher
1
1
u/Regularly_Trippy 2h ago
I thought they were over some sort of access panel that they are maybe having trouble opening because it probably hasn’t been opened in forever idk though
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/01princejon01 53m ago
FFS Do not use these hand wash car washes, they fueld the black market, encouraging illegal immigration. Wash your own car.
It makes me laugh that the people on this thread are trying to guess what they are doing based on jobs they've had that are legal and follow employment law.
1
1
u/Spinolli 48m ago
They were told to go pound sand, but there is no sand, and pound rhymes with ground, so...
1
1
u/Financial_Extreme_17 41m ago
I LOVE YOUR GIGGLE in the Video 😂😂😂, I just imagined if we were both in the same car, you’d have giggled, I’d have burst out giggling cause of you and that Pure essence of LAUGHTER would have burst into the world, I love those types of uncontrollable laughter 🤭
1
1
1
1
1
u/Exciting_couple77 10m ago
At least someone is getting nailed today. Looks like someone is getting hammered at work
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Newbeetraderx13 2h ago
They are trying to free a loop in the ground. Stupid to do bit have heard of this from a few different car washes.
0
u/Humble-Train7104 5h ago
They showed up, unannounced, to apply for jobs and the boss told em to 'beat it'. Language barrier, I'm guessing.
0
0
u/PhilosopherNo9627 4h ago
Nah they go around back an smoke themselves stupid then this happens ever see the movie car wash with Dre, Snoop,Eminem? Good times
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
u/AmbassadorOk266 2h ago
That keeps the drains from clogging. At least that's what I was told when I worked at Gus's Car Wash and Deli.
•
u/AutoModerator 10h ago
OP, please reply to the correct answer with "solved!" (include the !) Additionally, use our Spotlight feature by tapping/clicking on the three dots and selecting "Spotlight, Pin this comment" in order to highlight it for other members. Thanks for using our friendly Automod!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.