Your most embarrassing technological mishap

Sakana

Recently, I accidentally sent my brother's girlfriend a really, really filthy message on Facebook. I text her a fair bit as we're friends, and she has the same first name and similar surname to a woman I was sexting regularly. Apologies were made and smirks smirked when I've run into her when out for a walk (they live close by), and I'm 100% certain my brother knows but has been gracious enough not to bring it up.

I now change the chat colour of any sexy FB chats I may have, so as to prevent this happening again.

Have you ever had a really embarrassing technological mishap?

biko

I became an internet forum moderator.

Insect Overlord

I spilt half a glass of porter over my laptop, if that counts for anything.

Hyperbollix

I gave my mother my old smartphone so she could use it for whatsapp voice calls at home on WIFI.

I never thought to reset the phone after removing my SIM card and totally forgot about Google account syncing across devices.... when she did a search for the "BBC" website on Chrome, she got a bit more news than she was bargaining for.

Quantum Erasure

Sakana

Hyperbollix wrote: »

I gave my mother my old smartphone so she could use it for whatsapp voice calls at home on WIFI.

I never thought to reset the phone after removing my SIM card and totally forgot about Google account syncing across devices.... when she did a search for the "BBC" website on Chrome, she got a bit more news than she was bargaining for.

Something similar happened when my dad asked me to log on to his e-mail for him on my laptop. It was taking forever to get in and I was wondering if the internet was down, so I opened bbc.com in another tab (it's always been my go-to internet down/up-checking website), and you know exactly what came up in the address bar.

"Oh, no. That's porn," I said stupidly, but I don't think he understands about browser history stuff.

At least I hope he doesn't.

Capt'n Midnight

Accidentally sent a naked picture of myself to everyone in my address book.

Cost me a fortune in stamps.

Church on Tuesday

Sending an I love you text to my exes mother by mistake.

More amusing given the fact that we, essentially, had no time for each other.

Ubbquittious

Soldered a connector onto a cable without putting the plastic cover on first

EmmetSpiceland

When I was little and had no sense,
I took a whiz on an electric fence,
It hurt so bad, it shocked my balls,
Then I took a crap in my overalls!

NickNickleby

Sometimes, an electrical fault can cause a smell like rotten fish. One time we started to notice a smell of rotten fish in the kitchen, and eventually discovered the washing machine plug had burned itself into the socket - but was still working. I only discovered this because I was going to remove the washing machine and check the drainage.

Roll on a couple of years, and the smell is back. Pulled out the washing machine, but all was well there. So decided to remove the adjoining larder unit to check the wiring behind it. Took the front off the front of the cabinet, then started dismantling the shelves, working down from the top. Emptied each shelf as I went. So with about four shelves emptied and removed, I start emptying the bottom shelf only to find a punctured tin of sardines.

Ok, ok, the technological connection is tenuous, but how we laughed.


ahhhh, just remembered something How did I know about the rotten fish thing? Our box room was the baby's room many years ago. I noticed a strange rotting smell in there and tried everything to track it down. what made it difficult was the transient nature of the smell, and I never noticed the pattern that would have solved it for me before I:
took down and washed the curtains
changed all bedding and cleaned mattress with disinfectant
Washed carpet with VAX machine
Replaced carpet.

Sister in law says "did you check your light fitting", aha that's why we only notice the smell in the evenings :(:(

Had put a 100w bulb in a 60w fitting, and after a while it would overheat and give off the smell.

Sakana

NickNickleby wrote: »

Sometimes, an electrical fault can cause a smell like rotten fish. One time we started to notice a smell of rotten fish in the kitchen, and eventually discovered the washing machine plug had burned itself into the socket - but was still working. I only discovered this because I was going to remove the washing machine and check the drainage.

Roll on a couple of years, and the smell is back. Pulled out the washing machine, but all was well there. So decided to remove the adjoining larder unit to check the wiring behind it. Took the front off the front of the cabinet, then started dismantling the shelves, working down from the top. Emptied each shelf as I went. So with about four shelves emptied and removed, I start emptying the bottom shelf only to find a punctured tin of sardines.

Ok, ok, the technological connection is tenuous, but how we laughed.


ahhhh, just remembered something How did I know about the rotten fish thing? Our box room was the baby's room many years ago. I noticed a strange rotting smell in there and tried everything to track it down. what made it difficult was the transient nature of the smell, and I never noticed the pattern that would have solved it for me before I:
took down and washed the curtains
changed all bedding and cleaned mattress with disinfectant
Washed carpet with VAX machine
Replaced carpet.

Sister in law says "did you check your light fitting", aha that's why we only notice the smell in the evenings :(:(

Had put a 100w bulb in a 60w fitting, and after a while it would overheat and give off the smell.

The blessed domestic mysteries!

Plasandrunt

.

JustAThought

I once sent an email to the entire company instead of the department, cc’d
myself and asked for read message
reply. It sent out to 30,000 globally - brought down the servers. In the furrore and in panic I then later sent out a grovelling apology using the same method - brought down the server again - this was as about 60’000 read replies and cc’s kept bouncing back and bewildered people asking why the original was about & declining to come to the client meeting .
This was back in the day when it took about a day to fix. It was such a horrorstory act of total ignorance and grovelling stupidity they didn’t fire me.

keano_afc

I work for a Swiss multinational and I deal with German brokers a lot.

I usually finish my mails with "please contact me if you require further information", but rather embarrassingly sent an email to a German broker with the typo "please contact me if you require fuhrer information".

He didnt get back to me, surprisingly enough.

Sky King

Wrote 'kind regards' at the end of a mail to a customer, except I spelled 'regards' wrong (the T is very close to the G on the keyboard :eek: )

Mr. CooL ICE

I've been building and fixing computers since I was 14. Got a computer engineering degree. Worked across some technical support roles before transitioning into software development 7 years ago. I set up my house is fitted with an array of smart devices that has automated a handful of day to day tasks.

I'm no genius but it's fair to say, I'm no stranger to technology.

That said, in my last houseshare, I never figured out how to use the microwave. All I could do was turn it on, set a timer on my phone and then manually turn it off when the phone timer went off. For 5 years. And I was too embarrassed to ask my housemates.

My first job as an accounts exec, a little vague on how to use the CRM system, I was intending on sending an invoice to a single customer, instead, I sent the invoice to the whole database of over 16k customers.. they all got printed, put into envelopes (not by me), and posted out before I realised my mistake. Didn't help the original invoice was incorrect too.

Which meant 16k apologies and retractions of the invoice, all of which needed to be printed, put into envelopes (not by me), and posted. Thankfully, the delivery group were in a different building.

Not mine so much but very embarrassing.

I worked for a chap years ago, when iPhone was very fist on the market and he upgraded to the iPhone 4 something he gave me his older iPhone 4. He was once of those everytime an upgrade came out he needed it types.

He obviously never thought to delete any of the messages or pics or screen shots.

I had it all of an hour and was trying to save a picture to the camera roll, as it was my own first smartphone.

Cue a lot of pictures and what I can only think of as saved messages from his wife, it very imaginative poses. He travelled a bit for work so must have been their thing.

The worst thing was I had to give back the phone to let him know, as I didn't actually know how to delete them.

CoBo55

Insect Overlord wrote: »

I spilt half a glass of porter over my laptop, if that counts for anything.

I hope it wasn't that Murphy slop..

Insect Overlord

CoBo55 wrote: »

I hope it wasn't that Murphy slop..

I think it was Kinnegar, but it's been a few years.

Sakana

I had to be shown how to use it. "Stick it in the microwave" meant nothing to me. At what effing setting, like?!

Signore Fancy Pants

Sent a dick pick to my aul lad. I was mortified because I was meant to send it to my aul one.

Ash.J.Williams

Sky King wrote: »

Wrote 'kind regards' at the end of a mail to a customer, except I spelled 'regards' wrong (the T is very close to the G on the keyboard :eek: )

my boss did it to the whole company
retards
sean

JustAThought

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

my boss did it to the whole company
retards
sean

Maybe he meant it!!!!!!

JustAThought

Bought a house and a selling point was security - alarm wired in, fancy window security systems etc - big deal was made of the front door which I was told when you shut it and pushed up the handle sent steel bolts across into the frame and it’d take a bulldozer to knock it in. Great says I - sorted. First few years went well - no issues - always pulled the handle up and bolts went across, me all happy and secure, burglars out.

One day my cousin walked into the kitchen - i nearly gad a heart attack - how’d you get in? I walked in says he - door was unlocked.

nobody ever told me you had to lock the door as well or anyone could just walk in off the street!!!

leason learned! security & technology is only as good as the idiot that operates it!!!

Straylight

Back in the early days of e-mail in work when you could send all sorts of things with impunity, I forwarded a particularly scruffy joke to my mate who sat opposite me. About 3 seconds later I realised that I'd actually sent it to the CEO, who had the same surname. Fortunately he had a pretty filthy sense of humour and saw the funny side of it.

CoBo55

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

my boss did it to the whole company
retards
sean

Cracker:D

stoneill

I once put a square peg in a round hole, oh how we laughed.