MYSTERIOUS: Catching work food thief - What They Never Told You

Many people enjoy extreme sports – the adrenaline rush, the threat of danger, and the nerves throbbing. Some go to the mountains for this thrill, others are obsessed with racing and whatnot, and some folks seek their adrenaline rush by stealing food from their colleagues.

No, you’re probably laughing in vain, and I’ll try to dissuade you with this story. At least our narrator spent two years hunting down an office food thief, which was also a kind of extreme hobby for her. However, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

More info: Reddit

Different people have different ways to get a kind of adrenaline rush, from mountains and racing tracks to office refrigerators

Image credits: Drazen Zigic / Magnific (not the actual photo)

The author of the post once realized that one of her coworkers was stealing her food

Image credits: ArthurHidden / Magnific (not the actual photo)

The woman had some suspicions but no real facts, so she asked online for ideas on how to catch the thief

Image credits: karlyukav / Magnific (not the actual photo)

Someone advised the woman to use a special invisible dye that becomes fluorescent on people’s hands, and she agreed with this idea

Image credits: therealunsinnlos

So, within a few days, the thief was caught red-handed, and she actually admitted that it had become a special kind of dependence for her

So, the original poster (OP) works in an office where a lunch thief appeared two years ago, and our heroine was usually the one who suffered most from their actions. Perhaps she cooked better than her colleagues, or perhaps the thief simply enjoyed her food… but that’s little consolation, you see, when you go to the fridge, open your lunchbox, and it’s empty!

No, of course, the woman had certain suspicions, but in a legal society, any suspicions must be based on facts. But the OP didn’t have any facts. It even got to the point where she turned to netizens asking for ideas on how to catch the thief. However, the author had previously asked that options involving something like a powerful laxative be excluded. After all, she wanted to catch the thief, not have them hospitalized!

One commenter sensibly recommended a special invisible dye that becomes fluorescent when it comes into contact with human skin and is almost impossible to wash off with water. This kind of dye is used, for example, in banks to deter thieves and counterfeiters. Well, the author really liked the idea and ordered a pack of it online.

And the thief was caught! Upon returning to the fridge after lunch, the OP found that her lunchbox, which had been dyed, was empty. Apparently, the unknown free food lover had even eaten the cat hair, which the vengeful author had mixed into her food. Then she noticed blue fluorescent spots appearing on one of her colleagues’ hands – and immediately rushed to HR. A pursuit that had lasted for 2 long years was finally over!

Image credits: Freepik / Magnific (not the actual photo)

“Why do people steal food from the office refrigerator? There are many reasons, and one of them is that some simply enjoy the process itself, wanting to add a sense of danger to the office routine, when you can be caught at any moment,” says Irina Matveeva, a psychologist and certified NLP specialist, whom Bored Panda asked for a comment here.

According to the expert, adrenaline dependence in people can sometimes be almost as severe as dependence to other bad habits and substances. It’s just that when a person manages to evade capture time and again, a kind of euphoria emerges, a feeling of omnipotence that few feelings in our everyday lives can truly compare to.

“These regular adrenaline rushes cause a kind of dependence, which even the strongest willpower sometimes can’t overwhelm. In such cases, sometimes not only therapy is needed, but also regular psychiatric treatment, and the person’s sincere desire to overcome it, too,” notes Irina Matveeva.

Incidentally, in an update to the original post, the author shared that the colleague admitted she could’ve cooked her own meals, but fell into the trap of dependence when the sense of danger around the office fridge gave her that indescribable chill down her spine, something difficult to achieve in today’s measured, calm world.

The OP reports that her sincere remorse forced the higher-ups to simply transfer her to another department. There, however, she was warned that another similar incident at her new place would result in her being fired on the spot. Well, the woman was also offered therapy, and she promised to consider it. So what do you, our dear readers, think about this story and the reasons why it happened?

Many commenters praised the author for being so inventive and shared their own stories of catching office lunch thieves, too

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