Imagine a world without any rules. It’s pretty hard to do, right? It’s possible that human beings as a species simply can’t exist without hierarchies and structure and deciding how long one’s lunch break should be. Civilization as a whole wouldn’t exist without ideas and behaviors we can all agree on.
However, some rules seem unjust, unfair, and all-around oppressive. That’s why folks try to bend them without breaking them, and Bored Panda has collected the most clever and creative ways how people beat the system by following the rules to the letter. It’s some truly amazing inspiration for all of you Pandas who might feel too restricted, whether it’s at work or elsewhere. And it’s rock-solid proof that you don’t necessarily need to resort to anarchy to beat the system at its own game.
Remember to upvote your fave pics as you scroll down, and be sure to drop by the comment section to share your own stories about how you worked around unfair rules. Oh, and in case you need some more examples of how the rules are powerless against the human imagination, check out Bored Panda’s earlier two articles about it right here and over here.
Suzanne Degges-White, Licensed Counselor, Professor, and Chair at the Department of Counseling and Higher Education at Northern Illinois University, shared her insights about the importance of rules and structure in life with Bored Panda.
“While novelty is always enticing, for the most part, humans need structure and routine— especially as young kids and then mature adults. Structure gives us security and even though we may fight against it, we feel safe knowing that rules exist that keep us (and others) in bounds,” she explained to us.
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According to Professor Degges-White, we might feel the urge to rebel when we become teenagers. However, this doesn’t change the fact that rules, as a whole, are vital to have.
“During adolescence, the urge to challenge parents takes hold, but without rules/expectations, we would feel adrift. While some of us will always try to bend the rules, break the rules, or challenge the rules, there is comfort in knowing that large-scale chaos isn't going to happen due to the rules that we may be fighting against,” she told Bored Panda.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that everyone has a different level of tolerance for following the rules. Some might embrace them to the fullest and have a difficult time living outside their routines. Meanwhile, others rebel against any and all rules (sometimes to the point of absurdity).
Old Lady At The Bank
My gran is reading over my shoulder and just said ‘do you have that lady’s number?’
I hate stupid rules like this, so well done to her, next time you will let her withdraw only 10 won't you ?
To be fair it's not the employee's fault! The rules are indeed stupid though and it's infuriating that the rules are always less friendly for the elderly and nobody really cares
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Maybe a stupid rule, but not the employee's fault. She could have just asked for $100 (or $110) and kept the frustration to a minimum. Honestly, I'm not sure how using an ATM is worse than going in person no matter your age
Some elderly people may have eyesight issues that would make it difficult to use an ATM. They may also not know how to use one.
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Employees don't make company rules! I appreciate gangsta granny's spunk but she didn't have to make it hard on the employee. Who, if left to their own rules, would let you withdraw any amount of your money.
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So she wasted everyone's time, including her own, by using a teller instead of an ATM...
There may have been a reason why she didn't use the ATM, like eyesight problems or safety issues with the location of the ATM. That said, she should not have taken out $1000.
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That’s awesome. And such a strange policy. By the time someone is in front of you, it’d take less time to just conduct the transaction than to have to explain why you can’t. Also, must be where I live in the USA or something, but my local atms only dispense $20s.
Counting out 1000.00 in tens is not that big of a deal. But that old lady is damn funny. Good on her.
There is a saying that the Devil is scary not because he is the Devil, but because he is old....
I’ve heard this story before. Nice that you’re retelling it to make it your own. 😂 *Withdrawals” not “withdraws” in this case
I’ve heard this story before. Nice that you’re retelling it to make it your own. “Withdrawals” not “withdraws” 😙
We do get feisty the older we get, not more jaded, not mad at new rules, just wiser!
Don't mess with the older generation!! They've lived longer and have had to think outside the box!! This is how you get things done with screaming and yelling...
She doesn't trust ATMs, or those people standing near, & I don't blame her - good on her!!
No, lol. This is yet another variation of an often retold, well-known anecdote, that literally everyone claims has happened to them, or someone they know. IJS, I've never heard of a bank with that silly rule. And ATM's only allow one to take out money, in multiples of 20. Though I suppose those could be different, in other countries. Also, unless the old woman said something ahead of time, she would've been given that $1000 in $100 dollar bills, or at least 50s, MAYBE $20s. She wouldn't be given $10s, $5s, or $1s. It's much faster and easier to count the bigger bills, so that's the bank's default method. Unless otherwise specified. And if the lady asked for small bills ahead of time, she would have tipped her hand, and exposed her little scheme, before she got a chance to execute it. Also, why ask for $1000, and redeposit that much, when all she had to ask for was $100? 1/2
All that aside, if OP really worked at a bank, they would know that the correct word for a sum of money taken out of a bank is *withdrawal*. Not withdraw. Withdraw is a verb. If you *withdraw* less than $1000... For *withdrawals* less than $1000... Any bank employee ought to know this terminology. I mean, it's what they DO. Nah. I'm sorry, fellow Pandas, to be a Negative Nellie. And I'm sorry to call you out like this, OP. But I smell búllshit. And lying for likes only makes you look dumb. Better lich next time, lol. 2/2/End
Load More Replies... This is absolutely brilliant! If enough people follow their stupid rules, perhaps they will change them!
Wow she really wanted the ($10.00 dollars) lol & she wanted the rest of her money back into her bank account.
Good for her for making your job harder for making her life harder than it has to be when you could have just made it easy for the both of you by opening her account to give her the $10 withdraw she asked for to begin with.
The bank teller isn't the one who made the policy tho, they're only abiding by it so they don't get fired. Old lady could have just took out $100 in $10 bills and deposited the remaining $90 (which would have been funny and a clever solution) but instead she wasted her's, the teller's, and other customers time just to be petty. Like ,, she did this as an f you to the teller, not as a loop hole :/
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The teller should serve the lady the idea of withdrawing 100 and deposit 90. He did not and the lady took lead. Simple.
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Just give the lady her $10 and thank her for her business. The "old gal" has game and pimp slapped your rude "bank policy" crutch out from under you.
No she didnt. This is a story that has been passed around the internet for years and years. Stop.,
Dumb rule. Many many people don't know how or simply do not use ATM's. Yeah, 'gods' forbid a bank teller do their job 😕
She is brilliant! Instead of making a scene, she was able to get $10 from her account.(Does the bank offer a $10 ATM withdrawals?) @rudy_betrayed, what's your passion? It doesn't sound like it's banking or customer service, so I'm sure it's still out there. Enjoy the journey. And thank you for assisting this customer with her transaction. I'm sure having access to her money means the world to her.
A lot of ATMs don't have just 10 dollar bill most of ours are 20's only
So it's ok to be a d**k to employees who are just following company rules because they don't want to get in trouble, just because that rule happened to inconvinced you?? I would have thought someone who's "been around" would have a bit more compassion, but sure ok
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MESS WITH OLD LADIES IF YOU WANT TO...BUT THIS OLD LADY DOES NOT RECOMMEND IT! 👍
If only it was that simple - where I live there is commition on each action - so she would have paid twice for 2 actions.
This is making me think of the title of a British series. Some Mums Do Have 'Em
My mother lived to be 83 and never used an ATM in her entire life.
This woman is 100% a badass and has no Fs left for any nonsense. I love her.
Honestly this old lady is the amount of petty malicious compliance I aspire to lmao
I love her. We live in a stupid world now despite all the advantages of modern technology. The human touch is sadly lacking.
What's ridiculous is that she took out her frustration on an employee who was just doing their job the way they were told they had to do it. It's not the employees fault the rule is stupid. So all she did is waste everyone's time. To you and all of the other people applauding this,I hope you are the ones stuck waiting behind people that do this kind of thing.
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Lol...Score one for us old folks, we been around the block a time or two!
Oh,please. It wasn't the employee's fault the bank has a stupid rule. So all she did was waste everyone's time. The employees( who had nothing to do with that limitation) and other customers most likely waiting behind her. Imagine being proud of the fact that you just wasted everyone's time and effort just to be an entitled A hole because of your age.
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Is it commonplace now to get less than $20 @ an ATM? I personally have yet to see one that does, honestly asking
1. I love this woman. 2. I used to work for Huntington National Bank and we would have refused her request. We had strict limits on how much we could give in each denomination w/o pre-approval. She would have been told she could get $1000, but not in $10s unless she ordered a day ahead. I'd love to know what she'd have done w/that!
Not cool to make him count out a full $1000 in 10's when he doesn't make the rules. Sould have asked for the $100 minimum, then deposited $90 back.
This was going around Facebook about 6 months ago. My grandma told me about it probably 10 times.
It's actually a good story and has a good meaning. but many think this is just the story of a stubborn old lady.
This is dumb. What stupid bank has that rule? I've been a teller and had bank accounts at at least a dozen different institutions and have never seen a rule this dumb. Also, most ATMs only spit out 20s, so most people wouldn't assume they can get any amount of money out of one meaning this has to be a common occurrence of people waiting in line to be told they can't make a withdrawal.
Where do you live that you pay for depositing? Why would a bank even do that?
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“There are some people who feel that any attempts to get them to ‘fall in line’ are unacceptable. I once worked with someone who would always turn in their reports late—whether it was late by a day or just a couple of minutes past the stated deadline, they were consistently going to buck the deadline,” Professor Degges-White revealed to Bored Panda.
“When asked why they behaved in this way, their response was that they were able to maintain control when they didn't follow the rules. For them, rules at work were something to be broken in order to satisfy their ‘control freak’ tendency,” she said.
“Others, though, use rules as ‘base level expectations’ and want to exceed those expectations and follow rules to a ‘t.’ They maintain their own sense of control by staying way inside of the rules—they take pride in this behavior.”.
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Whatever each individual’s tolerance for rules might be, society as a whole would fall apart without them.
“Everyone has a different view on rules/boundaries and it might be nature for some and nurture for others. However, on a larger scale, societies cannot function without clear rules and boundaries. Chaos and anarchy result—at any level—when rules fall by the wayside,” the professor told Bored Panda.
Having structure in your life can help you deal with stress. Strict schedules and routines can be very useful when the world seems unpredictable and your future looks uncertain. It’s something to fall back on. Something to rely on. It’s something to give you a sense of control when there’s chaos left, right, and center.
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In fact, a lack of structure can actually lead to more stress down the line. “If people don't have structure and are sitting around with less to focus on, then they also probably will find themselves thinking about the stressful situation more, which can also lead to additional stress and anxiety,” Rachel Goldman, Ph.D., told Very Well Mind
Besides lowering your stress levels, having a regular routine can help you form healthy habits, and make you feel more focused and productive. This can work both with self-imposed and outwardly-imposed routines. However, in some cases, we might not agree with all the rules in place. We might question the need for them or we might feel that the alternatives that we propose are far better.
This can lead to tension between those imposing and enforcing the rules, as well as those who are expected to abide by them. Let’s be frank, some workplace rules are truly bonkers, have no bearing to reality, or might be in place to stroke some managers’ egos. Meanwhile, others might be there for good reason (even if it’s not immediately apparent). It all comes down to good, effective leadership and whether or not bosses actually care about their employees. A good leader can create rules that make sense and benefit (nearly) everyone, not just the few.
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Eddy Ng, the Smith Professor of Equity & Inclusion in Business at Queen’s University, told Bored Panda earlier that strong leaders in the workplace are those who are moral, principled, and choose to do the right thing. They stand in stark contrast to weak leaders who only do the things that make them popular and have a hard time making firm decisions: they flip-flop, they dither, they can’t make up their minds.
“The notion of servant leadership is gaining attention in the workplace. Although it is associated with many of the strong leadership traits such as empathy, selflessness, and humility, the focus is on the leader’s propensity to serve (or support) their followers. Servant leaders empower and lift up followers (employees) to motivate and fuel their passion,” the professor explained to Bored Panda.
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“Employees can manage that relationship to have work satisfaction. In this instance, employees need to communicate what they need (tools) or work conditions (autonomy) in order for them to perform optimally when working with a controlling boss. Employees need to convey what they can and are able to perform,” he said that the principle of exchange is an important one in workplaces.
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However, it’s not just at work where we find rules to abide by. Whether we like it or not, we also adhere to certain limits at home, too. In healthy relationships, both partners make the rules together, communicate efficiently, and respect each other’s boundaries. However, in some relationships, one partner might hold too much power or someone might not be able to enforce the rules and boundaries that matter to them.
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“In relationships and life in general, too much power can corrupt a person’s behavior. A man or a woman who is normally a very nice, caring, loving and understanding person, can sometimes become quite selfish, mean and unloving if given too much power in a romantic relationship,” Dan Bacon, a dating and relationship expert, told Bored Panda recently.
“Sometimes, a woman will be in a relationship with a man who says that he has boundaries, but then lets her defy those boundaries on a daily basis because he doesn’t know how to stand up to her in an assertive, loving, and effective way,” he explained that boundaries need to be enforced for them to matter.
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“All he does is get upset, sulk and seek pity from her when she defies his boundaries, which she sees as weak, wimpy, and possibly even pathetic. This can then result in her losing respect for him, which can then make her feel as though his so-called ‘boundaries’ aren’t something that she needs to adhere to,” the expert pointed out that boundaries mean nothing if they’re only theoretical. Pleading, demanding, or trying to reason with someone will not get them to respect your boundaries.
“That kind of problematic outcome often happens when one person has way too much power in a relationship.”
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A healthy relationship means that the power dynamic isn’t skewed too far one way or the other.
“Having boundaries respected is not about a man being overly domineering or bossy and making his girlfriend or wife feel like she has no power or say. That is not loving or effective and it will create many relationship problems and most likely cause the relationship to end in a breakup,” he told us.
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“A man needs to approach the relationship in a way where his girlfriend or wife feels respected, but also feels the need to respect him in return. If respect is only one way in the relationship, problematic behavior will naturally emerge and boundaries may be defied or disrespected by an otherwise nice, loving, and caring person.”
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Note: this post originally had 100 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
People smuggling alcohol in theaters or pools or wherever, can you seriously not enjoy your time there without drinking? That's more sad than smart.
not really, as a serious introvert I can only face crowds of people if I am toasted. So, public swimming pool, party, sports event, etc. nope. Can't do it without alcohol. It's a thing.
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Some of these are quite petty. Bringing a record player, seriously? Next on BP : why do schools and workplaces keep adding new rules, like we can’t just decide for ourselves what is normal behavior?
Some people NEED to break the rules, however small. I know a lady who’s so proud of her daughter for always doing what she wants, bending the rules, getting special treatment, and it’s so cringe. Of course they’re very inconsiderate of others too.
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My elementary-aged son was not allowed to stay up for night baseball games. Found him in his room listening to the call on the local radio station while watching the game with binoculars on the neighbor's TV.
Calling any of these people geniuses is a pretty stupid thing to say. Some of them were mildly clever...
Wow I'm guessing your personality has your mailbox full of party invitations
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Some of these were just filler a few make absolutely no sense really a cloud so what, some are just nonsense.
People smuggling alcohol in theaters or pools or wherever, can you seriously not enjoy your time there without drinking? That's more sad than smart.
not really, as a serious introvert I can only face crowds of people if I am toasted. So, public swimming pool, party, sports event, etc. nope. Can't do it without alcohol. It's a thing.
Load More Replies... Some of these are quite petty. Bringing a record player, seriously? Next on BP : why do schools and workplaces keep adding new rules, like we can’t just decide for ourselves what is normal behavior?
Some people NEED to break the rules, however small. I know a lady who’s so proud of her daughter for always doing what she wants, bending the rules, getting special treatment, and it’s so cringe. Of course they’re very inconsiderate of others too.
Load More Replies... My elementary-aged son was not allowed to stay up for night baseball games. Found him in his room listening to the call on the local radio station while watching the game with binoculars on the neighbor's TV.
Calling any of these people geniuses is a pretty stupid thing to say. Some of them were mildly clever...
Wow I'm guessing your personality has your mailbox full of party invitations
Load More Replies... Some of these were just filler a few make absolutely no sense really a cloud so what, some are just nonsense.
