Our latest addition to Bored Panda’s list of ‘Most Badass Women’ goes to Melissa Scruggs, a Volcanology Ph.D. candidate at the University of California Santa Barbara. She recently woke up to a giant boulder blocking her car after her neighbors decided to do some drunken driveway landscaping. It was no accident though — the undergrads throwing a house party next-door purposely moved it there to annoy her. However, they forgot one little thing: Melissa literally studies rocks.
Some people take the piss without even thinking about what they’re doing. Well, actions have consequences and if your aim isn’t on point, the piss bounces back. Just saying.
In a classic tale of petty revenge, she used all the (power) tools at her disposal to send a message to those who wronged her. Women in science are probably some of the most ambitious and clever people out there, so you probably shouldn’t mess with them. And who knew being a Volcanologist could be so cool? Yeah, science!
Image credits: VolcanoDoc
“I (and other grad students) have lived in the same building for about 3 years now,” Melissa told Bored Panda. “The current neighbors are 1st or 2nd-year undergraduates, and they moved in across the driveway in July 2018. I was a little concerned at first because they would occasionally throw a big house party from time to time, but they’ve generally been pretty considerate with noise and keeping people out of our yard.”
Image credits: VolcanoDoc
“I never really had any issue until about a week and a half ago. This is actually the second time this has happened. So, the purpose of the rock is so that if you suck at parking, you don’t take down the fence – it’s inconvenient, but I get it. About a week and a half ago, one of the guys decided that it was too inconvenient for him, and he turned it so that it was more on my side of the fence. They wouldn’t answer the door to help me move it back, and it was a few days before I had helped to get it put back. Then on Friday night, they had a really big party. “
“I went over to ask that people stay out of our backyard, and noticed that a car was blocking us in, so I asked that it be moved by 7 am, and left a note. When I woke up, the boulder had been rolled all the way in front of my car.”
Melissa explained why it was necessary to take her petty revenge: “I figured that if I moved it back, they were just going to do it again.”
More info: Twitter
People wanted to know more about the story, and Melissa indulged them
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Melissa was incredibly surprised that her neighborly spat would get so much attention online. “As I posted on Twitter, I had absolutely no clue that everybody would find this so funny – I just thought a few of my geologist friends would get a chuckle out of it,” she said.
“The Matilija Sandstone (I’m pretty sure that’s what this boulder was) is a reasonably soft rock, comparatively speaking – not very much of a challenge for an auto-chipper in the hands of an igneous petrologist!”
She also wanted to highlight the need for people to stand up for themselves, especially women in science. “I’m hoping that I can use this attention to serve as a role model for anybody (but especially girls) who want to be righteous and awesome scientists and to really engage the public with Earth Science. Geologists are often overlooked but quite important – and, as you can see, we’re pretty freaking awesome as a general rule.”
Marry a planetary scientist, they will take you to the moon. B)
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Never mess with somebody whose degree anyone wonders what can be used for. Now they know.
Exactly! It's like "You had to ask, huh?!?" Ok. *rolls up sleeves" 😂
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Our town had a noise ordinance that went from 10pm to 6am. We lived in apartments just off of campus grounds so the majority of tenants were students. My next door neighbors had a friend staying with them that would blast her stereo every afternoon while she cleaned the house. And we're talking death metal style music. Since she wasn't violating the noise ordinance the police wouldn't help. I pleaded with the neighbors to talk to her which resulted in the volume going up. Problem was, she turned it up enough to get the attention of the manager who had also received complaints from other neighbors. The manager left a notice on their door. The friend was trespassed from the apartment complex and, if the tenants failed to comply with making her leave, eviction proceedings would begin because they were in violation of their lease agreement for allowing someone to stay with them for more than 3 weeks without signing the lease. Boy it was peaceful after that.
So the moral of the story is to turn your music up enough to p**s off the neighbors but not the manager. Gottcha.
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BEST IRONIC REVENGE STORY YOU WILL READ TODAY: My neighborhood does not have curbs. The street gently slopes down into a drainage ditch and then back up to the front yards so that the rainfall is carried away. One jerk with a loud hot rod was in the habit of peeling out backwards from his driveway so he ended up in my neighbor's front yard. He would then peel out and roar off at high speed. This tore up my neighbor's front yard with tire track ruts and torn lawn in many places. My neighbor asked him to please stop several times. The testosterone-drowned hot rod guy just laughed at him. So my neighbor put boulders as big as the one pictured or bigger across the front of his lawn on his side of the ditch across from where the jerk parked. Hot rod guy peeled off in reverse again and did big damage $$$ to the back end of his car. He blamed the neighbor & demanded he fix the wrecked hot rod. The neighbor just laughed back. Oh I just luv it when a jerk gets his payday!
Geology was always my favourite subject at school. Still know my metamorphic from my igneous
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As a geologist, this speaks to me. As an engineer with access to heavy equipment, I might have taken a MUCH LARGER bolder and placed it neatly against their bumper. Possibly even a large column of basalt placed on their door step. Just saying, don't mess with people who have access to chemicals, heavy equipment and aren't afraid to use them.
Yep, that’s the story I was hoping for. I have access to all manner of plant. Move it, crush it, demolish it, bury it, whatever takes your fancy. As they say round here, “That’ll learn him”.
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Don't mess with the lady who has power tools! (and knows how to use them!)
Good on her for using proper PPE...and being genius in a completely legal way.
I like that the neighbor now must also get the car washed. Check the first picture and the last one when job is done.
They just took her driveway for granite, so of quartz she fought back. Now the schist has really hit the fan. I'll see myself out...
I may be missing something, or could be the angle of the shot, but pic1 seems to show quite a bit of room to merely turn the steering wheel and just go on your merry way. Unless of course the white pickup in pic2 was completely blocking you in, in which case I'd say THAT was the asshat, not the rock. If the latter, I'd have dumped the rocks in the back of his truck to get 2 birds with one stone (ha).
I have a political suggestion !!!!!!!! A Democratic ticket for 2020: MELISSA SCRUGGS and ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ It won't matter which one becomes President and which one is VICE-president. Together, these two will have us back on track three months after their election . They make me PROUD to be a tiny 80-year-old liberal FEMALE !
Ann, Melissa lives in Tanzania. Not American. Not eligible. Not a bad thought, though. ;)
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AH! YES!! I love the sweet smell of revenge early in the morning.
We need more people like that :) Not only social-wise with her great idea, but also scientists. especially with what's boiling under Yellowstone :x
THIS! I love a good story that ends with legal forms of retribution--well done! i would've used some of those pieces to spell out something, placed strategically behind their car
"Geologist with access to Auto chipper" : look I like what you did, pretty bad a*s. However let's not call that "Impact Hammer" a "Auto Chipper" it's a Impact Hammer and it's more commonly found in the building business. I'm drinking a cup of coffee and smoking my morning cig , while I'm looking at 3 of them in my garage, 2 of witch are larger and heavier than you are. We breakups old slab foundations with it. But once again it's still pretty cool you have a one and thought to use it.
I suppose what you call it depends on what you use it for. To a geologist, it's something you use to get a handful of rock chips for testing...
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My whole in-law family is a bunch of geologists - they're smart, savvy and incredibly determined. I wouldn't want to mess with a single one of them.
HHHHhaving a geologist for a neibor is like having a chemist next door... That's a mixture that causes chaos #NoMessingAround
Bravo! You see, you can do just exactly what you did in a society where the general population DOES NOT HAVE ACCESS TO FIREARMS, like here in the states. What I wouldn't do to have such a society here in northern California or the whole USA. 30,000 Americans are killed by firearms every year. Excuse me. 40,000 in 2017.
I’m chuckling that I’m the Architect that spent a year working underground in a Molybdenum Mine on a Repair Crew...put a Blasting cap or two on it and cover it with a heavy tarp...pull the spitters and game over...
I guess you've got to respect this level of pettiness... But four hours?? Geez.
she spent 4 hours chipping a rock she could have moved with a rock bar in ten seconds.
But then she wouldn't have been able to make a point of it. :P
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UwU You did the right thing, The scum who did that got what they deserved! (Not really but, I guess you did something) ANYWAY IM PROUD!
Marry, after breaking the roc, I would have order a full concrete truck and to make a nice little mountain in volcano shape behind their car, just for fun, no hard feeling
I loved Earth Science. This lady is great. Long may she be a wonderful role model--and enjoy herself every inch of the way.
Marry a man that loves you as much as you love him and the world will be your oyster. Almost 1000 or more years of love and still going. I fudge on the years.
What would have been even funnier to have seen would have been if she had broken the rock into several large pieces. Then she could have glued them back together with glue made with flour. Let the "neighbors" come out just in time to see her hit the "boulder" with a small hand sledge hammer and it bust the "boulder" into small pieces.
Oh, I would have been tempted to use that chipper on his vehicle or their douchebag guests blocking the driveway.
Sharp rocks behind the tires. But she was trying for lawful.
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i was hoping for the evergreen drilling + tnt/anfo/c4/other explosive of choice, but still amazing work
I am all for petty revenge, but 4 hours of manual labor? I only wish I had that kind of free time on my hands. I would have done a 300 point turn and drove around the rock. Sometimes you lose by winning.
A geologist is not a stonemason ;) I'm not either, but splitting that rock into carryable chunks wouldn't take more than 15 minutes, even with hand-tools
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Men are bad. I'll bet they didn't shave with the approved razors or read the approved literature. Also, I'll bet there is more to the story than what is represented above.
4 hours of rock chipping when you have a hangover, I'd say it more than inconvenienced them.
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7:30am is early, but she wasn't violating the noise ordinance, which she stated ended at 7am. Judging by all the cars you can see in the background of Pic #3, I'd say the parties they throw are also pissing off the surrounding neighbors and not just her. Chipping away for 4 hours must have sounded hellish to their hungover heads - with any luck, she made her point, and this will be a "one and done." ETA: Any noise complaints made would have brought the police, who would then hear her statement about WHY she was chipping the boulder, and view the scene and any photos she took. It would not go well for her hungover neighbors...
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You see her stand the other side of the rock when she's working on it - there's a white truck behind her. You can see the bumper of her vehicle in one of the photos.
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I'm sorry that you can't read/see, or swallow your own sexism, but this BOULDER is pretty big. I'd like to see you try it. 100% sure that it would have taken twice that time.
Load More Replies... Marry a planetary scientist, they will take you to the moon. B)
Load More Replies... Never mess with somebody whose degree anyone wonders what can be used for. Now they know.
Exactly! It's like "You had to ask, huh?!?" Ok. *rolls up sleeves" 😂
Load More Replies... Our town had a noise ordinance that went from 10pm to 6am. We lived in apartments just off of campus grounds so the majority of tenants were students. My next door neighbors had a friend staying with them that would blast her stereo every afternoon while she cleaned the house. And we're talking death metal style music. Since she wasn't violating the noise ordinance the police wouldn't help. I pleaded with the neighbors to talk to her which resulted in the volume going up. Problem was, she turned it up enough to get the attention of the manager who had also received complaints from other neighbors. The manager left a notice on their door. The friend was trespassed from the apartment complex and, if the tenants failed to comply with making her leave, eviction proceedings would begin because they were in violation of their lease agreement for allowing someone to stay with them for more than 3 weeks without signing the lease. Boy it was peaceful after that.
So the moral of the story is to turn your music up enough to p**s off the neighbors but not the manager. Gottcha.
Load More Replies... BEST IRONIC REVENGE STORY YOU WILL READ TODAY: My neighborhood does not have curbs. The street gently slopes down into a drainage ditch and then back up to the front yards so that the rainfall is carried away. One jerk with a loud hot rod was in the habit of peeling out backwards from his driveway so he ended up in my neighbor's front yard. He would then peel out and roar off at high speed. This tore up my neighbor's front yard with tire track ruts and torn lawn in many places. My neighbor asked him to please stop several times. The testosterone-drowned hot rod guy just laughed at him. So my neighbor put boulders as big as the one pictured or bigger across the front of his lawn on his side of the ditch across from where the jerk parked. Hot rod guy peeled off in reverse again and did big damage $$$ to the back end of his car. He blamed the neighbor & demanded he fix the wrecked hot rod. The neighbor just laughed back. Oh I just luv it when a jerk gets his payday!
Geology was always my favourite subject at school. Still know my metamorphic from my igneous
Load More Replies... As a geologist, this speaks to me. As an engineer with access to heavy equipment, I might have taken a MUCH LARGER bolder and placed it neatly against their bumper. Possibly even a large column of basalt placed on their door step. Just saying, don't mess with people who have access to chemicals, heavy equipment and aren't afraid to use them.
Yep, that’s the story I was hoping for. I have access to all manner of plant. Move it, crush it, demolish it, bury it, whatever takes your fancy. As they say round here, “That’ll learn him”.
Load More Replies... Don't mess with the lady who has power tools! (and knows how to use them!)
Good on her for using proper PPE...and being genius in a completely legal way.
I like that the neighbor now must also get the car washed. Check the first picture and the last one when job is done.
They just took her driveway for granite, so of quartz she fought back. Now the schist has really hit the fan. I'll see myself out...
I may be missing something, or could be the angle of the shot, but pic1 seems to show quite a bit of room to merely turn the steering wheel and just go on your merry way. Unless of course the white pickup in pic2 was completely blocking you in, in which case I'd say THAT was the asshat, not the rock. If the latter, I'd have dumped the rocks in the back of his truck to get 2 birds with one stone (ha).
I have a political suggestion !!!!!!!! A Democratic ticket for 2020: MELISSA SCRUGGS and ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ It won't matter which one becomes President and which one is VICE-president. Together, these two will have us back on track three months after their election . They make me PROUD to be a tiny 80-year-old liberal FEMALE !
Ann, Melissa lives in Tanzania. Not American. Not eligible. Not a bad thought, though. ;)
Load More Replies... AH! YES!! I love the sweet smell of revenge early in the morning.
We need more people like that :) Not only social-wise with her great idea, but also scientists. especially with what's boiling under Yellowstone :x
THIS! I love a good story that ends with legal forms of retribution--well done! i would've used some of those pieces to spell out something, placed strategically behind their car
"Geologist with access to Auto chipper" : look I like what you did, pretty bad a*s. However let's not call that "Impact Hammer" a "Auto Chipper" it's a Impact Hammer and it's more commonly found in the building business. I'm drinking a cup of coffee and smoking my morning cig , while I'm looking at 3 of them in my garage, 2 of witch are larger and heavier than you are. We breakups old slab foundations with it. But once again it's still pretty cool you have a one and thought to use it.
I suppose what you call it depends on what you use it for. To a geologist, it's something you use to get a handful of rock chips for testing...
Load More Replies... My whole in-law family is a bunch of geologists - they're smart, savvy and incredibly determined. I wouldn't want to mess with a single one of them.
HHHHhaving a geologist for a neibor is like having a chemist next door... That's a mixture that causes chaos #NoMessingAround
Bravo! You see, you can do just exactly what you did in a society where the general population DOES NOT HAVE ACCESS TO FIREARMS, like here in the states. What I wouldn't do to have such a society here in northern California or the whole USA. 30,000 Americans are killed by firearms every year. Excuse me. 40,000 in 2017.
I’m chuckling that I’m the Architect that spent a year working underground in a Molybdenum Mine on a Repair Crew...put a Blasting cap or two on it and cover it with a heavy tarp...pull the spitters and game over...
I guess you've got to respect this level of pettiness... But four hours?? Geez.
she spent 4 hours chipping a rock she could have moved with a rock bar in ten seconds.
But then she wouldn't have been able to make a point of it. :P
Load More Replies... UwU You did the right thing, The scum who did that got what they deserved! (Not really but, I guess you did something) ANYWAY IM PROUD!
Marry, after breaking the roc, I would have order a full concrete truck and to make a nice little mountain in volcano shape behind their car, just for fun, no hard feeling
I loved Earth Science. This lady is great. Long may she be a wonderful role model--and enjoy herself every inch of the way.
Marry a man that loves you as much as you love him and the world will be your oyster. Almost 1000 or more years of love and still going. I fudge on the years.
What would have been even funnier to have seen would have been if she had broken the rock into several large pieces. Then she could have glued them back together with glue made with flour. Let the "neighbors" come out just in time to see her hit the "boulder" with a small hand sledge hammer and it bust the "boulder" into small pieces.
Oh, I would have been tempted to use that chipper on his vehicle or their douchebag guests blocking the driveway.
Sharp rocks behind the tires. But she was trying for lawful.
Load More Replies... i was hoping for the evergreen drilling + tnt/anfo/c4/other explosive of choice, but still amazing work
I am all for petty revenge, but 4 hours of manual labor? I only wish I had that kind of free time on my hands. I would have done a 300 point turn and drove around the rock. Sometimes you lose by winning.
A geologist is not a stonemason ;) I'm not either, but splitting that rock into carryable chunks wouldn't take more than 15 minutes, even with hand-tools
Load More Replies... Men are bad. I'll bet they didn't shave with the approved razors or read the approved literature. Also, I'll bet there is more to the story than what is represented above.
4 hours of rock chipping when you have a hangover, I'd say it more than inconvenienced them.
Load More Replies... 7:30am is early, but she wasn't violating the noise ordinance, which she stated ended at 7am. Judging by all the cars you can see in the background of Pic #3, I'd say the parties they throw are also pissing off the surrounding neighbors and not just her. Chipping away for 4 hours must have sounded hellish to their hungover heads - with any luck, she made her point, and this will be a "one and done." ETA: Any noise complaints made would have brought the police, who would then hear her statement about WHY she was chipping the boulder, and view the scene and any photos she took. It would not go well for her hungover neighbors...
Load More Replies... You see her stand the other side of the rock when she's working on it - there's a white truck behind her. You can see the bumper of her vehicle in one of the photos.
Load More Replies... I'm sorry that you can't read/see, or swallow your own sexism, but this BOULDER is pretty big. I'd like to see you try it. 100% sure that it would have taken twice that time.
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