Playful Faxing Stories That Will Leave You in Stitches

Zoey Waverider

Updated Tuesday, October 1, 2024 at 12:00 AM CDT

In today's digital age, where instant messaging and emails have taken over, the humble fax machine still manages to generate some of the most playful and bewildering stories. A recent social media thread asked users, "What’s the most simple thing you’ve ever had to explain to a fully competent adult?" The responses, especially those related to faxing, did not disappoint.

One user, fishiest-fish, reblogged a post from pepsimansthickjuicymeatys****** and shared a story about explaining to someone that you cannot fax money. This seemingly obvious fact led to a wave of other users sharing their own fax-related anecdotes.

User kurumawer recounted an incident where someone accidentally faxed them some confidential paperwork. The sender then requested that the paperwork be faxed back due to its sensitive nature. The irony of faxing confidential documents back and forth was not lost on anyone.

Another user, jungle-plastic, shared a story about receiving a fax in an envelope. Yes, you read that right. The sender had taken the documents, placed them in an envelope, and then faxed a picture of the sealed envelope. This level of misunderstanding about how fax machines work is both amusing and perplexing.

Asoulgoensince2002 chimed in with a childhood memory of faxing drawings of horses to their dad’s satellite office. The nostalgia of using fax machines for such endearing yet impractical purposes added a encouraging touch to the thread.

The thread also featured comments unrelated to faxing but equally entertaining. One user mentioned having to explain to a coworker why an electric car cannot run forever by driving a generator off the wheels. Another user had to convince their boss that a 0.02% error rate could not possibly translate to a 20% error rate, highlighting the often frustrating yet amusing nature of workplace misunderstandings.

While these stories may seem absurd, they serve as a reminder of the everyday challenges people face when dealing with technology. Whether it's explaining why you can't fax money or why a modem needs power to provide internet, these tales offer a humorous glimpse into the quirks of human understanding.

For anyone looking for a good laugh or a nostalgic trip down memory lane, these faxing stories are sure to deliver. The simplicity of the misunderstandings, coupled with the earnestness of those involved, makes for a delightful read that showcases the lighter side of technology.

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View source: Imgur

Top Comments from Imgur

HapilyDamaged

old boss had a thing for printing out emails and bringing them to me to scan into the computer and email them to people for him...

Puvaradivi

I had to argue with my boss why my percentage of mistakes was incorrect, despite what her excel formula kept showing, during my performance review. She kept trying to say I had a 20% error rate (it was .02%). I kept telling her forget your formula and use common sense, and tell me how those 20 something mistakes out of literally millions of transactions could equal 20%, and that 20 of every 100 would have to be wrong. That she was using the wrong formula, not that the formulas math was off 😑

Atomic2

Granted this was when we were kids, but I swear to god, a friend of mine asked me to fax him some paper. Like, just plain paper. I had to explain to him that the paper is already in the fax machine. Like I'm not teleporting paper to him, and he just DID. NOT. GET. IT. He's a lawyer today.

Icantrecall

I once had to explain why a photograph that my workmate had developed after returning from O.C., could not be used to prove a seagull could fly backwards. Also tried to explain what happens when a 10 mph headwind has a 5mph bird heading into it etc. Lost cause.

Eternalm

"Yes, you have to buy your ticket before you get on an airplane"

gman003

I had to explain to a coworker why you can't make an electric car run forever, by driving a generator off the wheels. He could not understand it, no matter how much I dumbed it down. We worked at a science lab. (Granted, I was in IT and he was in marketing.)

SomeDetroitGuy

Since we're talking about faxing - I find it hilarious that people use faxes because "it's secure" when basic faxing fails basically every single criteria for infosec. You have no encryption (either in transit or at rest); you have no guaranteed single recipient; you have no security of the actual received document; the lines themselves can't detect if they're being tracked. It's just the absolute worst, most insecure way to send confidential information.

Volimar

I had to explain to someone during a power outage that it didn't matter that their tablet had power if the modem was down.

mixiekins

working tech support as a young adult in the late 2000's I had the pleasure of getting an email with an attachment of a scan of a 24hr photo development from a disposable camera that was used to take a picture of a blurry and very dim tube monitor. When I wrote back explaining what the SysRq/PrtScr key did he went absolutely a****** in the best, most delightful way possible.

Neednoggle

It doesn't feel warmer in Denver because it's closer to the sun; being one mile closer to the sun is like moving one millimetre closer to a fire that's 93 kilometres away.