An elderly man was hospitalized due to an illness, and while the care was generally good, there was one nurse who constantly got on his nerves. Each time she entered his room, she spoke to him in an overly sweet, almost condescending tone, as though he were a small child rather than a grown adult. She would chirp phrases like, “And how are we doing this morning?” or “Are we ready for a bath?” Her tone drove the man up the wall. Finally, he decided he’d had enough and planned a little mischief to teach her a lesson. During breakfast one morning, he took the apple juice that came with his meal and placed it on the bedside table. Later that day, when the nurse handed him a urine bottle for a sample test, he poured the apple juice into it instead. Sure enough, the same nurse returned, picked up the container, and examined it with concern, saying, “My, it seems we’re a little cloudy today!” At that moment, the man grabbed the bottle out of her hands, twisted off the cap, and drank it down in front of her with a straight face. “Well, I’ll run it through again,” he said dryly. “Maybe I can filter it better this time. What do you think?” The nurse fainted on the spot.
In another unforgettable hospital moment, a motorcycle patrol officer was rushed in for an emergency appendectomy. After the surgery, doctors assured him everything had gone smoothly. However, while resting in his hospital bed, the patrolman noticed an odd tugging sensation on his chest hair. Curious and increasingly concerned, he summoned enough energy to glance beneath his hospital gown. What he found was both painful and hilarious—three strips of strong adhesive tape stuck across his very hairy chest. In bold black letters, a note had been written directly on the tape: “Get well quick… from the nurse you gave a ticket to last week.” Revenge, it seems, can be sticky.
And then there’s the classic story that unfolded in a hospital waiting room—one that played out like a comedy sketch. A group of anxious expectant fathers were sitting around, waiting for updates from the delivery room. A nurse came out and walked up to the man sitting next to me, announcing with a cheerful smile, “Congratulations, sir, you’re the proud father of twins!” Surprised but amused, the man laughed and said, “How about that, I work for the Doublemint Chewing Gum Company.” He stood up and followed the nurse back to meet his new family. About an hour later, the same nurse returned with more good news. She turned to another man and said, “Mr. Smith, congratulations! Your wife just gave birth to triplets!” Mr. Smith couldn’t help but chuckle, exclaiming, “Well, how do you like that? I work for the 3M Company!” Just as everyone was sharing in the laughs, another man seated nearby suddenly stood up and began to walk toward the exit. Curious, I asked him why he was leaving. His response was short and nervously delivered: “I think I need some fresh air.” After a brief pause, he added with growing anxiety, “I work for 7-UP.”
From playful pranks to poetic justice, hospitals can be the setting for more than just medical care—they sometimes deliver a dose of humor that no prescription could ever provide. Whether it’s an old man turning the tables on a condescending nurse or a patrol officer receiving some well-deserved tape-based karma, these stories remind us that laughter is sometimes the best medicine of all.
