Three Person Job

It was midnight at the drug store, the only retail store open in the neighborhood at that hour. I was out of toilette paper, so I stopped by on my way home to pick some up. While in line, I started people watching. Generally speaking, it's one of my favorite ways to pass the time when delayed in public for any reason. The best people watching is usually at places like the DMV, or the emergency department's waiting room. But tonight, the drug store proved pretty amusing.

I was standing in line behing a group of three frat-looking tough guys. The type of guys I'd normally expect to be buying cheap beer, cigarettes, or condoms. Sometimes all three at once. But not today. Not even a bag of Doritos. Nope. There was just one item on their list tonight:

A plunger!

I couldn't help but laugh. No one goes to the store at midnight to buy a solitary plunger unless it is urgntly needed. And that was funny enough, but then I began to wonder why it took 3 guys to buy a plunger. It's not like a keg run where you might need some extra muscle. It's just a simple plunger! I imagine it's because none of them wanted to be pegged as that guy who plugged up the crapper at midnight so badly that the situation required a plunger. If all three of them showed up together to buy the plunger, no definitive blame could be ascribed. Social safety in numbers I suppose.