A social experiment: You sit on a chair and it breaks.

[Apollo]

Ok you are invited to dinner to a friends house. After dinner you decide to sit on a chair that is in the living room. You have sat on it many times before in the past. So you sit down like normal. Moments later the legs underneath crack and you topple over smashing into a glass end table. Coffee and a big vase filled with water and flowers spill all over the carpet. You don't hurt your self but the table and the chair are ruined and the carpet is soaked.

You decided to help clean up. You spend a few hours with a shop vac cleaning up as much as your can. Now you are exhausted and your back hurts. The carpet is still wet. So they hire carpet cleaners and get the furniture replaced which costs under $1000.

The friend never invites you over again.

Was it your fault? Should you pay up?

It turns out the chairs legs were infested with termites.

 

[TheBat812]

Doesn't sound like your fault. In an ideal world you offer to help pay but they decline, knowing full well it was not your fault.

 

[DarkSentinel]

That is a *****ey friend. But as a guest I'd at least offer some help, especially if I'm over there often.

 

[Aesop Rocks]

Because I put the termites in the chair.

Not my fault, but I'll pay for the damages.

 

[Apollo]

I am most interested in seeing how numbers 1 and 2 play out in the poll.

1. It was not my fault. Don't pay anything
2. It was not my fault. But pay anyways

3. It was my fault. But don't pay for anything

4. It was my fault. Pay up

 

[Duran Man]

Nope, not my fault, and I wouldn't pay a red cent. The chair broke while I was sitting on it, I didn't break the chair. He/she is the one with the hazardous, termite-infested furniture. I could have broken my neck from that fall! I could have died! The glass could have scratched up my corneas! I could have gone blind! I should be suing them!

 

[Human Torch]

Yeah,I can't see any possible way that it would be my fault in such circumstances.

I'd help clean up or whatever,but I wouldn't pay to the tune of $1000.

It seems more a case they should be happy not to pay my hospital bills.

 

[Tempest]

I would offer to pay.

If their chair is infested with termites, then the rest of the house probably is too, and that would be expensive to get rid of. Plus, the chair did break while I was sitting on it.

And there are other factors that you didn't put into the scenario; was I invited to sit on that chair, or did I just presume that I could park my ass wherever? Was it an antique chair? Did I just plunk down into the chair?

 

[KevanG]

Offer to help clean and maybe pay some but not the entire bill. Anyone who is reasonable couldn't expect anything else. It wasn't my fault the chair broke due to termites and I broke everything due to that.

Funny enough, I had a similar incident once. It didn't cost anywhere near $1000, maybe $200. I had some cuts from the glass but we laughed it off, I offered to help pay, they refused entirely.

 

[Slushy]

I would help, but I wouldn't pay.

 

[Spider-Who?]

Who hires carpet cleaners for water on the carpet? And $1000 for a chair and end table? Go to a thrift store. You can get an awesome chair, table, couch and dinning set for under $500.

 

[Doctor Evo]

...that's not what "social experiment" means.

 

[Apollo]

Doctor Ego at it again.

 

[Human Torch]

Doctor Ego at it again.

Pick up for the H.E. waiting at the front desk.t:

 

[Breogan]

If it's a friend, would help clean up, help throw out damaged stuff, if they ask nice might help move in new stuff. But I would not pay.

 

[Black Narcissus]

I go upstairs with his wife and he can clean up.

 

[Flint Marko]

No way I'd fork over $1000, but I might offer to put in some money.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

A friend who offers to pay around half for damages would pass the true friend test.

But if I accepted the money I would fail the secondary, true friend test.

 

[Apollo]

I was also wondering what would happen if I threw income into the story. For this I just assume you all think both friends make around the same amount in income.

But lets say you are a millionaire and your friend is an average joe. I am wondering if #1 would go down and #2 would rise.

and vise versa. Lets say you are an average joe and your friend is a millionaire. Would # 1 rise much higher than #2?

To me, I think it is fun to think about.

 

[Warhammer]

Not going to lie. This is a tough question.

 

[SpideyFan866]

I would help pay for the carpet, but not the ruined furniture. Nor would I take responsibility for the chair breaking.

 

[Apollo]

Part of this story comes from a true story my mom told me.
Years ago her boss had boxes to deliver to our house. He was a big guy, a bit overweight and old. So after he unloaded the boxes at my front porch. He decided to sit down on the cement bench we had on the side of the door, I guess to rest. Since the bench was outside for years the legs were brittle and not soon after he sat down the legs snapped and he toppled over.

He never offered to pay for it. And this infuriated my mom! she was so upset he didn't offer to pay for it. This was like 20 years ago and she would still tell this story to friends and family every now and then.

When she brings the story up she gets mad at me for not understanding. She went on saying it is a decorative bench that isn't meant to be sat on. To me you don't put a bench outside and expect people not to sit on it. It was a large cement bench!

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Part of this story comes from a true story my mom told me.
Years ago her boss had boxes to deliver to our house. He was a big guy, a bit overweight and old. So after he unloaded the boxes at my front porch. He decided to sit down on the cement bench we had on the side of the door, I guess to rest. Since the bench was outside for years the legs were brittle and not soon after he sat down the legs snapped and he toppled over.

He never offered to pay for it. And this infuriated my mom! she was so upset he didn't offer to pay for it. This was like 20 years ago and she would still tell this story to friends and family every now and then.

When she brings the story up she gets mad at me for not understanding. She went on saying it is a decorative bench that isn't meant to be sat on. To me you don't put a bench outside and expect people not to sit on it. It was a large cement bench!

He was fat. He should've offered to, at least, partially pay.

 

[Apollo]

That's what she argues. hehe.

I guess I feel bad for him.

My mom still has the bench. She went and replaced the cement feet herself. Not sure how much it cost. But you know where the bench is now? Under a couple bushes with weeds growing all around it and old garden pots thrown on top.

 

[Doctor Evo]

Pick up for the H.E. waiting at the front desk.t:

I suppose it could be worse. I could join you and Apollo as a member of the Hype Illiterati.