I was recently reminded of a bus driver that used to fascinate me.   Even though it's been years since I've been on one of his buses, he has greatly impacted my life.

Several buses travel the same route, and I would always leave school at different times, so I would only encounter this this bus driver a couple of times a month.   On one of my first trips with him, he startled me as I was getting on.

"You dropped something!"

Turning around on the narrow steps of a bus is no easy feat.   Especially when you have a backpack full of books, headphones, and a big heavy coat.  And the twisting and turning was extra awkward as there were a line of people forming behind me.  Finally I gave up and gave the driver a puzzled look.

"Do you want to know what you dropped?"

"Yes, please."

"You dropped your money in my machine.   Bwahahaha!"

I quietly shuffled to my seat.   I suppose that was a mildly amusing joke in theory, but it was very rattling.   The process of getting on the bus and paying is very stressful.  If your bill is a little wrinkled and gets rejected, people get very antsy.   I've actually seen arguments start because people don't have their money ready to go ahead of time.  Meanwhile, this driver was intentionally sabotaging my turn in line by slowing me down.  

Every time I wound up on a bus with this particular driver, I thought about that joke.   Then, about two months later, I heard him do it someone else!   Now, the gears in my head really began to churn.   How often does he tell this joke?  How does he choose which customer to pull it on?   Does he go insane waiting for the next time he can tell this joke?  "just one more lap around and then I can use it again!!!"  When did he first come up with the idea of the joke?   Was he on the job, or maybe he writes his material at home beforehand?  So many questions.

I would love to see data on this driver and that joke.   I would fund a whole study complete with a bunch of scientists in white coats.    Human behavior is so peculiar.