Had to pick between a stuck rock and a bent ladder on the Des Moines River job

Parker Anderson · 2026-03-21T17:25:06.33673+00:00

We were pulling up old concrete chunks and the pump started to choke, so the foreman gave me a choice: try to clear it with the jet hose from the deck or shut down and send me down the ladder to look. I went with the jet hose, which worked, but it also blasted a hidden mud wasp nest right onto my hard hat. What's the weirdest thing you've ever uncovered trying to clear a line?

derek6565mo ago

Clearing a blocked drain in an old Omaha apartment building, I found a petrified corn cob and three rubber ducks. The ducks were lined up like they were waiting for a turn. It felt like I was interrupting some kind of tiny, weird parade.

6

gavin_hill275mo ago

Mud wasps are the worst.

5

paigewhite5mo ago

Tiny, weird parade" is a bit much, Derek656. It's just some old junk in a pipe. I've pulled out way worse than bath toys (think a full, furry possum once). A line of ducks is just weird clutter, not some big mystery.

-1