Immediate failure for not being academia levels of brain-broken. You’ll sit in your cube and like it!

Oh, the funniest part of this to me was how certain I was it was true. I used to have to find alternate routes into the building all the time because of the geese. I think they nested in the bushes near all the doors. If it wasn’t, it was a very good lie and I appreciated the effort anyway.

This was for a lab I was teaching, so they had to be there in person. It was a 3 hour block, so I wouldn’t have even asked why they were late. I only even remember 5+ years later because they came rushing in with an explanation and I thought it was hilarious.

This may have worked. I once excused a student for being late because the geese were being aggressive.