Commuters in New York City. (AP)

Funny Excuses: I Was Late Because My Wife Froze My Truck Keys

Feb 7, 2013 — What people say when they're late to work: having a bad hair day, wearing your roommate's girlfriend's shoes, and delivering a stranger's baby on the side of the road.

That well-worn excuse — "The dog ate my homework" — lasts well into adulthood, according to a new survey by online job website, Careerbuilder.com. The survey asked hiring officials and workers why employees were tardy, and found a little more than 25% of workers are late to work at least once a month. Most explanations were straightforward, such as heavy traffic, inclement weather or problems with daycare.

But here's a brief sampling of more hilarious reasons:

— "Employee's angry wife had frozen his truck keys in a glass of water left in the freezer."

— "Employee accidentally left the apartment with his roommate's girlfriend's shoes on and had to go back to change."

— "Employee got a late start because she was putting a raincoat on her cement duck in her front yard (because rain was expected later that day)."

— "Employee attempted to cut his own hair before work and the clippers stopped working, so he had to wait until the barber shop opened to fix his hair."

— "Employee claimed to have delivered a stranger's baby on the side of the highway."

The tardiness survey is similar to Careerbuilder's question last month, in which it asked companies about "strangest interview blunders":

— "Candidate said he had to quit a banking position because he was always tempted to steal."

— "Candidate asked to be paid 'under the table.' "

— "Candidate said he didn't want the job if he had to work a lot."

Both surveys were conducted by Harris Interactive last November.

Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.