An ongoing theme on The Big Bang Theory is the power of friendship and the importance of connection. But that's not all TBBT touched based on. Their work in different fields of science was also a huge part of the series. With all four men working in different areas at Caltech, Amy being a neuroscientist, and Bernadette being a microbiologist, life in the workplace was a large setting throughout the show. (And fans can't forget about Penny's time at The Cheesecake Factory.)
While the gang made incredible moves in science, there were also moments of weakness. There were a few questionable decisions made at work that could have gotten the characters fired or at least sent home to think about their actions.
Howard Crashed The Mars Rover
Before Howard fell in love and married Bernadette, he was a wannabe ladies' man. There's nothing he wouldn't have done to go home with a woman.
In "The Lizard-Spock Expansion," he found himself in deep trouble when he promised a woman he met at a bar that she could drive the Mars Rover. The only problem is that when Howard was showing her how it's done, he crashed it. NASA got involved and an investigation was underway because data was erased after the crash. Luckily for him, they never found out who did it.
Penny & Leonard Slept Together In The Lab
In an attempt at learning about what Leonard actually did at work, Penny sort of shadowed him for a couple of days to watch him in action. During a time where she went back and forth on the whole "dating Leonard thing," she ended up falling even more in love with him when she was reminded how smart he was.
However, she took her feelings to another level. She and Leonard started sleeping with each other in the lab, which had to have gone against a couple of health codes.
Sheldon Insulting Women & Being Racially Insensitive
Oh, Sheldon. As someone who cherishes his work and doesn't take it for granted, he has made some egregious workplace decisions that could have gotten him fired from his dream job.
When he hired a woman named Alex to be his assistant, Sheldon didn't realize that the conversations he had with her about sexuality and desire could be seen as inappropriate for the workplace. This, of course, got Sheldon sent to human resources where he continued to talk about what he wasn't supposed to talk about. He even made unintentional and insensitive racial comments.
Penny Using Leonard To Get Her Into A Therapist Office
When Penny hit her stride in the pharmaceutical sales industry, there was one prominent therapist she couldn't get in touch with. To help her catch a sale, she made an appointment for Leonard to see her and put in a good word for her.
Penny's under-the-rug plan worked but the therapist did not find it respectable or kind that Penny used her husband as a pawn.
Bernadette Is A Bully At Work
When Penny started working at Bernadette's company, it became quite clear that she was the office bully. Even Bernadette's boss was afraid of her!
Penny and her boss spoke about all the horrible things Bernadette did but kept her around because she's great at her job. Penny eventually came clean to Bernadette and told her that they've been collectively paying for her coffee for months and that the bathroom on her floor wasn't solely hers. Bernadette was shocked at her own behavior but it's not known if she changed after this.
The Plasma Lab
In "The Vengeance Formulation," Sheldon played a prank on Barry Kripke after being pranked earlier in the episode. To get back at him, Sheldon added "dish soap, hydrogen peroxide, and saturated potassium iodide" in a hidden compartment in the plasma lab where Barry worked. When Sheldon was ready, he would watch the combination explode into a sea of foam. What Sheldon didn't anticipate was for Barry to be with guests when the prank went off...
Penny As A Waitress
Penny wracked up a long list of workplace blunders during her time at The Cheesecake Factory, showing that she was a stunningly poor waitress. She forgot people's orders, she brought out the wrong meals, and she ignored entire tables. The Cheesecake Factory paid Penny's bills for a long time but that did not mean she was a good employee.
The Pigeon In The Sanitized Lab
In "The Clean Room Infiltration," Howard, Leonard, and Raj were in the university's "clean room" when one of them accidentally left the door open. A pigeon flew in, which completely compromised the state of the entire room.
The guys did everything they could to get the bird out of the room but it took far too long. By the end of the night, they got one bird out but another flew in. They ended up erasing their names from the sign-in sheet and left the bird in the lab!
Amy & Bernadette's Behavior Towards Equipment
In "Retraction Reaction," Bernadette visited Amy's lab where she compliments her on very expensive and sought-after equipment. Both of the women admitted that they hid their successes from their partners because Sheldon and Howard would feel emasculated. But the more they bragged to each other, the more sketchy secrets started coming out.
Bernadette admitted to never washing out test tubes and that she didn't bother learning her assistant's names; she calls them Thing 1 and Thing 2. Amy also admitted to napping in the fMRI machine instead of using it for its purpose.
One Word: Helium
When Sheldon landed a radio interview on NPR's Science Friday, Kripke thought of a way to embarrass him while delighting everyone who listened: releasing a tub of helium during the interview. The helium slowly affected Sheldon's voice and he sounded hilarious to viewers. Sheldon was mortified by the prank and thought it overshadowed the interview. This could have ended dangerously and gotten Kripke in serious trouble.