Thirty percent of workers called in sick during the past year even when they weren't ill, according to a CareerBuilder survey. In addition, the survey found the holiday season tends to be the busiest time for sick calls.

Here are a few of the more interesting explanations employees gave for their requests for sick leave:

• Employee's sobriety tool wouldn't allow the car to start
• Employee forgot he had been hired for the job
• Employee said her dog was having a nervous breakdown
• Employee's dead grandmother was being exhumed for a police investigation
• Employee's toe was stuck in a faucet
• Employee said a bird bit her
• Employee was upset after watching "The Hunger Games"
• Employee got sick from reading too much
• Employee was suffering from a broken heart
• Employee's hair turned orange from dying her hair at home

The study included 2,494 hiring managers and human resource professionals and 3,976 workers.

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