Oh boy, this is such an awesome story. Thank you for sticking it up to the abusive manager and entertaining us with the result.
Unfortunately I didn't have the guts to do this. I used to work at a place where everything was fine until a new line manager was installed who moved me to a different desk in another building. That desk was right next to the server room, which was noisy with a constant low-pitched grumbling. I was not able to think or concentrate in that environment, so I would frequently take my laptop to another floor and do my work there. The manager was not happy about that and demanded that I should return to my assigned desk and stay there. I told him it would mean I wouldn't be able to accomplish any work and he said something on the lines of “I don't care”. I should have taken him up on that; I should have stopped working entirely and just browsed the web all day until he gets wind of it and finally admits that he does care. But I was too cowardly to dare. I continued to defy him by spending most of my time at the “wrong” desk though.