the sandwich party, the goat shrine, and other unusual office traditions by Alison Green on November 27, 2024 I asked last week about unusual office traditions you’ve seen or experienced, and here are 15 of my favorites you shared. 1. The PB&J party We once had a coworker who was a young, single guy right out of college and living on his own for the first time. He always forgot to buy groceries, so he would bring really random things for lunch every day (one day he brought a jar of spaghetti sauce.) One of my coworkers brought him a loaf of bread and jars of peanut butter and jelly for Christmas so that he could make himself sandwiches. Thus, the PB&J party was born. That was almost 10 years ago, but now right before Christmas, we all get together, reserve a room and everyone brings something. We have had fancy peanut butters, homemade jams and breads, and various other spreads and different foods-and we all sit around and eat PB&J. 2. The goat shrine We had a goat shrine. It was just this little alcove with a few pictures of goats and in the center was a little toy goat statue that would scream when you pushed down on it. Whenever someone accomplished something or completed a difficult task they would hit the goat and we would all cheer for them. New hires would hit the goat when they got out of training and got their first real work assignments. 3. The plant cuttings One of our big departments has a tradition where when an employee retires, they gift her (it’s mostly women) a plant pot with cuttings from all of the office plants in that department. 4. The puffed treat My team received 2 bags of a highly coveted puffed treat one year. We got through about 1.5 bags before either interest was lost or politeness took over and the last bit was never finished. Nobody could bear to throw it away though so one day one of the team hid it at someone’s desk. This began a multi-year tradition of passing the puffcorn. We competed to have the best, sneakiest, funniest ways to hide it or pass it. Memorable moments included: Someone slipping it into a team member’s coat sleeve at a team lunch Having it mailed to my house during covid Sneaking into the office when I was supposed to be off to tape it under my co-worker’s desk It lived for years, survived covid and only died when my team split for other ventures. 5. The 8 Weeks of Doom At my old job in public education, my office mate invented the concept of the 8 Weeks of Doom. This was defined as the period between New Year’s and Spring Break where it was dark and gray, there were few holidays, and everyone’s seasonal depression hit an all-time high. To combat the 8 Weeks of Doom, she started a tradition of making me a Doom Calendar, which is an advent calendar but for fighting the Doom. She’d include small fidgets, snacks, stickers, and fun tea, which I’d open whenever the Doom felt very high on a particular day. Eventually this turned into a standing tradition of us making each other Doom Calendars, and the concept spread to our whole department. We would eventually just start our department meetings checking in about how everyone was managing the Doom, and did anyone want to open a Doom Calendar door for a quick pick me up? Even though we’re not longer office mates, I still exchange a Doom Calendar with this friend every year anyway. It really does help with the Doom! 6. The welcome back At my internship, on any employee’s first day back from parental leave, they’d be greeted with a full spread of pastries and other treats lovingly prepared by the staff at the on-site cafe for the entire office to share. Anyone who could get away from their desks, even for just a few minutes, would pop by to wish the new parent well. 7. The hiking coupons When I worked for a national park as a interpreter (tour guide), if we did a particularly good job that day (helped out in a tricky situation, really rocked a program or something), our boss would give us what she called a “Take a Hike” coupon, which was good for one hour of hiking time on work time. (We’d give it back to “redeem” the coupon when we scheduled a time with our boss to go hiking.) We were the perfect audience for that and the boss usually found a reason to give each of us two or three a season. 8. Wacky Fruit Wednesdays At the start of this year, I realized that I dreaded Wednesdays specifically (I’m in office Monday/Wednesday/Thursday), so I started bringing in fruit I had never tried before from the grocery store to share with my team. This morphed into Wacky Fruit Wednesdays, where my team and people seated near us talk about anything other than work for 30 minutes and try new food. We’ve tried over 100 fruits at this point, and people have brought in different things like hot sauce and pickles. We pivoted to a paper airplane contest for Ramadan, and it was a blast. This week we tried the miracleberries that convert sour into sweet and ate plain limes. It’s become the highlight of our workweek. 9. The treat log Back when we had an office, there was a treat table where folks would bring in baked goods to share. We’d write what was brought, since it was often homemade. Folks would usually just tape a sheet on the table with the description scrawled on it. Once, someone left the sheet behind so the next time treats came, the previous line on the paper was scratched out, and a new description got added to the same sheet. When we ran out of space on that page, a second sheet was taped to the bottom of the first one. Eventually, the taped sheets hit the floor. The next time treats showed up, someone had folded up the three pages of treat descriptions, written ‘treats.tar.gz’ on it, and taped to the table next to a new sheet. We faithfully kept rotating treats.log from then on! 10. The unicorns My previous company took computer security very seriously and it was a big deal to lock your computer when you were away from it. If you didn’t, you would send out an email to your team that says “I love unicorns!” and everyone would know your shame. If it was happening to you repeatedly your manager might talk with you about it because you’re making a habit of leaving your computer unlocked. Then I switched to a security team and things got much sillier. Because we take security so seriously, if you get unicorned twice within a short time your email would say that you’re bringing baked goods next week. Then we switched to our team ALWAYS owing a snack to the team if you get unicorned. We had a unicorn goblet that lived on your desk until you brought in carbs for the team. We had to make rules about what counts — if you were still in the area of your desk (open plan), between your desk and the door, it didn’t count unless somebody could go to the area next door, get the unicorn mask, put it on, sit at your desk and send an email without you noticing. This was to prove you wouldn’t notice a stranger coming in and using your computer. This exercise was done successfully a couple times! I was notorious for “badge unicorning” — you’re not allowed to leave your badge sitting around either, and your badge could be used to scan documents and email them ‘from’ you. So I had a unicorn picture I would scan and send to the team if you left your badge at your desk. 11. The fancy garlic We have some sort of relationship (I’m fuzzy on the details) with some sort of co-op or charity that grows and sells garlic. There used to be an annual sale for the staff, but I guess our leadership team decided it was better to just buy it in bulk, so periodically we each get hand-delivered fancy bags of garlic by management. 12. The rubber ducks When I was an EA, I used to discretely put one of two little rubber ducks on top of my monitor to indicate the CEO’s mood that day. I had a low-wall cube in the middle of the open area surrounded by exec offices. The librarian duck (reading a book) meant, “Shhh … maybe not today” and the jazzercize duck (wearing an 80s track jacket) meant, “We’re up and running and getting things done! Feel free to approach.” The other members of the C-suite loved it. 13. The breakfast burritos For years, I worked in a very strange office with a lot of very strange traditions, but one of the oddest was the inexplicable fervor over Breakfast Burrito Day. So my office was located in the basement of the building, and the lobby area had this little shoppette. Essentially a gas station convenience store without the accompanying gas station. Every Thursday, the owner of the shoppette used to bring in homemade breakfast burritos to sell. The EXCITEMENT over these breakfast burritos cannot be overstated. People went crazy for these breakfast burritos. Chatter about their arrival would begin days in advance. By Wednesday afternoon, many harried work discussions would invariably lead to someone reassuring whomever they were talking to that “at least tomorrow is Breakfast Burrito Day!” Come Thursday morning, the desire for burritos would reach a fever pitch. People would send envoys up to the shoppette in 15-minute intervals to scope out whether the burritos had arrived yet. Once word was received that the burritos were there, people would gather around the front desk and quite literally swarm upstairs to procure burritos. One time, a group of roughly 20 people started a breakfast burrito conga line that cha-cha’d its way all the way up to the shoppette. After buying the burritos, people would return to the basement like Olympians returning with gold medals. I partook in Breakfast Burrito Day once with one of my friends. The conga line was what sold us; we just had to try these seemingly life-changing burritos! And reader, I need to make it clear to you how absolutely terrible these breakfast burritos were. They were really, really bad! They were soggy and slimy and bland! We both actually threw most of our burritos away. Not worth any of the hype, let alone a dedicated conga line! And YET. Breakfast Burrito Day was and remained a weekly beacon of light for many of the basement dwellers (much to my bewilderment). 14. The pranks In Engineering they started playing pranks on people who were out for any length of time — when one of the managers took a few weeks off to refinish his basement, they built him a basement in his office (basically a loft) but the fire marshal made them take it down. They set up a beauty salon for another manager when he was out for surgery. When the director of QA was overseas getting a new acquisition integrated in, they built him a deck outside his office which had an internal window looking out at the rest of the QA department. There was a mural on the wall, and plants, and a water feature. 15. The emotional support chickens We have emotional support rubber chickens! If one calls out for help, another responds. This started with one in each department that mysteriously showed up one morning. My office is locked for compliance when I’m not in it, so my chicken was tucked into my inbox, but most people found their chicken tucked onto their desk amongst their belongings like it settled in on its own. One long-time beloved coworker ended up moving out of state (but he continued to work very part time for about a month after the move, so he remained in Slack) and one time, he posted a video of someone using rubber chickens to recreate Total Eclipse of the Heart. This prompted someone to send a clip of their chicken honking. Someone took a photo of their chicken in front of their screen with the clip visible in Slack in the background. And then someone else took a photo of their chicken with that chicken in the background. This progressed with dozens of chicken photos. By the end of that week, every single person with a desk had a chicken. We do monthly employee appreciation catered lunches and during one, someone brought in a huge, elaborate bird cage with multiple levels and put two rubber chickens in it. When we’re having A Day, we will honk our chicken and any chicken that can hear will honk back (emotional support chickens, remember?) and sometimes this leads to a chorus of chickens just shrieking their frustration. Recently, I saw a tiny rubber chicken keychain that squeaks when you squeeze it, so needless to say, myself and my partner (who is endlessly amused by the office chickens) now have tiny chickens that we honk at each other. You may also like:new boss has a different work style, hanging a photo of the president in your office, and moremy boss wants us to meet with a spiritualist to fix the negative energy in our buildingmy employee delivered a status update … in song { 158 comments }
Project Manager* November 27, 2024 at 11:07 am I also have an emotional support rubber chicken, he has a vest! My sister got it for me after I lost my dog who I frequently called chicken as a term of endearment. The chicken doesn’t replace my dog, but I smile and think of her when I look at it on my desk :)
Frankie Bergstein* November 27, 2024 at 12:38 pm So so wholesome! Office can be a good source of community!
Alexander Graham Yell* November 28, 2024 at 4:10 am My old office had these little stretchy rubber chickens that somebody gave as a gag gift during our white elephant exchange one year. There was a week or two of flinging them and then we got the talk about how they were becoming a distraction, and if we weren’t more serious when the holidays ended the chickens would be taken away. Naturally, we began hoarding chickens. So then instead of a rain of chickens falling upon your head at any and every moment of the day, we would wait for our moment when the mood was just right (serious enough that nobody expected it, not so serious that it would upset somebody) we would slingshot a chicken across the office with the goal of landing the chicken on our chosen target’s keyboard. I transferred out of that office 3 years ago but I hid a chicken so that when I go back to visit I can surprise them all with it.
Slightly Less Evil Bunny* November 27, 2024 at 11:11 am How can I go about getting a screaming goat, with which to make a shrine?
Resident Catholicville, U.S.A.* November 27, 2024 at 11:16 am I was gifted one by a former coworker who I meet up with on a regular basis to have dinner with. We were out with two other former coworkers at a restaurant and, bless their souls, the entire restaurant got to hear me cackle insanely and the goat scream on a regular basis during our dinners. It came to work with me and lives on my desk. We have one client who comes in and, without fail, every morning, makes the goat scream. It’s delightful, especially since I regularly forget the goat is here.
Tio* November 27, 2024 at 11:30 am I’ve seen them advertised repeatedly on Buzzfeed quirky product lists, so I’m betting Amazon
Resident Catholicville, U.S.A.* November 27, 2024 at 11:41 am https://www.amazon.com/The-Screaming-Goat-Book-Figure/dp/0762459816 This is mine, but mine didn’t come with a book.
Ace Of Dragons* November 27, 2024 at 11:51 am We had one at the vet I used to work at, that we would use after a particularly difficult phone call or appointment. I found one at TJ Maxx, which I gifted to a coworker when she left. I also found one at Target, which my teen daughter uses when she’s really frustrated with school. I’ve seen them off and on at Barnes and Noble, and I just found it on Amazon on sale for around $9.
Tammy 2* November 27, 2024 at 11:56 am Hallmark has a really cute one right now. It faints. https://www.hallmark.com/stuffed-animals/interactive-stuffed-animals/seasons-screamings-goat-plush-with-sound-and-motion-1KCX2017.html
Lab Snep* November 27, 2024 at 12:19 pm I worked at a staples, and when someone was having a bad shift they would lean into the entire wire box display of Easy buttons, much to the chagrin of our manager. You could hear “THAT WAS EASY” from across the store.
Aggretsuko* November 27, 2024 at 5:26 pm We have screaming goats at my job now, both the button and actual goat toy.
Jennifer Strange* November 27, 2024 at 11:15 am The goat one reminds me somewhat of my prior organization (a non-profit theatre)! We had a gong that would get rung to celebrate an accomplishment, like when we made goal in ticket sales or got a huge grant we had been hoping for. I got to ring it once when I happened to be the person to answer the phone about a very large (and very unexpected) estate bequest.
Reluctant Mezzo* November 27, 2024 at 8:53 pm Our local library has a gong which is rung fifteen minutes before closing time (‘pick out your books and get them checked out already’) and then rung somewhat more loudly at five minutes (‘yes, we really mean NOW’) before. Only the most senior library staff gets to do it.
pandop* November 28, 2024 at 5:21 am Did it work? I used to work in a public library where even turning the lights off didn’t get certain patrons to hurry up …
juliebulie* November 27, 2024 at 11:16 am I love the chicken thing, but the PB&J story really warms my heart in a way that my space heater does not.
Meow* November 27, 2024 at 11:19 am I worked at a place with a tradition like the unicorn one, except there wasn’t any one canned phrase, people would make up whatever. But it wasn’t ever anything heinous, as far as I was aware, just promises to buy lunch or something dumb and juvenile sounding that very obviously wasn’t a real email that person would send out. But one day someone did it to a guy on the team who didn’t exactly have a sense of humor. They wrote “I like stinky feet” and sent it to our group’s distribution list. When the guy came back and saw, he angrily marched over to the IT security guy and started physically threatening him. The kicker was… the IT security guy not only didn’t do it, he wasn’t even on our group’s distribution list and had no idea what happened. From his perspective, some angry guy from another team just showed up at his desk, threatening him for “making a mockery out of me” and whatnot. Someone did eventually own up to it after Angry Guy left. No one could really blame him for keeping silent after seeing what happened though.
learnedthehardway* November 27, 2024 at 11:39 am There’s a considerable amount of chutzpah about getting angry with the IT security guy when you’ve done something that is against IT Security policies.
Zeus* November 27, 2024 at 8:20 pm When I was in training for a call centre job that was very very very big on security, if anyone left their desk without locking it the trainer would open up an email, address it to his boss (our grandboss), and type “I love you” in the subject line. He wouldn’t send it, but he’d leave it open on the desktop. Bizarrely, while I was there at least one person got back to their desk, saw an email ready to send, and clicked Send automatically before reading what it said!
Chas* November 28, 2024 at 10:56 am That reminds me of one the time one of my fellow PhD students ended up showing her boss a presentation with the phrase “mutant boob protein” in it, because she’d left her computer unlocked and the guy sat next to her had jokingly added a word to one of her slides, thinking she’d notice and delete it. She didn’t notice it, but my boss did. Luckily he had a sense of humour as well!
Wendy Darling* November 28, 2024 at 12:29 am On my husband’s team, the “I left my computer unlocked” email phrase was “I’m a pretty pretty princess!” I just change the offender’s desktop background to something I think they will dislike (in a funny way) e.g. the other day my coworker had just been talking about how she hated sweet potato casserole so when she forgot to lock her computer I changed her background to a giant photo of a sweet potato casserole.
Insert Clever Name Here* November 27, 2024 at 11:20 am I love all of these but special shout out to: #7 for finding a way to reward employees with something they appreciate when you definitely don’t have a budget to reward employees #8 for pivoting to a non-food activity during Ramadan Please accept this gold star from an internet stranger!
Pastor Petty Labelle* November 27, 2024 at 11:27 am I loved #8 for the inclusiveness. Oh yeah, no eating sun up to sun down – great let’s throw paper airplanes instead. So everyone still got the break and no one we left out.
Lab Snep* November 27, 2024 at 12:23 pm Re #8, I make a halal version of my grandmother’s tourtiere* recipe (Canadian meat pie, usually made with pork. I use halal chicken and halal Poe crust). All of the Muslim co-workers I worked with one Christmas were so grateful to be included. Sorry, gramma, but I prefer the halal chicken version. *it is an extremely poor people version with no potatoes, and moisture and flavour is added to the meat by boiling the meat and onion and spices in water until the water is gone.
Dek* November 27, 2024 at 1:25 pm Basically, yeah. I feel like being able to grab a free 1 hr break outside when I’m feeling antsy would do loads for morale.
Holly Gibney* November 27, 2024 at 11:21 am Anyone else dying to know what makes a puffed treat highly coveted?
Ess Ess* November 27, 2024 at 11:58 am I was assuming it was a rice krispie treat (or variation of it)
juliebulie* November 27, 2024 at 11:38 am I’m not even sure what that is. Is it like the cereal Corn Pops? (I think that’s what they were called.)
londonedit* November 27, 2024 at 11:51 am I’m guessing something like UK Wotsits, which I think are like the American Cheetos? Though Wotsits aren’t particularly coveted and are widely available – there are these French peanut puff things that are like Wotsits but peanut flavour instead of cheese, and I’ve definitely met people who are low-key obsessed with those and always bring a few bags back with them whenever they go to France on holiday, so I’m imagining something like that.
Ellis Bell* November 27, 2024 at 2:16 pm The only thing I can think of is Sugar Puffs, but why would that be coveted?
Ellis Bell* November 27, 2024 at 2:17 pm Oh, but now I’m thinking of cinder toffee and Rainbow Drops, both of which are described as puffed.
Dahlia* November 27, 2024 at 12:26 pm I assumed Pirate’s Booty from Trader’s Joe and a story from Canada, where we don’t have Trader’s Joe.
Strive to Excel* November 27, 2024 at 12:20 pm I’d guess something seasonal or out of stock. Not sure if this is true for anyone else but I’ll sometimes get days where I desperately a very specific snack, go and get it, and then be satisfied after 3 bites. Usually it’s french fries.
Holly Gibney* November 27, 2024 at 12:29 pm I was thinking those fancy holiday popcorns, but I am far from a puffed treat connoisseur.
linger* November 27, 2024 at 1:37 pm Apparently America has at least one inexplicably popular Cheeto.
TeaCoziesRUs* November 29, 2024 at 8:57 am considering they called it puffcorn, I’m thinking some kind of sticky caramel popcorn ball. They can be a fun treat in fall or for Christmas, are somewhat rare, and hold together fairly well. If they were sold commercially, they’ll still be wrapped in their plastic bubble, so they’ll stay together.
Elsewise* November 27, 2024 at 11:22 am The chicken one is giving me such delightful “Gondor calls for aid!” vibes. “And Rohan will quackser.” *(I am aware that chickens don’t quack, it’s the day before the holiday weekend, just let me have this.)
Hey Now* November 27, 2024 at 2:25 pm That’s exactly what I was coming here to say! Glad I’m not the only one. I like that some of these started as kindnesses: the PB&J, especially, and the pivot to paper airplanes for Ramadan.
Moo* November 27, 2024 at 11:28 am Loving these! Especially the emotional support chickens and the PB&J party. I used to work in an office where two of the managers would prank each other with a skeleton when one was out for any extended period of time. Going on vacation? You’d come back to the skeleton at your desk wearing a lei and a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses. Having surgery? The skeleton would have bandages or some other medical issue. We always got a kick out of what they did with it.
FricketyFrack* November 27, 2024 at 12:41 pm We have an office skeleton named Albert Spinestein that lives in our reception area year round. He also has a Hawaiian shirt (which belonged to my grandfather) and seasonal accessories. He started as a Halloween decoration a couple of years ago, but we all got attached and kids are surprisingly into it, so we kept him.
Medium Sized Manager* November 27, 2024 at 11:28 am #10 is a fantastic exercise in cyber security – I am so impressed!
allathian* November 28, 2024 at 2:11 am Not really. I’m amazed how lax cybersecurity is in some companies. I’m not supposed to leave my desk without locking my computer. We log in with a smartcard + PIN, and when you leave your desk, you’re expected to grab the smartcard that doubles as a security badge and wear it where others can see it. Most people use a lanyard, some prefer a clip. If you’re caught leaving your computer unlocked, it could potentially result in a firing. Simply leaving it unlocked might get you a verbal warning if a manager catches you, a second offence a written one, and three strikes and you’re out. Depending on the job, even the first offence might be a problem because it could potentially mean downgrading your security rating. If leaving your computer unlocked means that someone gets access to confidential information they aren’t supposed to see (most of our systems are accessible via the smartcard), it can result in both employees getting fired effective immediately with no warnings and no second chances. And I work for the government in Finland where firing people is anything but at will.
Pastor Petty Labelle* November 27, 2024 at 11:29 am I just love these — except the burrito one. They are about making people feel part of the team, appreciated, etc. Without all the usual issues associated with team building.
Firefighter (Metaphorical)* November 27, 2024 at 10:31 pm Yes! So wholesome! The loveliest thing on the internet today.
AF Vet* November 29, 2024 at 9:02 am The burrito one makes me sad for the days when we had breakfast burrito sales at technical training. They’d buy them in bulk from an EXCELLENT little shop making fresh Tortillas outside the gate for $1/ea. And this was one of those hole-in-the-wall places in San Antonio that bribed angels for the recipes or something, because I can still taste them 20 years later. They’d sell them to the students and teachers for $2/ea or 3 for $5. They’d then use that money to fund the spirit events, like the night we found out what our jobs would be. EXCELLENT burritos, excellent reason to get 5 extra minutes of sleep on Fridays.
Busy Bee* November 29, 2024 at 10:41 am AF Vet, I’m in SA and curious to know which hole-in-the-wall you’re referring to! I used to work at Fort Sam and had a favorite breakfast taco place near there. I’m no longer at FSH and don’t have time to go during the week, but I still regularly make a trip on the weekends!
Slow Gin Lizz* November 27, 2024 at 12:05 pm Heck, yeah, me too!!!! That one is my FAVORITE and now I’m busy thinking up things to put in one that I want to make for a friend who hates winter even more than I do.
Strive to Excel* November 27, 2024 at 12:07 pm I was thinking the same thing! Something to fight off the doldrums would be lovely.
Anneke* November 27, 2024 at 4:30 pm I love the Doom Calendar idea so much I’ve just ordered a bunch of little Kraft giftboxes and various bits to go in them that I’m going to put in my shared office for the team.
Aggretsuko* November 27, 2024 at 5:28 pm I’m already plotting making myself a Doom Calendar, seriously. I haaaaaaaaaaaaaate January and February and this is the right move.
allathian* November 28, 2024 at 2:37 am I frequently wish I could hibernate from November to March/April like the Moomin family. I’m at 60 N and we have 6 hours 13 minutes of daylight between sunrise (at 8:52) and sunset (at 3:24) today. At no point does the sun rise higher than about 10 degrees above the horizon, so “daylight” is a misnomer. At best it’s a sort of bright twilight that reminds me of Mordor. It’s not so bad when we have snow, but now the ground’s bare. Oh well, at least I don’t have to worry about slipping on any ice when I go for my lunchtime walk (WFH today). I have to admit that going for walks on my lunch break has been hugely beneficial to my mental health during the months when it’s dark when I start and equally dark when I stop working. Before the pandemic I used to minimize my time at the office by only taking short lunch breaks and leaving as early as I could, which meant that I wouldn’t spend time outdoors in daylight for several months of the year. Now I go out to lunch with my coworkers when I’m at the office and go for walks when I’m WFH.
Retail Dragon* November 27, 2024 at 11:31 am This entire thread brought me great joy! I think my favorite is the Advent Calendar of Doom and I might try to do something similar for my best friend – we both struggle with seasonal depression during that same time of the year and I could really see her enjoying it. Thanks to everyone for all these great stories!
Slow Gin Lizz* November 27, 2024 at 12:07 pm Haha, I just posted that I want to make one for me and my friend too! Trying to think of what to put in it, though…I was thinking beer, but she doesn’t drink much, or candy, but she tries to avoid sugar, so….well, I have over a month, I hope I come up with something!
ThatGirl* November 27, 2024 at 12:18 pm little toys, maybe those tiny cheeses or sausages you can get at World Market, a little bit of her favorite candy?
WellRed* November 27, 2024 at 12:24 pm A nice teabag, tiny hand cream or lip balm, fun magnet or sticker.
Ellis Bell* November 27, 2024 at 2:20 pm Working in a school myself, I actually want very specific instructions on this and how it was used on a school environment. What is the structure made of, what is it stocked with, where was it sited, how do you ensure everyone gets a turn? So many questions….
Jay (no, the other one)* November 27, 2024 at 11:31 am The pranks are a much more sophisticated version of what I found one day when I returned from a week off. I shared an office with two of my colleagues who were also good friends. One of them either found or purchased a label-maker. EVERY SINGLE THING on my desk and shelves was labeled. Ten pens had tiny labels that said JAY’S PEN. The computer monitor, the keyboard, the phone, the mouse, the cord for the mouse (this was a long time ago), my stethoscope, my white coat hanging on the back of my desk chair, and each item in the pocket of the white coat. It was hilarious.
Kay* November 27, 2024 at 11:34 am These are all so sweet, I can’t possibly pick a favorite. Thank you for the day-brightener!
Dust Bunny* November 27, 2024 at 11:36 am We spend the last week before winter closing–we’re closed between Christmas and New Years–doing an intensive inventory and clean-up of my department’s secondary space. Last year we measured all the furniture with either big, unwieldy full-sized measuring tapes or my pathetic little novelty measuring tape. I ordered small but functional tapes and got custom stickers that said “[department event] 2023” on them to give to all my coworkers. So . . . gift, but not a burdensome gift. We actually do use them.
stelms_elms* November 27, 2024 at 11:39 am Regarding #12, the EA to the President at my organization would put a red, yellow or green folder indicating his mood in the slotted file holder on her desk that faced out to everyone who would approach the President’s office. It helped get a lot of things done on the green days. To be fair, it was also pretty easy to tell when it was a red day. I don’t know if he ever knew about it, but it’s entirely possible he told her which color to display on a given day.
Jay (no, the other one)* November 27, 2024 at 11:58 am My husband had a colleague whose last name was Wolf. He had a stuffed wolf on his desk with a tail that could be repositioned. Tail up = STAY AWAY.
Strive to Excel* November 27, 2024 at 12:11 pm Our boss plays music in his office when he’s in. You can usually tell what his mood is based on what’s playing. On days with there’s metal or christian rock bands playing it is not a good day to have an intensive meeting.
New Jack Karyn* November 27, 2024 at 6:32 pm President walks in with coffee stain on his shirt. “Today’s a red folder day, Gladys.”
Lexi Vipond* November 27, 2024 at 11:42 am There doesn’t seem to have been any love for treats.tar.gz yet, but it made me laugh!
Nina* November 27, 2024 at 12:16 pm It took me a minute and I do use Linux, so maybe Windows users would understand it better as ‘treats.zip’
Kricket523* November 27, 2024 at 12:46 pm Thank you for making the joke understandable – I haven’t programmed anything since I learned Basic in high school (early 90’s)!
Alanna of Trebond* November 27, 2024 at 1:49 pm This helps me, actually! Not a Linux user. I got the gist, but I appreciate you putting it into Windows terms. Thank you!
I take tea* November 28, 2024 at 4:46 am Thank you. I thought it might have been something like that. Cute.
Blackbeard* November 28, 2024 at 5:02 am For those who aren’t UNIX geeks: treats.tar.gz is a compressed (gz) archive of treats bundled together (tar). This is done periodically to old logs so that they don’t take up much disk space. Old logs are numbered and rotated (log1.tar.gz, log2.tar.gz, etc.) before being eventually deleted from the disk.
Lexi Vipond* November 28, 2024 at 6:30 am True, but the fact that it was Linux made it funnier, somehow!
Timothy* November 27, 2024 at 11:48 am From ‘9. The treat log’: > The next time treats showed up, someone had folded up the three pages of treat descriptions, written ‘treats.tar.gz’ on it, and taped to the table next to a new sheet. As a lifetime nerd and Linux user for 20+ years, I definitely LOL’d at this. Thanks so much! :D
Ess Ess* November 27, 2024 at 11:59 am As an IT person, I also got the reference and cracked up out loud.
Cardboard Marmalade* November 27, 2024 at 11:49 am The unicorn mask caught me by surprise and I almost choked laughing. What a twist!
the Viking Diva* November 27, 2024 at 11:52 am Because someone else wants to see this too… the chicken video is easily googled – try chicken duet Total Eclipse of the Heart
CaptainBrokeLeg* November 27, 2024 at 3:13 pm I have sent this to my entire stand-up Teams chat. Thank you.
Valancy Stirling* November 27, 2024 at 11:58 am “They were really, really bad! They were soggy and slimy and bland!” OP, I don’t know if the rhyme was intentional, but it made me cackle.
Yes And* November 27, 2024 at 12:02 pm I have questions. #10. How does this work? Is it that the person who left their computer open would be compelled to send this message? Or is it that someone else would send this message from their unattended/unlocked computer? #12. Did the CEO know about this? I can’t imagine the rest of the C-Suite being in on it without the CEO knowing, but I also can’t image a CEO who is both (a) moody enough to make this a useful indicator, and (b) okay with it being done. #13. I wonder if the burritos had once been good, and the maker slowly degraded their quality as they realized they could sell out without as much labor/expense, and nobody noticed the change over time? #14. Those are some elaborate pranks. Was there a budget for this?
Strive to Excel* November 27, 2024 at 12:09 pm #10 – this is a reasonably common thing in places with serious IT security. The person who finds the unlocked computer sends the message. It shows that an unauthorized person (ie, anyone who the computer was not issued to) had a chance to access a secure device that they shouldn’t have had.
Ess Ess* November 27, 2024 at 12:09 pm For #10, the person finding the unlocked computer would send out the message using the mail program on the computer so it would appear to be coming from the person who left it open.
ThisIsNotADuplicateComment* November 27, 2024 at 12:11 pm For #12 the library duck might not mean they were mad, it could mean “I have to get this important thing done so don’t interrupt me unless the building is on fire.” Or maybe they did know about it, but only get moody when people interrupt time-sensitive work with questions that could wait a few days.
Alisaurus* November 27, 2024 at 1:42 pm As an EA, I can almost guarantee the former is correct. One exec I supported in a previous job would have loved the ducks, and I’m now bummed I never did this with him! He would tell me when he had an important project and absolutely could not be disturbed other than for critical emergencies (like, fire or family emergency) only, could be potentially interrupted by a member of the management team if I deemed it important enough, could be interrupted by management for any reason, could be interrupted by anyone but preferred not to if I could help it, etc. And then there were “open door” days where anybody could stop by for any reason, even just to chat.
Nina* November 27, 2024 at 12:17 pm #10 – if you work with confidential information or in a secure site, locking your computer when you step away is a common policy to have. If someone left their computer unlocked, anyone who noticed it unlocked could use it to send the unicorn email.
Catherine* November 28, 2024 at 4:58 am An office I worked in once had a fraud where a person created a large and unauthorised payment to their family member. It was approved by a second member of staff. The second person said they hadn’t approved the payment, theory was that fraudster jumped on second person’s PC when they left it unlocked and clicked the button to approve. Second person had an unlocked uncomfortable set of meetings with security and police. Funnily enough no one ever left their PC unlocked after that, and the habit has stayed with me since.
Media Monkey* November 28, 2024 at 7:29 am places where i have worked a message would be sent to the team email saying “I (person who left the computer unlocked) will be bringing in a box of Krispy Kremes tomorrow”. definite incentive not to do that twice!
Jam Today* November 27, 2024 at 12:05 pm I LOVE the burrito story, its absolutely made for cinema. I want John Patrick Shanley to write a little screenplay and shoehorn it into a special edition of “Joe Versus the Volcano”. Just a bizarre little vignette that has nothing to do with anything, there in the middle of the story, then its gone.
DannyG* November 27, 2024 at 1:34 pm I had the reverse experience: 40+ years ago as a resident at huge university hospital a student nurse of Vietnamese origin (she and her mother were boat people) would bring in a cooler of spring rolls her mother made on the days she worked. Pagers would go off announcing the arrival of the rolls and what unit she was working. She would sell out every day and put herself through school with the proceeds. Best spring rolls I have ever had.
Jam Today* November 27, 2024 at 3:48 pm Now I want spring rolls. This kind of reminds me of the Indian grocery store around the way from me, they frequently have aluminum trays on the checkout counter with samosas, or vada pav, or dabeli, or dhokla, violating every health code imaginable but they’re delicious and haven’t killed me yet after many years of eating them, so…
Slow Gin Lizz* November 27, 2024 at 12:09 pm Given all the comments about people wanting a Doom Calendar, I feel like this could be a marketable product. Who wants to start a Doom Calendar company with me?
Liz the Snackbrarian* November 27, 2024 at 2:17 pm Oh my god, I especially love this given what 2025 will bring politically. Should we sneak a few IUDs in there?
Media Monkey* November 28, 2024 at 7:33 am read that as IEDs and thought “well i’m not sure it’s that bad” but who knows?
CubeFarmer* November 27, 2024 at 12:11 pm This makes me realize that I’ve always worked in very, very boring offices.
roisin54* November 27, 2024 at 12:36 pm Same. The most interesting thing about mine is the chocolate bucket, which is an old popcorn tin that we keep the communal chocolate/candy in.
UnCivilServant* November 27, 2024 at 12:38 pm I don’t mind boring. However amusing from the outside, I’d be very much put out by being asked to participate in some of these traditions.
nnn* November 27, 2024 at 12:41 pm OK and? I never know why people make comments like this. If you didn’t want to participate, you wouldn’t. In most offices you wouldn’t be forced. But it’s even possible that everyone in these offices enjoys them and that’s why they’re doing it. Why not be OK with people enjoying different things?
UnCivilServant* November 27, 2024 at 12:46 pm Pssively sitting around listening to the squeak of rubber chickens while trying to think is a tad disruptive. As is the pressure to participate whether conscious or unconscious by the in group. I find it even stranger that you ask “Why not be OK with people enjoying different things?” when I never once said it wasn’t okay for these other offices to enjoy them, just that I was glad to not have to deal with that social awkwardness. I didn’t wish my quiet cube on you.
Ellis Bell* November 27, 2024 at 2:29 pm I think you’ve definitely got to be aware that there is no one-size-fits-all group activity. The ones described in the post seemed to be genuinely popular with their audience and suggests that people had good social calibration; I could be wrong, but I felt they were actively picking up on the signs of whether the traditions were sincerely enjoyable. You definitely do have to keep your eyes peeled in case anyone is wincing on the corner, especially where noise is concerned.
Workaholic* November 28, 2024 at 1:31 am the office chickens makes me miss working in office a teensy bit. the first day of spring one day I brought in handmade seed paper and bubbles for everyone on my team. After that bubbles became a thing. you could tell when somebody got stressed because suddenly bubbles would start floating over a cubicle wall. then somebody else would blow theirs. Secret Santa’s gifted bubbles. And once we were told big boss was stopping by, be on your best behavior! And right as big boss got there – our boss pulled out his bottle and blew bubbles. I WFH now and my cat isn’t impressed.
Slow Gin Lizz* November 27, 2024 at 12:13 pm Also, as a hiker myself, I do love the hiking coupons idea. I wish I worked at a national park so I could get that. (I couldn’t do it though, because I don’t much like having to repeat myself over and over again; I’m far too impatient to be a park ranger.)
HappyPenguin* November 27, 2024 at 12:22 pm These made my day! Uplifting and funny and clever and sweet.
Burrito Madness* November 27, 2024 at 12:31 pm The health teacher at my high school sold breakfast burritos every morning. They weren’t great, but they were better than anything you could get in or around the school, so people did go crazy for them. This practice ended my senior year when the health teacher was arrested for selling stolen TVs, but it was a glorious run until then.
Packaged Frozen Lemon Zest* November 27, 2024 at 3:13 pm I love it when commenters on AAM bury the lede.
saskia* November 27, 2024 at 1:38 pm This sounds like a plot from the tv show The English Teacher (FX).
Nah* November 27, 2024 at 3:25 pm I was going to guess drugs (which seems to be a… disturbingly common phenomena) so stolen TVs is a new one!
Zelda* November 27, 2024 at 12:35 pm Emotional support chickens, although knitted rather than rubber, have been the hot thing on Ravelry and the Reddit knitting community lately: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/emotional-support-chicken
Lisa* November 27, 2024 at 12:55 pm If you sew but don’t knit, there is also the Emotional Sew-port Chicken! https://knitandbolt.com/products/emotional-sew-port-chicken
Some Dude* November 27, 2024 at 12:37 pm #10: At our organization, people would do the same thing, sending silly emails from your PC if you didn’t lock it. Then someone pointed out that the act of accessing someone else’s PC and sending the email was in itself a second security incident. The emails stopped.
Lisa* November 27, 2024 at 12:59 pm If it’s done with the permission of IS though, like in the letter, it wouldn’t be. Just like how snooping on someone’s email would normally be a security incident, but IS can do it for good reason.
Aggretsuko* November 27, 2024 at 5:30 pm I’m told the same thing happened in my coworker’s old job, he showed me some of the foul emails they’d send each other.
Hillia* November 27, 2024 at 12:38 pm A million years ago I worked at a web hosting company in the tech support area, a large open room. It was staffed entirely with young people and there was a definite Wild West atomosphere. We also had a policy about ‘locking your box’ if you left your desk, since we might have critical system configuration files, customer financial info, etc open. If someone caught you leaving your computer open, they would set your internet to the vilest, most disgusting p*rn site they could find (lists of ‘appropriate’ sites were circulated). You could tell who had been caught by the howl of mixed disgust and outrage when they returned to their desk. Other fun pranks: the doctor in an open office who complained about every environmental change. Novelty motion activated Santa, even if it was allowed to sing only once a day? Leftover pizza for lunch? You name it, he griped. So one morning several of us came in very early and wrapped his entire desk in plastic. Every item was wrapped in Saran wrap. Loose papers were placed in a large clear plastic bag. Pencils, framed photos, calendar, you name it. Finally we made a frame out of chart easels and enclosed the entire space with more plastic wrap, and labeled the whole thing ‘Doc in a Bubble’. His boss thought it was hysterical; the doc himself was not impressed but we had an overall good relationship, so he laughed it off. An hour’s work, and it took about 5 minutes to undo everything so he could sit down. Another coworker who complained about getting older had his Windows desktop set to the Hotdog Stand color scheme (a hellish neon yellow and orange setup) and told him that HR had dictated a high contrast setup for all employees over 40 to eliminate eyestrain. The same reason went when we set his default font size to 32. He fell for it both times.
allathian* November 28, 2024 at 2:55 am Ugh, I’m so glad I don’t work there, I hate pranks. Even the silly ones that aren’t intended to humiliate anyone, like the saran wrap thing, or posting Post-it notes all over someone’s desk. I find it a completely unnecessary waste of resources and money, given that the prank items are generally thrown away. I posted earlier about the consequences of not locking your computer at my job, basically it’s a fireable offence not to.
Plant Sharing* November 27, 2024 at 12:39 pm I would love a gift of plant cuttings. I used to work at a smallish (12 story) office building and the building porter had a couple of spider plants. My company had many spider plants that were from his plant. Before I left I made sure to propagate my own and have two of my own now.
It wasn't me* November 27, 2024 at 12:50 pm #10: Many years ago I was a summer law associate (intern) at a very well respected top law firm (V20, top in city). Much as law firms are known for being conservative, this was known among law firms as having a formal and conservative environment. As summers though, they wined and dined us quite lavishly, with social activities and open bars 2-3 nights a week and very fancy firm paid lunches whenever associates took you out – usually you’d get in on at least one a week, with associates from your college, your law school, people you worked with, people who just wanted to go. Some people though blurred the line between fun on the sanctioned social events, and what was considered appropriate fun in the office. Near the end of the summer we all received an email from another summer associate which essentially trashed the firm and trash talked about what it was doing to the environment. It may have gone out to the entire 800? at the time lawyer firm plus support staff, but if not it certainly went out to the 100+ class. Within 20 minutes I had received emails from other law students across the country asking me about it. Although the class was large, I knew her and immediately knew there was no way she had written it. Apparently she had been in a meeting with another attorney at the time (possibly head of the department? Someone important). She later said she got strange looks as she was walking back to her office, to the point that she started speed walking furiously trying to get to her computer to figure out what was going on. Someone asked her if she was ok in a very concerned and serious tone. The two other summer associates who had sent it from her computer either confessed or were found out. There was much speculation as to whether or not their offers would be pulled. I can’t find it now, but I think it made it into AboveTheLaw blog a then nascent legal blog, so the chatter went national. The offers weren’t pulled, but it was understood they were on very very thin ice. (I always suspected that if they had been mediocre summer associates it could have gone differently.) I was quite happy I had the engrained habit of locking my computer every time I left my desk from my early working days with sensitive information.
Ex-Prof* November 27, 2024 at 12:57 pm Love these! And I love the intricacy of some of them. Not sure if I’ve told this before, but as a teenager I worked at a veterinary hospital where one of the veterinarians had once saved the life of the dog of the CEO of a big dairy products corporation. The CEO had given orders to one of his employees that the vet hospital’s freezer was thereafter always to be stocked with ice cream sandwiches. So in there among the Various Things That Need To Be Frozen At A Veterinary Hospital, there they were, boxes and boxes of ’em. It was all-you-can-eat ice cream sandwiches all the time.
UnCivilServant* November 27, 2024 at 1:03 pm my first thought is from a logistical and cross-contamination perspective, having a dedicated freezer for this icy largess might be a good idea. Given that “things a veterinary hospital that must be frozen” can be a … wide variety of items, getting them intermingled with ice cream might cause problems in one direction or the other. Though I can also see not having the space for another freezer.
Another Kristin* November 27, 2024 at 1:26 pm Presumably the ice cream sandwiches were delivered individually packaged and contained in boxes. I can’t image how they could possibly be contaminated, provided the other contents of the freezer, however unsavoury, were also in some manner packaged.
Phony Genius* November 27, 2024 at 3:06 pm Or maybe the break room had its own freezer (possibly provided by said CEO).
New Jack Karyn* November 27, 2024 at 6:39 pm It’s generally frowned upon to have biologics stored in the same refrigerator/freezer as comestibles, for fear of cross-contamination. One of those things that’s considered a weak point in safety protocols. I agree that the risk is actually very low, but it is A Thing.
Chelle* November 27, 2024 at 1:12 pm #10: We do something similar at my company (the tradition on my team for a while was offering to buy donuts), but I am also in a role that involves traveling to customer sites — so leaving your unlocked laptop unattended while at a customer’s office is *extra* bad. And also, the travel builds camaraderie. This combined on one project to my favorite prank of editing the autocorrect settings of someone who left their laptop unlocked — usually things that would be obvious like making my own name autocorrect to “Chelle, the best coworker in the entire world”, and never anything really inappropriate. At least once, someone didn’t notice until after they sent out meeting notes, which was hilarious.
Anonymous Goat Hitter* November 27, 2024 at 1:23 pm “Hit the goat” sounds like a euphemism for… I don’t know exactly what, but something that shouldn’t be happening in the workplace.
TurkeysCanFly* November 27, 2024 at 2:18 pm It’s sad that younger people who have only worked from home have missed out on all this fun.
hi* November 27, 2024 at 5:54 pm I mean, it is somewhat unfortunate, but I’d take missing out on any of this over long covid, wouldn’t wish that even on the worst HR rep.
Filosofickle* November 27, 2024 at 2:45 pm Aw, I missed this call for submissions. One of the nicer traditions I’ve seen is a library system that had a “red tape award”, recognition passed around peer-to-peer when someone creatively circumvented bureaucracy.
Nah* November 27, 2024 at 3:36 pm Having just discovered the joys of specialty garlic (roasted with fresh rosemary and sea salt, or deceptively easy confit butter (I thought it was like, some super difficult cooking technique until like a month ago)), 11 is my new dream. Inclusive Wacky Food Days is absolutely fantastic! For years I’ve always been wanting to do a big party where everyone brings one exotic fruit from the grocery store and gets to try them all, maybe that’ll be what I suggest for the next family potluck (I’ll still supply the typical hotdogs and chips).
Zipperhead* November 27, 2024 at 4:50 pm I was a huge fan of the last of these, and love this one just as much. Thank you for doing this again! I think my faves this year were the goat shrine and the 8 Weeks of Doom. Also, I once worked in an office where the whole building’s morning was geared around the joy that the Burrito Lady would bring to us, and I feel really bad for anyone who doesn’t get breakfast burritos in the morning — or worse, bad burritos…
nnn* November 28, 2024 at 12:15 am I like how the hiking coupons are well-targeted to the audience, and I also enjoy the fact that, even if not everyone wanted to go for a hike, they can easily be adapted to something the employee wants, because they’re basically an hour of free time. You could take a nap or read a book or play on the internet (if they have reception in a national park) or find somewhere private to take a personal call (if they have reception in a national park). You might even be able to leave early or come in late, depending on variables, and it wouldn’t be too difficult to ask (“Can I go straight home after my hike, or would you need me to come back and check in before I leave?”)
I take tea* November 28, 2024 at 4:20 am I love the Doom Calendar. In Finnish that period called the Ox Weeks (or Oxen Weeks?), maybe because they drag along, or maybe because of the type of work where you would use oxen, as lumbering, is done then.
IT Manager* November 28, 2024 at 7:21 am These are crazy!!!! I’m trying to imagine working in a place that tolerated chicken honks or goat yells or surprise loft building (or had time to do any of the above, maybe I need a new job….)