Berlin-based installation artist Jan Vormann carries out repair work on crumbling buildings using Lego. The brightly coloured Lego contrasts sharply with the buildings’ original material, thus drawing attention to the repair and provoking contemplation in the observer. “My work draws attention to the smallest parts of our cities that are falling apart because of […]
Stationery legends, Post-it Notes, have reached the 30-year landmark. Since their inception in 1980, they have become so ubiquitous in both offices and households as to become widespread symbols of organisation and reminding. The sticky yellow notes have spawned many imitators, but none of them have shaken off the now genericised “Post-it” moniker. The emergence […]
Cashiers at a bank in Xi’an, Shaanzi province, China were taken aback when a customer turned up with a van load of banknotes. Women started unloading seven big boxes of one yuan notes (worth about 10p each) and bringing them to the counter. The deposit in total was worth about £50,000. In addition to […]
A new world record has been set for the largest house of cards in China by an American artist, Bryan Berg. The “house” is modelled upon – and resides in – the world’s biggest resort hotel, the Venetian Macau. Berg’s house of cards weighs 272 kg, measures 10 x 3 metres and required 218,792 […]
A Taiwanese company, Caliber Multimedia, has started selling marine algae to offices to keep workers cheerful as they toil away at their desks. The three different “seaweed pets” hail from Japan and grow happily in water-filled goldfish bowls Up to the beginning of March the company had sold 10,000 units of these desktop beasts […]
According to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers, 53 percent of male and 21 percent of female workers intend to watch live World Cup 2010 football matches during office hours. Overall, this equates to 39 percent of office workers who will not let work get in the way of the competition this year held in South Africa. […]
It’s old news now, but we could not but report that Jennifer Love Hewitt – star of I Know What You Did Last Summer and Ghost Whisperer – finds office supplies a real turn-on. The 31-year-old has recently split up with Ghost Whisperer co-star Jamie Kennedy whom she dated for a year, but an ideal […]
Kudos to a couple of entrepreneurial young men from Connecticut whose plans to rob a bank were foiled because they phoned the bank in advance. With efficiency in mind, they called the People’s United Bank in Fairfield, informing staff there would be a “blood bath” if a duly filled money bag was not waiting for […]
As part of a promotion to advertise free admission to its buildings a few weeks ago, The National Trust handed out jars of air to workers in London. The air was collected from various beauty spots in England: Townend, on Windermere, Cumbria; Stourhead, in Wiltshire and Box Hill, in Surrey. The air was collected […]
As the General Election campaign hots up (the vote’s on 6 May), we start an occasional series about the issues that really matter. Beyond mulling over nuanced presentations of taxation and spending cut party policies, voters are trying to fathom profounder issues: What is Paper? Why is a stapler so called? Where do printers […]
How to plan the office Christmas party Whether you count down the days, or desperately scrabble around for an excuse not to go, the office Christmas party is an event on almost every company’s calendar. So, how do you plan a party that everyone will enjoy? It’s a tricky balance to get Bob from Accounts […]
Top tips to improve your time management skills Despite what people say, time is not a commodity. It cannot be traded, expanded or reduced. It is fixed. Our perception of time, however, is another concept. How often do you think at 4pm “Where has the day gone?” and go into panic mode to try to […]
Planning in business is essential Everything from the monthly sales drive to a new product launch or project needs planning. It promotes joined-up thinking and good decision-making throughout the whole organisation. “A goal without a plan is just a wish”, observed the famous writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery, summing up a key business principle. Each business […]
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