As April Fools’ Day impends, thoughts turn to practical jokes. The office – home of work ethic, hierarchy and organisation – is like virgin powder snow to the prankster who on this day is given a green light to disrupt the social order. Office pranks typically involve undermining office norms. Hole punches are superglued to […]
The Hapler: Pioneering office supplies Paperstone have been awarded its first ever patent – for an all-in-one device which both staples and punches holes in Paper. This stapler/hole punch hybrid is still in a prototype phase, but already “The Hapler” is exciting design experts and office supplies industry pundits alike. WallPaper called it, “an archetypal […]
Dog owners in Austria are being given the opportunity to learn how to administer First Aid to their faithful friends. St John’s Ambulance service is running the course in Vienna which includes guidance on resuscitation, bandaging bloody dog wounds, and diagnosing serious ailments. One student remained unenthusiastic about the prospect of canine resuscitation, saying, “I […]
A sperm whale: Known to his comrades as Bernard, perhaps? Recent analysis of sperm-whale calls suggests that these communicative beasts announce themselves with discrete personal identifiers. The findings are based on observations of only three whales and so are speculative at this point, but are, according to biologist Luke Rendell of Scotland’s University of St. […]
Every occasional stapler user knows the crushing despair evoked when trying to staple something only to discover your stapler has run out of staples. In matters as important as this, the Dull Men’s Club is a step ahead of the rest of us. To counter Empty Stapler Syndrone they have designated two days each year […]
In addition to artificial satellites and the Moon, the Earth is orbited by man-made space debris, a collection of objects including anything from spent rocket stages and defunct satellites to collision fragments and astronaut pee. Some 3,000 still useful communications satellites orbit the Earth while the US military tracks about 20,000 pieces of space junk. […]
Sales figures for printers and copiers are the most encouraging they have been since 2007, according to data from research firm IDC. Sales in the last three months of 2010 were up seven percent on the same period in 2009. Multifunction printers increased their share of the market to 67 percent while inkjet printers remained […]
Everyday office objects such as waste bins, personal diaries and calculators face extinction, according to Real Business, a publication for entrepreneurs. Their recently published list of the top ten “most endangered” office products was compiled by e-commerce firm Pixmania-pro and based on current and historical sales data. The increasing ubiquity of smartphones and pressures on […]
As a species, we’re not that keen on being blown up. But many of us do quite like watching explosions. Boing Boing informs us that a certain Tesla 500 likes to blow up old microwaves, partly, we are told, to harvest some of their parts but also, surely, to revel in the aesthetics of destruction. […]
A commemorative mug celebrating the upcoming wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William has confused mug enthusiasts by featuring a picture of Wills’ brother Harry instead of the second in line to the throne. The mug is the work of Guandong enterprises and costs £9.99. Guandong describes the mug as, “A beautiful cup to commemorate […]
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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