Did you know that the American Civil War created a demand for good quality pencils? The pencils were needed so that troops could make quick notes on the field, and send messages to each other. Joseph Dixon was an inventor who owned a factory in Salem, where he had been manufacturing graphite crucibles for the […]
Did you know that the astronauts in NASA’s 1965 Gemini 3 earth-orbiting space mission carried pencils costing $129 each – about $960 at today’s prices! The total cost of pencils for the spaceship was more than $4,000 which raised a few eyebrows at the time. When challenged publicly about the cost, NASA’s spokesman said that […]
The dark days of winter can be a trial for office workers, who don’t always get enough of the “sunshine vitamin” to ward off colds and seasonal depression. So if you work indoors all day, it’s well worth taking a vitamin D supplement to give your immune system a boost. Old-fashioned cod liver oil works […]
The innocent pencil, a symbol of artistry and early childhood scribblings, has also been ascribed a darker side over the years. Back in the 1980s, Stephen King wrote a novel The Dark Half, in which a writer called Thad Beaumont is at war with his alter ego. Beaumont, who usually wrote his stories using a […]
Some people will be wearing odd socks to work on March 21 – and it’s not because their socks disappeared into a black hole and ended up in a far-distant galaxy! Supporters of World Down’s Syndrome Day will be making their feet stand out as much as possible by mixing and matching the colour, length […]
Do you work for the same company or organisation as your husband or wife? Or maybe the two of you are thinking of setting up a business together? Here are five top tips for working with your spouse and staying happily married: Resolve to keep work and home life as separate compartments- always take off […]
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 […]
Recent Comments