Live pigs and punching bags: weird things seen in the office

What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen in your office? If you didn’t say “a jar of pickled pigs feet” you’re luckier than some of these Canadian workers…

The phrase “make yourself at home” is a warm way to welcome people to the office, but it seems some people are taking that a little too far.

According to a new survey from The Creative Group, some of the strangest things executives have seen around the office are things that would usually live at home, including a pair of men’s underwear, a drawer full of clothes and a rock collection.

The weird doesn’t end there though. From things with an animal theme:

  • A live pig
  • A mermaid sculpture
  • A Siamese fighting fish
  • A large black rat
  • A tree frog
  • A stuffed pink gorilla

To things you would hope not to see even at home:

  • A jar of pickled pigs’ feet
  • A marble tombstone
  • A rotten orange

Some offices apparently haven’t been cleaned out in up to 70 years, with antique finds including a cellphone from 1986, a Life magazine from 1934, a lava lamp and a 1950s TV.

But sometimes, of course, the people are stranger than anything else one might find. One survey respondent described this bittersweet scene as their strangest work experience: “A person who sat next to the employee left the company, so the employee cut out a picture of the guy's head and put it on a wooden stick on his desk.”

What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen at work?