It doesn't get much better than reruns of The Office, and sometimes you notice things
you never caught before.
From creepy clown paintings to Call of Duty ​screen names, here are some of the best
Easter eggs to look out for the next time you settle in to binge watch America's favorite
workplace in action.
Even the most casual viewers of The Office know that the American series didn't begin
with an original idea.
It's a remake inspired by a British show by the same name.
This original series ran from 2001 to 2003 and focused on the fictional paper company
Wernham Hogg in the British town of Slough.
The American show takes place in Scranton, Pennsylvania, but it still has a connection
to its British cousin's hometown.
In the season 5 episode "Blood Drive," Michael pulls together a depressing little Valentines
Day shindig for all of his single coworkers, harboring secret hopes that he will be able
to reconnect with a woman he met earlier in the day.
As he shows off the flyer he's created for the event, the camera zooms in, revealing
that the address for Dunder Mifflin is "1725 Slough Ave."
The address seems to be a nod to the location of the original Wernham Hogg paper company.
It's not a one-time incident either, in the last episode of season 6, Dwight refers to
the street by name again.
"Cancel it.
I want you to make an offer at 1725 Slough Avenue.
Make 'em an offer they can't refuse."
The story of Angela and Dwight's secret love is a long one, starting early on in the show
and winding through several ups and downs before they finally tie the knot, Schrute
style, while standing in their own graves in the series finale.
Truly, they're the show's perfect match, to the point where they even seem to have the
same favorite song.
It's made clear from early on that Angela is a huge fan of "The Little Drummer Boy."
Every time a karaoke machine is fired up, that's the song she looks for.
She even asks Andy if they can use it for their first dance when they're planning their
wedding.
"Is there any way our first dance can be to my favorite song?
The Little Drummer Boy?"
With that in mind, it's interesting that, in the pilot for the show, it's none other
than the Assistant to the Regional Manager himself who is shown aggressively humming
that particular carol as he sets up for work.
"Mmm no gifts for you, parumpumpumpum."
Does this imply that the relationship between the two goes back even further than the beginning
of the show?
Either way, the connection seems too clear to be an accident.
The whole teapot episode in season 2 is an iconic moment in the Pam and Jim timeline.
After Michael turns a simple Secret Santa Christmas party into an impromptu white elephant
gift swap, Jim is frustrated to find that his romantically-intentioned teapot gift for
Pam has fallen into the hands of his nemesis, Dwight.
"I get sinus infections and sinus infections can be cured by making a tea from green tea
leaves stems…"
"Okay."
"...and pouring it into your nose like so."
Pam ultimately makes the right move, though, by choosing to exchange her fancy new iPod
for Jim's thoughtful (if humble) gift instead.
But that isn't the only time that the gift appears in the show.
Almost two years later, in the season 4 episode "Branch Wars," Pam meets with the exquisitely
refined "Finer Things Club."
As the club enjoys their fancy lunch, the very same teapot Pam got from her soon-to-be
beau shows up on the table.
Here's hoping it had been washed thoroughly, hopefully several times, since Dwight shoved
it up his nose.
While the show focuses pretty tightly on a small handful of characters, the rest of Dunder
Mifflin's employees usually have their own lives going on in the background, complete
with their own long-running plots.
Take, for instance, Stanley's troubled marriage, which only gets worse as the series goes on.
The issue even comes to a head in the season 6 opener, "Gossip," in which Michael leaks
the secret of Stanley having an affair to the entire office.
While that episode ends with Stanley getting a small measure of cathartic revenge, it turns
out that the struggling salesman actually does want to improve his relationships…sort
of.
In the season 7 episode "Ultimatum," Pam encourages her coworkers to come up with New Year's resolutions.
Some of these are minor items, like Pam attempting to drink less caffeine, but others get pretty
ridiculous, like Creed trying to do the perfect cartwheel or Dwight's search for…well, let's
just call it romance.
"My resolution is: meet a loose woman."
The resolution that has to take the cake, though, is Stanley's double commitment to,
quote, "be a better husband and boyfriend."
Each of those on their own is an admirable goal, but it might be pretty difficult to
pull off both at the same time.
As the last two seasons of The Office unfold, Dwight slowly but surely sees his life fall
into place in virtually every way.
He finds love, unwittingly has a son, gets his black belt, inherits a 1,600 acre beet
farm, and finally, at long last, becomes the regional manager of the Scranton Branch of
Dunder Mifflin.
It's not just the big stuff, though.
Dwight's life is so perfect at this point that even his smallest, most obscure wishes
start to come true.
Case in point: the rocking chair.
When Dwight accompanies Michael to a cocktail party at David Wallace's house way back in
Season 3, he spends time admiring a wooden rocking chair in Wallace's son's bedroom,
and declares that he wants one for himself.
"Oh, good, you're up.
Hey, who makes this chair?"
Cut to Season 9, more than half a decade later.
In the episode "The Farm," Dwight is interviewed as he sits in a gorgeous wooden rocking chair
that just so happens to look exactly like the one he was wishing for six seasons earlier.
Michael Scott is proud of his possessions, and nowhere is this made more clear than in
the season 4 episode "Dinner Party," in which Michael exhibits his pathetically small plasma
screen television.
"I will just stand here and watch television for hours.
I love it.
I love this TV."
Later in the episode, Jan throws one of Michael's many Dundee Awards at it, cracking the screen
and infuriating Michael in the process.
That isn't the last time we see Michael's beloved and broken miniature TV, though.
The wall-mounted wonder made a cameo a year later, tucked behind another TV, in the fifth
season episode "Dream Team."
If that wasn't enough, it shows up yet again nearly two whole seasons later in the episode
"Garage Sale," sitting plain as day on Michael and Holly's table.
It looks like the much more grounded influence of Holly may have finally convinced Michael
to let go of his prized entertainment possession once and for all.
As an interesting little side note, the garage sale also shows the creepy clown painting
first seen when Jim buys Pam a house in season 5.
Hopefully whoever bought it was able to keep it out of the hands of the notorious Scranton
art thieves.
"I tried to move it, but he is really nailed in there.
Worried about art theft, I guess.
Lots of art thieves in this neighborhood."
In the season 2 episode "The Injury," Michael Scott wakes up and steps on his George Foreman
grill, cooking his foot in the process.
While the injury is minor, he ends up milking it all day long.
When asked why he had a George Foreman grill by his bedside in the first place, he explains
that every night before he goes to sleep he lays out six pieces of bacon on a grill in
his bedroom.
When he wakes up, he pops on the grill, goes back to sleep, and then wakes up a second
time to the delicious smell of sizzling bacon.
"It is delicious, it's good for me, it's the perfect way to start the day."
It appears that Michael's morning bacon habits die hard.
The grill shows up yet again two seasons later, in the season 4 episode "Dinner Party" as
Michael and Jan give Jim and Pam a rather uncomfortable tour of their bedroom.
For all of her quirky, erratic behavior, Jan's apparently okay with the smell of bacon each
morning…after it's been sitting out all night.
A good portion of season 3 follows Jim as he tries to get away from his crush on Pam
and attempts to begin a new life at the Dunder Mifflin branch in Stamford.
One episode, "The Coup," follows the Stamford squad as they practice team-building exercises
by playing Call of Duty against each other.
The group is highly skilled at playing the video game at this point, but the Scranton
newcomer spectacularly fails to get on the bandwagon.
"Saboteur!
Saboteur!"
"Andy, it's not-"
"I'm gonna kill you for real."
In order to give her new coworker a hand, Karen shows Jim how to navigate out of a corner,
only to shoot him a moment later.
That's when we get to see her screen name for these inter-office deathmatches: "Karen
the Jim Slayer."
Pretty specific, but also pretty appropriate.
Michael Scott has been known to bend the truth from time to time, and that's to be expected
from a guy who was Dunder Mifflin's top salesman for two years running back in the day.
When it comes to his management skills, though, the man seems a bit more insecure…and determined
to prove a point.
There's the famous World's Best Boss mug that he bought himself, one of the first things
we see in the show's pilot, but that's not Michael's only dubious claim to fame.
A plaque holding a certification can frequently be seen on the wall of his office.
Sharp-eyed viewers may note that it's not a diploma, it's a "Certificate of Authenticity"
for his watch.
Even better?
Judging by the slightly misspelled brand name, it identifies Michael as the proud owner of
a knockoff.
While the writing on the certificate can be difficult to make out, there's one episode
where it's clearly visible, and it makes for an often overlooked second layer to a gag.
You can see it in the season 4 finale "Goodbye Toby," which also happens to be the same episode
in which Michael is forced to give his watch to Toby as a goodbye present after being an
awful boss for so many years.
"I am going to give Toby...
"
"Your watch?"
If that's not poetic justice, we don't know what is.
There's a good portion of the series devoted to the ongoing duel between Assistant Regional
Managers.
In one corner of the ring, we have the obvious candidate Dwight Schrute.
"That's why you have an Assistant Regional Manager."
"Yes, it is.
Assistant to the Regional Manager."
"Same thing."
"No, it's not.
It's lower, so."
"It's close."
His endless pursuit to escape being the "Assistant to the Regional Manager" doesn't quite end
until he leapfrogs the issue entirely by being made the full-blown manager in season 9, at
which time he appoints himself as his own assistant to the assistant to the regional
manager.
In the other corner, we have Jim Halpert.
While he does spend some time as "co-manager" in season 6, Jim actually climbs the corporate
ladder to the Assistant Regional Manager position much faster than that.
In the season 3 episode "Diwali", Jim, Karen, and Andy have to work late and end up drinking
a bit too much while they're at it.
At one point, the camera shows Jim, passed out on his desk with his name placard in front
of him.
It reads, "Jim Halpert Asst.
Regional Manager."
Not a single "to the" in sight.
Seems we have a winner.
Most of the time, Creed is the one in the office who isn't quite what he seems.
"I run a small, fake ID company from my car with a laminating machine that I swiped from
the sheriff's station."
However, in one episode it's none other than Jim Halpert who seems to have a secret identity.
As all truly devoted fans will recall, season 4 kicks off with Meredith Palmer being struck
by Michael Scott's car.
It's a banner incident in the show that kicks off a running joke and even makes it into
the montage of incidents referenced in the "Seasons of Love" parody that the crew sings
to Michael at his very last Dundies ceremony, right before he exits the show in season 7.
When Meredith returns to work after the accident in the season 4 episode "Launch Party," she
asks Jim to sign her cast.
He agrees before realizing that Meredith's injured pelvis has presented him with a pretty
unusual place sign a cast.
Needless to say, it's a little uncomfortable, even without Meredith's awkward flirting.
So uncomfortable, in fact, that it might just have broken Jim's character.
As he awkwardly signs his name, fans might notice that it looks an awful lot like it
says "John Krasinski" rather than "Jim Halpert."
He even dots two i's when he's finished, his character's name only has one.
The Schrute family is well known for its sense of tradition, longevity, and attention to
detail.
While this can be seen in everything from the venerable Schrute Farms family home to
Dwight's impeccable work performance, there's one thing that sums it all up perfectly: the
American flag.
Not just any American flag, though.
We're talking about the one flying from the porch of Schrute Farms.
When some of the group visits Dwight on his family farm in the episode "Doomsday" in season
8, they pass a flag on their way out.
If you look closely, it's missing some stars, 35, to be precise.
The 15-star flag was used between 1795 and 1818, which also happens to be the period
during which Schrute farms was founded.
The accuracy isn't just fun to spot, it's also appropriately located on the home of
the most likely person in the entire office who would care about a detail like that in
the first place.
The season 5 episode "The Surplus" follows the office as they struggle to decide how
to spend a budgetary surplus before it reverts back to corporate.
The decision splits the group into two factions: one in favor of getting new chairs, the other
for getting a new copier.
Critically, Pam and Jim find themselves on opposite sides of the discussion, making this
one of the few times that the newly engaged couple are pitted against one another.
At one point, Oscar and Jim take Michael out to lunch in order to schmooze him about the
benefits of getting a new copier.
When they return, Jim brings Pam some tiramisu from the restaurant.
Pam jokingly takes the gift with a smile, only to then throw it into the garbage can
in defiance.
Clearly, Pam will not be bought off with fancy cake.
The back and forth is comical, but it turns out that the delicious dessert hasn't hit
the end of the line quite yet.
A bit later in the episode, Michael is seen eating tiramisu as he talks to David Wallace
on the phone.
Then, to bring it all home, during a big speech designed to cover the fact that he's shooting
for a bonus by returning the surplus to corporate, Michael reveals where he got his snack from
as he berates the office for being spoiled.
"We are spoiled because we throw out perfectly good tiramisu because it has a little, tiny
hair on it."
The most surprising thing?
That's not even the weirdest food choice Michael makes in this one episode.
Every show has its list of slip-ups and continuity mistakes.
The Office, for instance, will occasionally show an exterior shot with a suspiciously
Californian palm tree on what's supposed to be a chilly morning in Scranton, Pennsylvania,
something that's especially noticeable in Season 3's "Traveling Salesman."
There are a few others that slipped through the cracks, though, and you can spot one in
season 8's "Pool Party."
In the episode, the staff heads over to Robert California's house after hours in order to
throw one last party before he sells the home off to the highest bidder.
While most of the crew spends time taking advantage of their boss' luxurious indoor
pool, another group is taken on a long, boozy tour of the mansion led by Mr. California
himself.
As they go along, observing each room and sucking up to California as he endlessly monologues,
each member of the tour is gifted with their own bottle of wine, recklessly taken from
the soon-to-be-sold wine cellar.
At one point, as they observe a "king size" bear rug made from two bears sewn together,
Oscar takes a swig from his bottle, only to reveal a note on the bottom that reads "Oscar"
that wasn't there earlier.
Either the accountant is extremely particular about labeling his things, or somebody forgot
to remove the prop label before the cameras started rolling.
The Office is known for having some of the best cold opens in sitcom history.
Michael and Dwight's attempt at making a parkour video?
Michael's truly incredible, wildly gif-worthy reaction to Toby's return?
Randall Park's appearance as "Asian Jim" for one of the most elaborate entries in Jim and
Dwight's ongoing prank war?
They're all classics, but one of the best cold opens for the show takes place in the
season 3 episode "Product Recall."
In it, Jim arrives for work decked out in an outfit that makes him look just like Dwight.
From the dorky haircut to the glasses, short sleeved shirt, and beeper, the entire ensemble
is on point.
"Bears.
Beets.
Battlestar Galactica."
After his initial arrival, Jim explains that he got the outfit on the cheap, spending just
four bucks on the glasses and pulling the rest of the pieces together for a mere seven
extra dollars.
According to the total that he adds up on his Dwight-esque calculator watch, the grand
total for the prank was the very affordable sum of eleven dollars.
It's a memorable joke and one of the highlights of the series, but what really puts it over
the top is a subtle moment that we're treated to at the end of the episode.
Angela, frustrated by a day of filling in on customer service calls, rips into Kevin
for failing to add up the numbers on a payroll form correctly.
The numbers in question?
The same ones added up on the calculator watch back in the cold open: Four plus seven.
That's a little too specific to be a coincidence, so we're left with one amazing fact: not only
did Jim pull off an A-plus prank, but he also managed to get reimbursed for it as a business
expense.
Hey, if Michael can spend company money hand over fist for all those big dinners at the
local Chili's, then Jim should be able to expense costs incurred while boosting office
morale.
The only question left is whether Dwight thought to file those same forms when he dressed up
as Jim.
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