How many times have you watched your favorite show and the more you watched it, you caught more and more tiny details you missed before? The Office was one of the most popular shows when it aired from 2006 to 2013, and now that it’s available to stream on many digital platforms, everyone has access to it. Over time, it’s natural to pick out little things in a TV show you hadn’t seen previously, and The Office has many little things that you might not have seen or paid attention to, especially on initial viewings. Some items on this list require a fine eagle-eye, and in some cases, if you didn’t come across them on the Internet or heard about them from someone else, you would have to pause the show frame by frame.
A documentary about a paper company? The employees of Dunder Mifflin were just as surprised when a film crew wanted to follow them around as comedy fans were about an office sitcom. But, the show worked after a questionable first season and now you can watch and re-watch The Office for the one-hundred-and-fiftieth time, so you can see what’s written on that little piece of paper on Erin’s computer. Here’s 25 Little Things Fans Completely Missed In The Office:
Finer Things Club Teapot
The teapot Jim gives to Pam (or the teapot that gets passed around during the White Elephant portion of the Christmas party) is an object that glues Jim and Pam’s relationship together early on in The Office. It contained personal items and in-jokes between the two, including Jim’s yearbook photo and a pencil. A note that confessed Jim’s feelings was supposed to go with it, but Pam didn’t receive it until the end of the series.
However, this teapot makes a cameo appearance during the Finer Things Club with Pam, Oscar, and Toby. They celebrated art, literature, and fancy snacks while the teapot supplied the tea.
Diploma Fake-Out
In many of the early episodes, when Michael Scott is interviewed in his office, you can see a framed document hanging on the wall to the left. At first glance, this appears to be a diploma, but it’s not. It’s actually a Certificate of Authenticity for a watch. The document reads, “This certifies that Michael Scott is the proud owner of a Quality Seyko timepiece.”
This does imply that Michael purchased a counterfeit Seiko watch at some point and wanted that counterfeit to be certified as a fake, which might be considered odd since Seiko watches aren’t too expensive. He could have at least bought one with the bonus for dismissing Devon.
Rehearsal Dinner Misspelling
It took over three years for Roy to finally set a date to marry Pam, but in considerably less time, Jim and Pam dated, Jim proposed, and they selected the date of their wedding. In “Niagara Pt. 1,” the rehearsal dinner contained considerable snafus. Jim’s brothers were rude and annoying, Michael tried to salvage the situation but made it worse, and Jim inadvertently revealed to Mee-Maw that Pam was pregnant.
A less subtle error in judgment was the sign reserving the room for the rehearsal dinner. The hotel spelled Jim’s last name wrong, putting “Halpret” instead of “Halpert.”
Palm Trees in Pennsylvania
One of the subtler things in The Office you might have missed involves filming locations. Most of the show was filmed at the Chandler Valley Center Studios in Van Nuys, CA; more specifically, on Saticoy Street, which was used as the name of Charles Miner’s previous employer’s name.
The crew did a great job in keeping California away from Pennsylvania, except when it came to the episode “Traveling Salesman.” When the paired-up salesmen are in the parking lot, the camera zooms out at one point, and in the background, over the fence hedge, is a palm tree.
Dwight’s Desk Farm
Many of the camera angles in the main portion of The Office are from a set number of points. Sometimes, with an angle not typically used, you get to see new and interesting props and signs placed around the office. For instance, there’s a potted plant that sits near Dwight’s desk that hides another plant, which highlights how Dwight owns a beet farm.
During the sixth season, Dwight grew a beet and a light source was set up. You can really see it in the episode “St. Patrick’s Day,” but strategic pauses during other episodes in that season will also reveal it.
Michael Scott Loves TVs
The “Dinner Party” episode is one of the more popular ones; everything about it screamed awkwardness, but nothing more so than Michael and Jan’s antics throughout the evening. From the St. Pauli Girl neon sign to Hunter’s CD moments, Michael and Jan tried to provide a fun evening, and in a way, they did.
During one angry scene between the two, Jan took one of Michael’s Dundie Awards and threw it at the small plasma TV hanging on the wall, which broke the screen. However, Michael just can’t get rid of it. In “Michael Scott Paper Company,” Michael purchases a larger, boxier TV and sets it underneath the still-broken plasma.
Expensive Vending Machine
Quite a few important scenes and conversations occurred in the break room at the Dunder Mifflin Scranton Branch. In that break room are a couple of vending machines supplying candy and other, more substantial, food items. However, a close-up of one of the vending machines reveals that the food in it is very expensive, even for vending machine standards.
At one point, you could purchase an apple, Cup Noodles, and soup, but you’ll be shelling out $4.35 for any one of those items. Even for the apple.
Nick the IT Guy
One character in The Office played two different roles, though it’s unknown if he was meant to be the same guy. In “Job Fair,” Pam encounters a company that needs people who can design graphics, where the actor was just listed as “Graphic Design Guy.” He chatted with Pam and suggested she check out local colleges to get up to speed on the latest software his employer uses.
Later in the series, when Sabre takes over Dunder Mifflin, the same actor played Nick the IT guy. It’s reasonable to assume they could be the same person, considering the technology background.
The Bedazzled Wallet
Michael has a lot of personal items sitting on his desk and around his office (like the train whistle or the expanding plastic ball). They’re props, but they’ve played important roles through the years.
However, there’s one item that Michael keeps on his person that has never been explained. In season four, you find out that Michael carries around a bedazzled wallet, which is a black wallet with purple bedazzles set around the edge, and they appear to be situated all around the border. The wallet can really be seen in the episode “Chair Model,” when Michael is paying for his drink at a coffee shop.
Dunder Mifflin’s Address
There are quite a few nods in the U.S. version of The Office paying homage to its original, British version. Steve Carell placed a British flag on his desk, and later in the series, Ricky Gervais even makes a cameo.
But, a slightly subtler nod is the address of Dunder Mifflin in the Scranton Business Park. The street address is 1725 Slough Avenue, Scranton, PA, and refers to where the UK Office takes place, which is Slough, Berkshire. The address is mentioned briefly only a handful of times: once during the “Blood Drive,” and once when Dwight was talking to his real estate agent about buying the Scranton Business Park property.
Signature on Meredith’s Cast
The reality between the actor as a real person and the character an actor plays can get thin sometimes, as John Krasinski probably found out.
You remember that Michael Scott runs into Meredith, which prompts Scott to hold a Fun Run to eliminate rabies. After Meredith gets out of the hospital, she asks Jim to sign her cast; however, a closer look at the signature shows that John Krasinski signed the cast instead of Jim Halpert. It’s a very funny (and cute) detail that lets fans know that John Krasinski has the same prankster streak as Jim Halpert.
Michael’s Salad Dressing
Michael Scott loves to make movies. Presumably, he has his own studio called Great Scott, which uses Steve Martin and Robin Williams as part of its logo. The short film Scott uses to impress the new CFO of Dunder Mifflin, David Wallace, was a Great Scott legacy.
But, did you know Great Scott makes its own salad dressing? Apparently, Michael Scott wanted to get into the food industry. You can see the jar of salad dressing (appears as if its ranch or maybe blue cheese) sitting on his desk during his meal with then-girlfriend, Jan.
Nonsense In The Employee Newsletter
Do you recall documents that meant nothing, but only showed you layouts? Where the words would read something like “Lorem ipsum” and just repeat over and over? Well, the Dunder Mifflin newsletter is similar. There’s a newsletter hanging up in the office with a picture of Michael and Dwight dressed as 80s characters with the caption: “80’s Party A Success!”
Next to this is an article titled, “Top Salesman Award,” which contains some nonsense. One part reads: “As anybody can easily tell, this newsletter doesn’t really have a lot to say. It’s really just a prop to fill some space and sort of look like a newsletter without really being much of a newsletter at all.”
Creed’s Mugshot
Creed is the fascinating enigma of The Office. No one really knows his past except for what he tells us in the fourth wall as his co-workers don’t really have a clue. Some of his co-workers even suspect that Creed Bratton is not really Creed Bratton, but no one pursues it. There is a fan theory out there that claims Creed is the Scranton Strangler, and the evidence is compelling, but nothing has been confirmed.
In some shots of Creed sitting at his desk, there’s a picture hanging up on the wall, which looks like a cropped photo of his mugshot from an arrest.
Opening Credit Document
The opening credits took on their own mini-show when The Office became popular enough as small activities in the office portray some of the best and memorable moments. For example, Michael Scott adjusting his Dundie, only for Andy to do the same thing when he took over the office (except he knocks it off), and the opening evolved when the Michael Scott Paper Company was the focus, and then again when Andy Bernard became the regional manager.
But, one part of the opening includes a real-world document. When you see a highlighted circling of words, the paper is a real Los Angeles Department of City Planning document.
Real Internet Connection
The show started out filming in Culver City, California and the office building they used had working internet connections. The cast took advantage of this by surfing the web and looking up real websites.
However, the Cisco phones during the first season didn’t work since they weren’t connected yet, but as the season went on, the phones became working phones and essentially, Dunder Mifflin became a fully-functional office. During the first season, with no internet to use, the cast were told to bring in paperwork to make it look like they were “busy.”
The Office Theme Song
Die-hard fans can hum the theme song to the show with no issues; even casual fans are able to imitate the basic melody of the song. The song is sung by The Scrantones, a real band from the Scranton, PA area, and they even performed at The Office convention when it was being held.
The theme song never played during the end credits sequence for the first four seasons, but after that, the song is overlaid through the credits, giving you an end-to-end theme song of The Office greatness. You know, in case you ever forgot it.
“Koi Pond” Shenanigans
The “Koi Pond” episode ranks right up there with “Dinner Party” for some fans. In the episode, Michael falls into a koi pond and the employees learn that Jim moved out of the way instead of possibly grabbing him. It was an embarrassment to Michael, and he was the subject of fish jokes throughout the episode.
A few of the employees went so far as to make their computers a “tribute” to the incident. Some of the computer screensavers were changed to fish tanks and a subtle poke towards Scott’s accident.
Dwight’s Home Flag
Dwight’s beet farm is visited a few times through the series, with one episode dedicated to the farm, which was shot as a backdoor pilot for a spin-off called The Farm.
At Dwight’s home, there’s a flag on display that has the right stripes, but contains only fifteen stars. This is historically accurate. The two additional stars from thirteen signifies when Vermont and Kentucky joined the colonies. It was created in 1795 and didn’t change again until 1818. Schrute farms was established in 1812, which fits right in with the Americas at the time.
St. Patrick’s Day Mistake
Besides the growing beet you can see in the episode “St. Patrick’s Day,” you can also catch a mistake by Michael Scott. To celebrate St. Patrick’s day, Michael sets an Irish flag on his desk, but the mistake is that it’s an Italian flag. To be fair, the two flags are very similar.
From left to right, the flag on the desk is green, white, and red, while Ireland’s colors are green, white, and orange. It’s not the worst error Michael has made on the show, but if anything, Creed should have been offended since he’s the office Irishman.
