It was brought to my attention that last week marked the 40th birthday of the cubicle.  I’m not celebrating, obviously. While it is difficult to rejoice over a creation eventually lamented by its own inventor, Robert Propst, who called it a contribution to “monolithic insanity, I did find myself excited about discovering that in 2001 Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, teamed up with design firm IDEO to create the “ideal cubicle”. The result was a cube I could only hope to be placed in sometime. Ditching the conventional office furniture normally stuffed into our cubes, Adams created a modern looking work space built around the basic needs of the employee, to “eat, sleep,[and] avoid the boss”. Aside from practical neccesities like a office chair, and computer, Adams included a hideaway hammock, punching bag, a screen that monitors your boss’s movements, floor modules that lift for storage, and several oddities like an accoustically activated mechanical flower that shudders with happiness when you are present. Sadly the whole thing is far too unpractical for any company to install, but I can always dream.

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