I don’t know what this is. Our boss gave each of us two, without any explanation. She just told us to be grateful

Nobody wanted to say it out loud first.

The strange little objects sat in neat rows across the conference table while an entire office collectively pretended not to be confused. They were metallic, slender, oddly delicate-looking, with tiny spoon-shaped tips that made them seem vaguely medical. No packaging explained them. No instructions came attached. Just a cheerful announcement from management about a “small appreciation gift” and then silence — the uncomfortable kind where everyone is waiting for someone else to solve the mystery.

At first, people laughed nervously.