If you're like me, you probably spend way too much free time watching The Office reruns on Netflix. I'm not ashamed!
I've seen every episode roughly 1,000 times — but it wasn't until the other day that I realized there was something very...unusual about Dunder Mifflin's conference room. Sometimes it's arranged with a big-ass conference table in the middle of it, like this:
While other times the room is arranged without the table at all — just a bunch of chairs facing forward, like this:
And so, my friends, the question is: How the hell is this gigantic, heavy table getting moved in and out of the room so frequently?
Now, before anyone yells at me: I KNOW that some offices have furniture designed for easy moving. Some tables come apart, fold, have wheels, whatever. BUT DUNDER MIFFLIN'S CONFERENCE TABLE IS NOT LIKE THAT! It's solid wood — that thing isn't breaking apart or folding down the middle.
Think it has wheels on the bottom? Think again — Kelly Kapoor took her birthday nap under there and there were no wheels to be found.
And the door to the conference room is actually pretty small compared to the huge table. I'm not saying that it would be impossible to get the table in and out, but you'd definitely need a few people and maybe even some tools to take the legs off. It would be a PROCESS.
We know they aren't just shoving the table into the back of the room. When the table isn't in use, it's nowhere to be found.
(And no, there's no chance they have two different conference rooms, because the view out the windows and the art on the walls are the same!)
Unfortunately, these cold, hard facts leave us with way more questions than answers. For example...
WHO is responsible for moving the table in and out of the room? And why do we never see them doing it?
HOW is the conference room always ready for whatever setup they need? Think of how many times Michael Scott has ordered everyone into the conference room "RIGHT NOW!" Is it like the Room of Requirement in Harry Potter???
WHERE does the table go when it's not in use? We never see it anywhere in the main office area. And I really doubt it could be stored in the annex — it would have to go through two more sets of doors and a very narrow kitchen.
Listen. I know it's ~just a show~, and perhaps you think I'm taking this all a little too seriously.
But The Office is usually very good at maintaining a sense of reality — it's rare for there to be lapses in logic like this!!! And I want ANSWERS.
UPDATE: Some commenters seem to think the table's legs fold underneath. Here's another shot of the table's underside — it doesn't have those diagonal braces that you usually see with folding tables.
Here's what you'd expect to see underneath a table with folding legs. Case in point: I don't think this table folds, people. But anything's possible! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
So what do YOU think is the deal with that conference table? Give me your best conspiracy theories in the comments, because at this point I'm willing to consider all possibilities. Thank you.
