Shawn Bonkowski (with Dana Gordon) made a desk merged with an answering machine. The Message Table receives, plays and stores phone messages.

When a message is left, a box representing that message slowly rises from the desk. The higher it rises, the longer the message. So when you return home, you know how many messages are waiting for you. To hear one, open the box’s lid. Pushing that box back down into the desk deletes the message.

According to Shawn, one can perfectly use the Message Table as a working desk. I had my doubts at first. Then I accepted that I’m probably narrow-minded, must be great fun to see the books and papers spread on my desk starting to rise when my mother calls. No one else calls me anyway :-(

And this, ladies and gents, ends the glorious Strangely Familiar series. (Episodes, I, II, III, IV, V and VI.)

Related: the Rogue Ambience Table.