From X-Acto®, the folks who make the precision arts & craft knives, the "Bulldog" is an old-school crank pencil sharpener with a translucent blue, bright magenta, green or red case so you can keep tabs on your shavings and watch the menacing teeth grind away. Unit is roughly 5" tall x 4" wide (including crank handle) x 3” deep. The square rubber pad on the bottom provides suction when the side lever is pulled. Works best on a flat surface, but you knew that.

These miniature versions of the traditional floor fan say "Retro Mini Fan" on them, and the retro part is that the blades and cages are all metal. The handy part is that they're just 5-3/8" dia and the plug is a USB, ready to cool you off right from your (actual) desktop. Tilts 180° up and down and comes with a 4-foot cord. Super quiet, too. We'll pick one in red, blue or black.

That would be a library, we think, but the word's been co-opted by the business community for fliers, brochures and hand-outs. This literature holder is a single, in clear plastic, 9-1/4" wide x 10" tall with a 3” deep front pocket that will take a 1-1/2” stack of literature. Stands up by itself on little easel feet, or hangs on a wall from a slotted hole.

Behold the first attractively designed electric pencil sharpener since Edward C. Hoffman’s 1943 art deco Electro-Pointer. (You could look it up.) The Spira from X-ACTO® is a rotated rectangular column, 5-3/4” tall x 2-3/4” square, in lipstick red plastic. Plugs in via a wall adapter, and has a hardened steel cutter inside plus a one-touch release on the bottom for emptying the shavings. We see a future classic.

This is our floppiest rubber calculator ever. Measures 5” x 3” in black with semi-cartoony white characters. Does your basic calculator calculating with (20) keys and a 5” x 1-1/5” LCD display. Runs on an included and replaceable button-cell battery. Can be folded in half to put in your shirt pocket.

You say your office is the coffee shop on the corner? You say you wish you had a desk like all the big kids in the offices downtown? You’re in luck because this all-black plastic desk set has everything you need in a 4-1/2" dia x 4-1/2" tall rotating pen stand, including (2) pencils, a pen, scissors, 6” ruler, (5) pushpins, a pencil sharpener, small stapler with (500) staples, (10) paper clips, a gum eraser and a staple remover. It’ll be like having a job!

Build yourself a desktop dumpster. Punch out the press-fit fibreboard pieces and assemble this authentic mini-dumpster complete with graffiti. Has a two-piece hinged lid and (3) internal sections; (2) for pens, pencils and paper clips, and the third to hold more than (100) orange and yellow flame-shaped note cards to represent the dumpster fire some days at the office are. Measures 4-1/4" x 3" x 4-1/4” to 2-3/8” deep slanting back to front. Emma, the AS&S Dumpster Inspector, pronounced it “quite sturdy.”

This little silver plastic basic-function calculator measures 3-1/4" x 5-1/2" with a clear plastic ruler that folds down on both sides. Open it and it looks oddly like a communications satellite.The ruler is millimeters/centimeters only, up to 320mm or 32cm. But it's still a lovely straight-edge, or a gift for a Canadian friend. Runs on a single replaceable button-cell battery, included but may be dead..

This 125V 15A surge protector has (3) outlets that swivel 90 degrees from front-facing to side-facing, so cords will run along the wall. This device keeps cords hidden, behind couches and other furniture without protruding from any standard grounded double wall outlet. Made by RCA, it will handle up to 1,200 joules with a max surge voltage of 6kV and spike current of 45kA. 500V protection between all three lines. Has a 20dB EMI/RFI noise filter. Measures 4” wide x 5-1/2” high x 1-1/2” deep. ETL listed.