Gear

You’re About to Get a Mysterious Phone Call at Work

And It’s Just in Time to Save You From That Annoying Coworker

By Hadley Tomicki ·
None
Doug from marketing is headed your way, dying to discuss the game.

Poof. The guy’s gone.

And here’s Deborah from HR with her handful of forms.

Poof. She’s vanished.

What strange sorcery is this?

It’s Nope, a new plugin from Breather designed to make all your annoying coworkers go away with the push of a button, now available for Chrome.

Life is full of distractions. And your coworkers are the biggest culprits of them all. This is intended to buy you a little time, so you can focus. Or to simply avoid awkward small talk that spoils the latest fatality on Game of Thrones.

The idea here is super simple. It’s a discreet “N” icon that you put on your browser toolbar and supply with your phone number. Then, the second someone you really don’t want anywhere near your face appears, you just casually click that button.

Then, as if by magic, your phone rings. Upon answering, a Joe Friday–style voice will walk you through your Oscar-worthy performance. It may involve covering your mouth, pointing to the phone and executing your “I’ve really gotta get this” face.

At which point, Doug will grasp that you’ve got urgent things to do and slowly withdraw until a more appropriate time.

Or not. You know Doug.
Hadley Tomicki

Hadley Tomicki lives in Los Angeles. He is probably going nowhere on the 10 Freeway this very second.

Elsewhere on the Daddy

More Gear