Ever wondered where the expression “log on” came from? Of course you have! You’re human, or close enough. Well, saying you’ve “logged on” to mean you’re into some system, ready to work, comes from an Italian craze in the late 1950s known as tronco d’albero ufficio or, in English, log office. A postwar boom building materials shortage caused many firms to simply cut down trees in fields and have their employees work there, on the fallen logs.

This Fiat ad is from that period, and many small Fiat 500s were in fact used as mobile file cabinets and storage units.

This picture makes it all look much better than it actually was, as workers hated the damp, insect-infested workspaces, and the trend soon died out, but not before it gave us the log on/log off expression we still use today!

Now you know!