For a while, there was a consultant in the cubicle next to me who burped. A lot. It was so often, that he made no effort to mask it or even excuse himself. Those of us around him would refer to him as "Burpy."

I know. It's not nice, but if you had to listen to this everyday, you'd come up with a name, too.

Anyway, it got me thinking about all of the places I've worked and it seemed that every single one of them had a unique individual who earned a nickname. Here are some of the ones I remember:

• Claws - a woman with incredibly long fingernails. They weren't long enough to win a World Record, but they made you wonder how she typed, filed...picked her nose...
• Slurpy - a guy who drank incessantly from a sports water bottle. As he finished each swig, you heard, well, a slurping noise.
• Tootsie - a manager I had who looked like Dustin Hoffman in character. I didn't give her this one, I swear, others did.
• Bend-n-blast - a woman who thought the coast was clear in a looong hallway and released some gas. Loudly. She didn't notice the other woman in the hall with her.
• Track Runner - This was an exec who walked in a loop through cubeville to keep an eye on everyone in the area, even though none of them reported to him. At least he got his exercise in.
• The Spy - every office has one of these, admit it
• Spongebob - an incredibly annoying man with a square head
• Matt Foley - for an exec who reminded us of Chris Farley's famous motivational speaker. Classic.
• Poncho girl - a woman who wears the same poncho every day. And it is apparently never, ever washed.

So there you go.