To uncover these bits of arcane knowledge, CareerBuilder's annual holiday survey asked workers across the U.S. to share the most unusual gift they've received from a fellow employee during the holiday season. And unusual certainly describes the agglomeration that resulted.

While of course there are plenty of the usual type of gifts — such as ornaments, gift cards, books and candy, which raise no eyebrows (if not exactly thrilling the heart of rebel workers who might rather be headlining on Saturday Night Live) — a baker's dozen of the weird, the unusual and even the macabre make up this year's list of How Not To Win Friends and Influence Bosses.

Related: 10 holiday hazards for pets

Lest you think CareerBuilder must have sought out the inhabitants of the Arkham Asylum, a clown school or some other dubious facility to eke out its answers, be reassured: respondents to the survey, conducted by Harris Poll, included more than 3,300 employees (of which 3,133 are in the private sector) and 2,379 hiring managers and human resource professionals across industries and company sizes.

Workers planned in slightly larger numbers to buy holiday gifts for their coworkers (22 percent) than for the boss (21 percent), which CareerBuilder said was similar to last year. But the budget is tight (or the workers are); among those who plan to buy gifts for their coworkers or bosses, 73 percent expect to spend no more than $25 on each gift; 33 percent will cap their spending at $10 and 11 percent will spend $5 or less. (Going to 5 Below or to the Dollar Store, perhaps? Still, one wonders whether either of them would have such sterling offerings as the ones we offer below for your holiday delectation.)

Employers, for their part, are planning to present employees with gifts (presumably of a different caliber than the unique choices outlined below); 46 percent will give gifts to workers, a similar number to last year. Even more bosses are planning parties, with 69 percent (3 percent more than last year) throwing holiday bashes for their employees.

And times must be good, at least for some, because while 54 percent of employers — the same percentage as in 2015 — plan to give employees holiday bonuses this year, 15 percent say the bonuses will be bigger this time.

Related: How not to do workplace holiday gift giving

Lest you think that the spirit of Christmas (no, not spirits) is getting lost in all this, rest easy: nearly half of all employers (48 percent) plan to enrich the lives of others outside of the office by making charitable donations. That's about the same percentage as last year. No word on whether employees plan to engage in the same generosity — maybe it depends on the size of those bonuses.

But now, on to the fun stuff. Here are the 13 most unusual gifts CareerBuilder uncovered (dug up?) among those given at the office, in no particular order:

An office holiday party is the best time to break out into the hulu, right? (Photo: iStock)

13. Two left-handed gloves

Yes, you read that correctly; two left-handed gloves, not two turtledoves.

Sinister intent? Or perhaps someone was simply preoccupied with reading The Left Hand of God. Or The Left Hand of Darkness. Or both.

12. Coconut bra

A throwback to South Pacific? A hint that the give should retire to a South Seas island? A shell game?

11. Jar of gravy

Okay, so maybe they messed up the gravy last Christmas. Couldn't the gifter forgive and forget?

Maybe you aren't a millionaire, but you can still wipe with $100 thanks to this office gift. (Photo: iStock)

10. A fake lottery ticket

Now that's just plain mean. And probably speaks to the giftee's desire to escape a workplace with such snarky coworkers.

(Meanwhile, the real lottery ticket is burning a hole in the gifter's pocket…)

9. A real stuffed duck

It's not clear whether this is a taxidermied duck or one stuffed with chestnuts and glazed in orange sauce. Or it could be an homage to Groucho Marx and You Bet Your Life…

Whichever way, the poor duck.

8. Toilet paper that looks like money

Is the giftee a spendthrift? Or was he tight-fisted last Christmas?

Or is it simply the gifter's concept of what money is worth these days?

Post-it note reminder: Get a better office gift next year. (Photo: iStock)

7. Post-it notes

Aha! Perhaps the giftee forgot something important to the gifter — and the gifter wants to be sure it never happens again.

Or perhaps the giftee has trouble remembering his New Year's resolutions, and the gifter is actually trying to be helpful…

6. Dish detergent

Perhaps the giftee hasn't been cleaning up after himself in the office kitchen — or the gifter wishes he would clean up after everyone else.

5. A pen holder that looks like a crime scene victim

Now this is our personal favorite; what a great way to mark an interest in mysteries and at the same time warn lower-echelon employees that the giftee is not someone to be trifled with at work.

Obviously a truly perceptive gifter!

Not really the three french hens you were counting on, huh? (Photo: iStock)

4. A comic book of an obscure movie

A sign of misspent youth? Or a protracted adolescence? Or just the desire to show off one's depth of knowledge in a field dominated by fanboys, fangirls and movie buffs?

3. A handmade ornament for a sports team the recipient had never heard of

See above, but substitute "sports fanatic" for "fanboys, fangirls and movie buffs."

2. A singing chicken

An actual, live, singing chicken? The poultry version of Big Mouth Billy Bass? Or one of those automatons from ages past — true mechanical wonders from inspired (or demented) inventors who sought to replicate human and animal forms?

Automatons reach far back in history, with the air- or steam-powered wooden dove of mathematician Archytas of Tarentum, which was said to be capable of flapping its wings and flying through the air.

Then there was the floating orchestra of Arabic polymath Al-Jazari in 1206 (after earlier devices he built in the 12^th century, such as an automated wine servant); Leonardo da Vinci's armored Germanic knight (1495); and a 16^th-century mechanical monk built by clockmaker and inventor Juanelo Turriano, commissioned by King Philip of Spain. And then there was what might have been the inspiration for this gift — The Digesting Duck, built in 1737 by French engineer Jacques de Vaucanson. The Digesting Duck, according to Wikipedia, "had over 400 moving parts in each wing alone, and could flap its wings, drink water, digest grain, and defecate." Wow — lucky the chicken sang instead of digested!

1. A whip

Fifty Shades of Grey, anyone? Or perhaps the gifter or giftee is a fan of an earlier era — or warning that the business could go the way of buggy whips.

Or maybe they're just Indiana Jones wannabes…