Good job!
Hearing “Marble jar!” announced along with the clink of marbles hitting a glass jar is one of the many eccentricities one might experience at Madhouse HQ. There’s an actual jar with actual marbles in it. And “marble jar” has become an expression that means “a job well done.” Kind of like “good job,” but with a reward system.
Back in 2006, when former Madhouse phenom Alana Twelmeyer worked here, she decided that a reward system was in order for jobs well done. She got the idea from her grade school days and brought it to Madhouse as a way to acknowledge hard work.
The premise was, and still is, that once the jar was filled with marbles, a treat would be awarded, usually in the form of ice cream from Graeter’s in Cincinnati or Jeni’s in Columbus.
Over the years, the rewards have been varied. Once there was a team breakfast outing to Grumpy’s Deli. There have been field trips to Mr. Freeze in Perrysburg. The treat is almost always sweet.
And so the term “marble jar” was born from this reward system. And whenever someone does something exemplary, one is rewarded with the expression, “Marble jar,” or sometimes just “Marbs,” depending on who is uttering the phrase.
