OTOTO Nessie Ladle

Leave this ladle in a pot of soup and the Loch Ness monster pokes its head up out of the broth, which is about the best thing a kitchen tool can do between servings. The bowl is Nessie’s body, the handle is her long neck, and the whole thing stands up on its own, so it waits on the counter looking like a cryptid in the middle of a sighting.

It comes from the OTOTO design studio, which makes a whole line of kitchen tools with a joke built in. Under the joke it’s a regular serving ladle for soup, stew, sauce and gravy. It’s made of heat-resistant plastic, weighs 1.6 ounces and goes in the dishwasher, so nobody has to hand-wash a monster.

Give it to the friend who hosts soup night, the cook with a drawer full of plain utensils, or anyone who perks up at Loch Ness documentaries. It also lands well in a gift swap because the joke is obvious from across the room the moment the wrapping comes off.

The catch: at 9.65 inches long it’s on the short side for a deep stockpot, and it’s plastic, not steel. Keep it for serving bowls and medium pots, and don’t rest it on a hot burner.