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Live Bat Was Used for That Iconic The Office Cold Open: 'We Were Not Allowed to Make Any Noise'

NBC Bat from The Office

The Office Ladies podcast continues to give fans of the beloved sitcom plenty of juicy behind-the-scenes intel.

On the latest episode, hosts Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey discuss the episode titled "Business School" — which fans will remember included an iconic cold open involving a bat in the Dunder Mifflin, Scranton, office.

The hosts welcomed their former costar Kate Flannery onto the podcast to discuss the hilarious scene.

The group revealed that three bats were used in the scene — including a live mammal!

"Yes, we had a real bat with five handlers," Flannery, who played Meredith on the show, said during the podcast.

nbc Bat from The Office

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"But we were not allowed to make any noise around the bat," she recalled. "I couldn't scream. So even though I was screaming, I was acting like I was screaming when we were shooting because — don't upset the bat. Something with the sonar."

One of the most memorable parts of the scene is when Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) captures the bat in a bag on top of Meredith's head.

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Flannery explained that to film that part, the crew used a motorized bat to create the illusion that it was flying around her head inside the bag.

"I did all of it. The motorized thing on the head, it was like, sort of like this fluttery thing, almost like a headband with a motor," Flannery said, adding that she was "acting my ass off."

"It was one of the most fun scenes I got to do with Rainn, since he is an amazing actor and he goes for it, man," she added.