Pushing the envelope

I think Ted may have genuinely broken new ground this morning. One of the admin staff asked Ted if we had a shredder they could use. He obligingly showed her where it is, before deliving the following disclaimer:

"But I don't really understand how it works. I think it might need electricity or something, so it might need to be switched on first. I don't know."

Even in a jellyfish, this would clearly be self-parody. With Ted, though ...