Turns out that man was my boss, who asked before I even knew he was a being alive. And, while I have no more to add to the subject, I offer you this picture:

Yes, those are ahem protrusions in an aptly placed spot. They're made of the same material you'd find in a keyboard/mouse wrist rest (yes, I touched it). My brother was quite taken by the material (he claims just the material).

Writing up enormously long posts is quite cumbersome on this laptop and are also so schizophrenic that it detracts from the awesomeness of individual locations visited. Thus, I will be penning shorter yet more informational articles when we return to the states, sometime "tomorrow" (or the day after tomorrow in American time). Look forward to it!