The name ‘Hugh Janus’ live on TV left a US weatherman scratching his head, still perplexed at falling for one of the oldest pranks in existence.
For ages, names that resemble inappropriate words have been a popular trick, famously utilized by Bart, the mischievous eldest child of the Simpson family.
Henry DiCarlo, a meteorologist from Los Angeles, became the target of this prank when a viewer, using the name ‘Hugh Janus,’ requested a birthday shout-out on KTLA 5 news channel.
Mr. DiCarlo complied, and while he didn’t recognize the faux pas immediately, news anchor Chris Schauble erupted into laughter right away.
The female co-anchor took even longer to understand the joke, finally realizing it about 20 seconds after the name was mentioned.
In the future, Mr. DiCarlo might want to scrutinize any notes he reads on live television.