# Ted Koppel Gets WOOSHed! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 15, 2003, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-koppel-gets-wooshed/195349 "2003-08-15T07:59:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Phnord\_Prephect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/df705f/32.png) [@Phnord\_Prephect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phnord_Prephect)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-koppel-gets-wooshed/195349/1 "2003-08-15T07:59:47Z")
On a hunch, I’m just gonna go ahead and start this one down here in the Pit. q;} Mods, if it needs moving or I’m violating some rule that I’m unaware of, please, be kind. Was anybody else watching ABC’s coverage of tonight’s Blackout In The Northeast ™? Did anybody else catch phonecall from the helpful transit authority worker by the name of “Bob Dobbs”? Yeah, that’s when my ears perked up too. If you don’t know, that is a (usually) fake name that pranksters enjoy using. So I knew something was up, and if not, some dude had some really funny parents. Wish I’d taped it. Anyway, he calls up Koppel and does this Jerky-Boys type prank, claiming to be a transit worker with information on the subway passengers who were stuck. And, calmly and subtly, begins spouting utter nonsense at the famed newscaster… who completely and totally misses it. I’m talking stuff like “a wireless radio telepathic system” for communicating to the stranded passengers. He mentions his website’s name, on which he discusses this and other pranks, SEVERAL times, and ends up blatantly self-promoting himself. Repeatedly. “Everybody log on to (dude’s website)” And Koppel repeatedly backs him up. I have no proof that Mr. Koppel, even now, is aware of this fact. Wonder if he reads the SDMB. 1) :::👋:: 2) ? 3) Hi Ted! Anyway, I found this absolutely hilarious at the time, and in fact, still do. But I can see that SOME people might think it’s in poor taste, considering the topic. What do you think? And Mods, if the people want it, how do I tell them what the website is without getting my inbox flooded? I know a link would be inappropriate, right? Wrong? Lemme know. Thanks. :::still chuckling::: ---
**Author:** ![CherryBomb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/919ad9/32.png) [@CherryBomb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CherryBomb)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-koppel-gets-wooshed/195349/2 "2003-08-15T13:03:42Z")
Oh, I wish I could have seen that. Nothing (well, ok, maybe a few things) makes me happier than seeing a talking head humbled or ridiculed without them seeming to catch on. I hope he watches the tape later and starts to :smack: himself repeatedly. As to the website name, I’d let people contact you by email if they’re that interested. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-koppel-gets-wooshed/195349/3 "2003-08-15T13:18:33Z")
How in the world does someone _call_ Ted Koppel on the air? Surely he has a staff that’s supposed to check out these “sources”, no? > [@](#): > > \ Nothing…makes me happier than seeing a talking head humbled or ridiculed without them seeming to catch on. Man, Cherry Bomb, remind me to never piss you off. What could possibly be pleasurable about watching public humiliation? That’s just creepy. ---
**Author:** ![Spooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Spooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spooky)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-koppel-gets-wooshed/195349/4 "2003-08-15T13:26:48Z")
I was watching Koppel live while this happened. Actually, Ted was suspicious, he questioned the caller once or twice. The caller was telling people trapped in the subways to use their cell phones to go on line and check out a certain website. He stressed that the people should stay put. Ted mentioned that this was not the info he had been receiving until that point. I immediately checked out the website and saw that Ted had been pranked. Perhaps Ted never explained what had happened because he didn’t want to give this jerk any more media exposure. ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-koppel-gets-wooshed/195349/5 "2003-08-15T13:34:43Z")
That’s pretty clever for a prankster. Usually they just shout something like “HOWARD STERN RULES!” and hang up once they get on the air. ---
**Author:** ![Jerrybear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8c91f0/32.png) [@Jerrybear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jerrybear)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-koppel-gets-wooshed/195349/6 "2003-08-15T13:39:41Z")
Bob Dobbs? It must be a Church of the SubGenius Conspiracy, I tells ya! ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-koppel-gets-wooshed/195349/7 "2003-08-15T13:53:23Z")
The best prank call ever was the “I see OJ” call to ABC during the white Bronco stand-off at OJ’s house. Man, that was funny. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Spooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Spooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spooky)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-koppel-gets-wooshed/195349/8 "2003-08-15T13:56:11Z")
Jerrybear is very perceptive. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-koppel-gets-wooshed/195349/9 "2003-08-15T14:05:24Z")
Why would a link to the website be inappropriate? ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-koppel-gets-wooshed/195349/10 "2003-08-15T14:16:35Z")
I recently heard a clip of a radio host in Miami who called Fidel Catro pretending to be Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. Castro falls for it and then the host calls him a murderer and Castro starts using all sorts of obscenities. Quite funny. IIRC there was also a similar prank to the Queen of England. You’d think those people would be more careful in verifying who is actually at the other end of the phone line. ---
**Author:** ![Ceejaytee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ceejaytee/32/2956_2.png) [@Ceejaytee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ceejaytee)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-koppel-gets-wooshed/195349/11 "2003-08-15T14:30:38Z")
I was watching NY’s local NBC station (Channel 4) last night when local anchor Chuck Scarborough mentioned that they got a call from a fake Con Ed spokesman who, according to Chuck, was “vulgar and stupid.” I was sorry to miss that. I imagine that Chuck, a NY news veteran, would have been all over the guy. I guess you can get on the air if you sound legit to the switchboard and the producers. As long as you aren’t vulgar and stupid at the beginning, you can probably get away with a lot of things. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-koppel-gets-wooshed/195349/12 "2003-08-15T14:43:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ruby \* > \*\*What could possibly be pleasurable about watching public humiliation? That’s just creepy. \*\* You’re kidding, right? Seeing public figures mocked without their knowledge is one of the funniest things on the planet! ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-koppel-gets-wooshed/195349/13 "2003-08-15T14:47:49Z")
Reminds me of when NASA was just about to announce that all the shuttle astronauts were dead…and someone called up saying that debris had landed in their backyard in Texas. When the commentator asked how big were the pieces (ostensibly to see if the passenger compartment could have landed intact), the caller said “as big as Gary’s teeth. ba-ba-buoy, Howard Stern.” Yeah, I didn’t think it was funny either. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-koppel-gets-wooshed/195349/14 "2003-08-15T15:06:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Revtim \* > \*\*Why would a link to the website be inappropriate? \*\* Given the circumstances, it might be considered advertising, since that’s what the jackass was doing on the TV. ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-koppel-gets-wooshed/195349/15 "2003-08-15T15:46:51Z")
I love it when Ted Koppel and his SubwayGenius clench woosh SDMBers and the world at large, it’s friggin’ hilarious! If Ted ain’t half-Yeti I’ll eat my cummerbund, look at his hair fer chrissakes! 13013 ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-koppel-gets-wooshed/195349/16 "2003-08-15T16:20:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jerrybear \* > \*\*Bob Dobbs? It must be a Church of the SubGenius Conspiracy, I tells ya! \*\* I’ve heard Bob Dobalina (sp) used a few times (man-on-the-street interviews, etc.) I know it’s a character from a Monkees song but I don’t know if there’s more to it than that. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-koppel-gets-wooshed/195349/17 "2003-08-15T16:31:28Z")
Oh, honestly people, it’s “Bob” Dobbs. Get it right or your slack is in peril. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-koppel-gets-wooshed/195349/18 "2003-08-15T16:40:51Z")
Slack is never imperiled by confusing the pinks about the Messiah’s identity. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-koppel-gets-wooshed/195349/19 "2003-08-15T16:50:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Airman Doors, USAF \* > \*\*Given the circumstances, it might be considered advertising, since that’s what the jackass was doing on the TV. \*\* Unless the person posting the link is the one who made the website, it’s no more advertising than the jillions of other links people post here that they find interesting. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-koppel-gets-wooshed/195349/20 "2003-08-15T17:04:33Z")
I saw it. Ted looked very confused, and the guy wasn’t making any sense, talking about Beauty and the Beast, etc. He kept mentioning the website over and over again, which seemed very odd. Finally Ted cut him off. I checked out the website, and realized Ted had been whooshed. Now, I’m confused. This isn’t a talk show, where people call in. This is network news, so someone must have had to call this guy from the network. (I have some experience in this area, and if they want you as a guest, they call you, so the call-in lines stay clear for viewers/listeners.) Sounds like someone at ABC did not do their homework. If someone is interested in the website, they can e-mail me, but I’m not going to post it here. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-koppel-gets-wooshed/195349.md?page=2)