# UK Dopers:  Ed Balls Day

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-ed-balls-day/718711>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [April 28, 2015, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-ed-balls-day/718711 "2015-04-28T11:48:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-ed-balls-day/718711/1 "2015-04-28T11:48:09Z")

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Saw this from a link in the NYTimes. Guardian article about how an inadvertant tweet by MP Ed Balls has led to an annual Thing:

> **[On this fourth #EdBallsDay, has the hype become too much?](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/apr/28/ed-balls-day-fourth-hype-accidental-tweet-special-day)**
>
> Shadow chancellor’s accidental tweet is likely to be retweeted wildly in coming hours, but some are still seeking the true meaning of this special day

So, UK Dopers, what can you tell us?

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**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-ed-balls-day/718711/2 "2015-04-28T11:56:31Z")

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It’s an amusing and harmless “thing” which has legs solely because “Ed Balls” is a funny name. Mr Balls himself is an amiable chap regardless of what you think of his (relatively moderate) political positions.

The proliferation of it makes me laugh, but if it went away I wouldn’t miss it. It does have to be weird for the man himself, though.

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**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-ed-balls-day/718711/3 "2015-04-28T12:21:09Z")

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Wow, I _really_ needed that today. Fantastic. 😃

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**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-ed-balls-day/718711/4 "2015-04-28T12:21:41Z")

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It’s all become a bit too commercialized for my taste.

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**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-ed-balls-day/718711/5 "2015-04-28T12:26:16Z")

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Ed Balls.

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**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-ed-balls-day/718711/6 "2015-04-28T13:25:33Z")

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It caught my attention because my mom is from Ft. Wayne Indiana. There was a well-loved mayor there when she was a kid. There was a movement to name a public building after him recently, but it was rejected because of his name:

Harry Baals

> **[Politicians Named the Darnedest Things](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/harry-baals-respect-fort-wayne-politicians-jack-spratt/story?id=12884857)**
>
> Fort Wayne, Indiana, won't name its new building after a longtime mayor. Pity poor Harry Baals.

Humans are so funny.

Ed Balls!