Gag Names
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About
Gag names are made-up names that elicit vulgar or strange imageries when pronounced correctly. Commonly used as prank pseudonyms, these names are typically designed to trick people into saying vulgar things without realizing the joke.
Origin
While the origin of the concept is scarcely documented, two New Jersey teenagers John Elmo and Jim Davidson began making a series of prank phone calls to the local bar Tube Bar in the mid-1970s, asking the bartender if they could speak to various gag-named customers like "Al Coholic" (as in an alcoholic), "Ben Dover" (as in "bend over) or "Cole Kutz" (as in cold cuts). Over the coming years, recordings of the prank calls eventually began to circulate on bootleg tapes and it was dubbed the nickname "Tube Bar tapes."[1]
The trope has been since used frequently on the animated TV series The Simpsons, in which the bar owner Moe Szyslak[2] often gets prank-called by the main character Bart Simpson.
Spread
Urban Dictionary
The earliest known Urban Dictionary[3] definition "Mike Hunt" was submitted on October 27th, 2004 with the following description:
The joke name you use when you make a prank call to a female in a public place (eg., a barmaid)
(barmaid to customers) "has anybody seen mike hunt?"
The first Urban Dictionary[4] entry for "Mike Hawk," a counterpart gag name referencing the male genitalia, was submitted on February 15th, 2006:
A much better version of Mike Ock, more convincing as a real name. Sounds like "my cock" when said casually. Look it up on ebaumsworld to see a good prank. I'll never forget the time I beat Mike Hawk at a wrestling tournament. And I'd like to thank Mike Hawk for always standing up for me.
On Blogs
Some of the early examples like "Mike Hawk" and "Mike Hunt" became widespread through various Internet humor sites like YTMND[5] and eBaum's World[6] where they gained much exposure and notoriety.
On September 20th, 2008, BuzzFeed posted a screenshot of an interview footage featuring a man whose name was displayed as "Mike Litoris" in lower-third of the screen.
On September 2nd, 2009, FAILblog[7] posted a video featuring a veteran U.S. Special Forces commando "Myke Hawke," which gained over 2 million views.
Notable Examples
Notable Videos
Search Interest
External References
[1] Wikipedia – Tube Bar prank calls
[2] Wikipedia – Moe Szyslak
[3] Urban Dictionary – Mike Hawk
[4] Urban Dictionary – Mike Hunt
[6] YTMND – She Loves Mike Hawk
[7] FAILblog – Name and Shape FAIL
[8] BuzzFeed – Mike Litoris
[9] BlueManT-Shirts – Play on Words T-Shirts
