Underpants tales – Zoom reveals some home truths

Much as we’d hoped that the year 5781 would see the end of it, the pandemic is still here. Many who normally worked from an office have had to adjust to working remotely from home. Our lives have gone digital. On video conferencing software like Zoom and Microsoft Teams, the sentence heard more than any other this year was, “You’re on mute!” Here are some of the lighter online moments from the past year or so.

Lockdown has made us lazy, especially when it comes to getting dressed for work. A lot of us are “business on top, party at the bottom” when preparing for online calls. A journalist on Good Morning America wears a smart blue-collared shirt and grey jacket as he reports on drones delivering medicine. When the camera angle changes, you can clearly see him wearing a pair of boxer shorts.

In a four-person Zoom call, the guy in the top left window gets up and turns away from the camera. His colleagues start raising eyebrows and giggling as they see he’s wearing red and black boxer shorts. He scratches his bottom with both hands inside his shorts, and the others are in hysterics. Jen yells out “Johnny! Johnny!” to no avail. Someone says to Jen, “Call him!” When Johnny picks up his phone, Jen says “We can all see you!” Shocked, Johnny bolts from the room to more mirth.

Another serious man in a suit is sitting in his living room talking on BBC about something terribly important. A ginger cat’s tail waggles across the screen. Without missing a beat, he says, “I apologise for my cat’s tail”, and carries on talking. But the cat doesn’t move and the tail wafts up and down. The serious man says, “Rocco, put your tail down please!”

Speaking of cats, a Mr Rod Ponton was participating in an online court hearing in Texas. In the lower right window, Mr Ponton appears as a white kitten, with big eyes. The judge says, “Mr Ponton, I believe you have a filter turned on in the video settings.” Mr Ponton says it’s a filter and he has his assistant trying to remove it. He says, “I’m here live. I’m not a cat.”

There are hundreds of these videos. There is the boss who appeared as a potato in a group chat, someone speaking to the United States Congress with his head shown upside down, and the kid under his blankets when his maths teacher asked him a question.

Then there was a call with about 10 participants when Jennifer is clearly seen going to sit on the toilet in her little Zoom window. This was much to the amazement and amusement of her colleagues. “I saw nothing” one man says, drily.

In a Zoom class, one portly student doesn’t have a shirt on. While the teacher is speaking, he jiggles his body, causing undulating ripples on his flabby torso. The students think it’s hilarious. The teacher, however, does not.

There are many examples online of microphones not being muted, and people saying or doing the most inappropriate things in front their fellow video-conference participants. This includes insulting teachers, gossiping about people on the call, and apparent amorous liaisons. Then there is “Zoom bombing”, where people interrupt ongoing conversations with inappropriate remarks, pictures, or actions.

Although he wasn’t video conferencing, Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders caused an internet sensation this year. He sported brown woollen mittens, a well-worn thick anorak, and his blue face-mask to President Joe Biden’s inauguration on a chilly January. Photoshopped memes of him hunkered down on a folding chair at well-known landmarks and appearing in famous artworks and movie scenes abounded. There was Bernie on the bench with Forest Gump, Bernie on the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones, and Bernie on the Friends couch. The posts went viral and #BerniesMittens dominated social media for days.

Finally, how can we forget one of the greatest live TV interruptions ever? It happened in 2017, before video calling became so common. In jacket and tie, in front of a world map in his home office, Professor Robert Kelly is being interviewed on the BBC about North Korea. His toddler, in a yellow jersey, marches into the room like she’s the boss. He tries to ignore her, then pushes her away gently. Suddenly, a younger child in a round walking ring waddles into the shot. Then their mother slides in, skidding on the floor. She crawls to grab both children and drags them out of the door, closing it behind her. Kelly apologises, and continues to talk about North Korea. The clip has now had 44 million views on YouTube. It’s still hilarious to watch. Just google “Zoom funny moments” to view these modern day COVID-19 classics!