When you tune in to get your local weather forecast, the last thing you usually expect to see is your meteorologist struggling to keep it together during a live broadcast. However, WABI’s weekend weatherman ended up in exactly that predicament when a workplace prank took on a life of its own.
As a result, Patrick Osborn spent most of his forecast fighting an epic case of the giggles, at some points squealing so loudly it was hard to hear what he was actually trying to say. The video instantly went viral, and people couldn’t help but try to fight off their own giggles while watching Osborn on screen.
The source of the hilarity? Apparently, Osborn was so taken by a prank that was being played on weekend anchor Josh Gabbard that he just couldn’t help himself. While it doesn’t sound like anyone from WABI will be getting in any trouble over the Sunday morning gaffe, it was probably pretty confusing for anyone who was just tuning in.
Either that or the people of Bangor, Maine thought that the week ahead was going to be partly cloudy with a chance of “tee hee hees.”
A Familiar Voice Was Behind the Prank
According to Osborn, everything became a little too funny Sunday morning when someone began playing a clip from a popular cartoon to mess with Gabbard. But the prank must’ve gone on a little longer than expected, since it carried into the weather segment.
That’s when Osborn told his fellow anchor that he struggled to stay on topic.
“It’s the Charlie Brown phone call noise. It’s one where his mom or teacher calls him, and it’s the ‘Wa, wa, wa,'” Osborn recalled. “Something as silly and light-hearted as a Charlie Brown sound made me completely lose my composure”
Osborn Had No Idea the Laughing Would Get Such a Reaction
While he admitted that he wasn’t sure what the response was going to be to his behavior, he told the outlet he never expected to get global attention. “As soon as I got off camera, I wasn’t sure what the response would be. And so I was like a little worried, like, ‘Uh-oh, I’m going to get in trouble for this,'” Osborn said.
Instead of getting a pink slip, Osborn found himself on the receiving end of his 15 minutes of fame when the video was shared again and again, even becoming part of an Inside Edition segment.
News Bloopers Are Quite Common
Most people are so used to seeing their news anchors as focused professionals that news bloopers aren’t exactly rare. In fact, if you Google “best news bloopers,” you’ll end up with a ton of content to choose from. That includes some that you may remember, and others that you could be seeing for the first time.
But, according to Reddit, the most famous news blooper of all time came from a segment where two ABC Texoma anchors were getting ready to start a broadcast, and one woman said, “I so pale.”
“You’re on air,” the other woman whispered before the original broadcaster launched into her planned intro to the segment, proving that even the pros can goof up sometimes.