Stifle that yodel!

Two weeks ago, we linked to a story about a Romanian couple who named their son Yahoo to celebrate the Web-based genesis of their relationship. (Then we made a joke about wedgies.) Anyway, it now emerges that the story was a fake—and that the reporter at Bucharest daily Libertatea who made it up has been fired.

We could say something here about how it doesn’t really matter that it was a fake—how the fact that a reporter thought he’d get away with it in itself confirms the burgeoning, disturbing trend of naming kids after corporations. Instead, we’ll admit that the phrase “Romanian tabloid” should have been a red flag, and we pledge not to link to any such stories in future, unless they involve naming a baby something really odd, like Pop Tart or something.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

January 24, 2005 | Permalink