What mischief could I get into with someone who has my same name?

April 7, 2009 5:00 AM

If I connected with a complete stranger who has my exact name (first and last), what sort of friendly mischief or hijinks could we get into on a night out?
posted by jeremias to Society & Culture (9 answers total)

Read Are you Dave Gorman?

(really I have no idea, but this could be inspiration)
posted by kaydo at 5:17 AM on April 7, 2009

Are you Grace Lee?
posted by archofatlas at 5:50 AM on April 7, 2009 [1 favorite]

Are you Alan Berliner?
posted by Awkward Philip at 6:53 AM on April 7, 2009

Best answer: I see Dave Gorman has already been mentioned. Besides the book he also had a TV series called "The Dave Gorman Collection" about him finding 54 Dave Gormans (or is it Goremen?). I remember watching the TV show, but I can't remember any hijinks they might have done. Similarly Alan Berliner made a documentary about his name (also including Al and Alain) called The Sweetest Sound, which ended with a dinner where he'd managed to track down eleven other Alan Berliners. Again, no hijinks that I can recall.

You could place orders/reservations and see where that takes you. jeremias1 books a table for 3, jeremias2 calls for a booking saying that perhaps his friend/partner/etc might have booked under his name and protests that it has to be a table for 2, and then jeremias1 calls to confirm his table for 3. Something like that? It doesn't sound fantastic, but I think you might want to try to find things where names are recorded and you don't immediately have to be face to face with someone (because your namesake will probably not look identical to you).
posted by bjrn at 6:54 AM on April 7, 2009

I share my name with a air-traffic controller in the pacific northwest, and with a younger guy here in St. Louis. I am a regular customer of the local REI, and for a while the local same-namer worked there. In fact, he was working the checkout next to the one I was in one day. The clerk who was working with me asked for my member number, and when my name (his name) popped up, her face became ashen. Her: "Chris?"

Me: "That's correct."
Clerk: "No, I mean the clerk behind you. [louder] Chris?"
Other Chris: "Yeah?"
Clerk: "Ummm...." and walked over to him, all freaked out like I was stealing his identity. (at this point, I didn't know the other Chris existed.) He turned around to me and introduced himself, with our shared full name, and told the other clerk, "Yeah, he's me. It's ok."

From that day until he left REI, we pulled similar shenanigans just to freak out the other drones.
posted by notsnot at 7:07 AM on April 7, 2009 [2 favorites]

One of my aunt's good friends shares her first name. One night they were out at a bar and they convinced a couple of guys that they were actually sisters and that their father had given them the same name.

My aunt's now married to one of those guys :)
posted by natabat at 8:15 AM on April 7, 2009 [1 favorite]

Best answer:

1. Dress identically
2. jeremias₀ enters a busy restaurant and procures a table with a wait using his entire name
3. jeremias₀ texts jeremias₁ to inform him of the wait
4. jeremias₁ enters the restaurant several minutes before zero-hour and claims the table when it comes up
5. jeremias₀ interrupts and insists it's his table
6. Both of you go nuts about being long lost twins.

For added points, bring dates that are also dressed identically.
posted by plinth at 8:33 AM on April 7, 2009 [2 favorites]

I wrote something down then erased it.

Dealt with IDs, a bouncer, and a cop. You get the idea. Do it only if you don't mind raising hell.
posted by Lord Fancy Pants at 11:43 AM on April 7, 2009

I think that Lord Fancy Pants and I had the same idea.
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:42 PM on April 7, 2009