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'I thought Kanye was a shop assistant' | WTF: Weekly Trivia File

'I thought Kanye was a shop assistant'

WTF: Weekly Trivia File

• Tracey Ullman once confused Kanye West for a shop assistant. The comedian, who breaks a 30-year absence from British TV with a new sketch show next weeks, admits her embarrassing mistake on Graham Norton's BBC One show tonight. She said: 'I once took my son shopping for swimming trunks and in the shop I asked what I thought was a handsome sales assistant if they had what we wanted and my son just kept saying, "Mum, mum, mum." It turned out to be Kanye West.'

• Pretty, pretty good…. A new bar has opened, themed entirely around Seinfeld's George Costanza. The boozer opened in the trendy Fitzroy district of Melbourne, Australia, on New Year's Eve, filled with photographs and memorabilia autographed by actor Jason Alexander. 'I think he is probably the most suited of any of the characters,' co-owner Dave Barrett. His humour is fairly dark and dry and fits in with a bar.' Cocktails are named in honour of his quotes, and there is, of course, a Frogger machine, in honour of one of the sitcom's memorable storylines.Take a look:




• Frankie Boyle is a fan of PG Wodehouse and especially his character Rupert Psmith, an urbane, dandyish monocle-wearing Old Etonian.

• The emotions on Come Dine With Me are usually of the passive-aggressive sort – but you've probably seen an incident from the show that went viral this week, thanks to sore loser Peter Marsh

But the chap on the sofa not knowing where to look is aspiring comedian Adam Mastroianni, a member of the Oxford Imps improv troupe. And now he's posted his own video about the event – talking about how Marsh went down the line of contestants doling out criticism. Plus, the video comes with a pizza recipe. What more could you want?

• You might remember US comedy promoter and stand-upForest Thomer from the case (and $25,000) he won against the City of Cincinnati in 2012, when he and disabled comic Ally Bruener, were arrested when flyering for a stand-up show by approaching people in a park and asked them: 'Come laugh at the crippled girl.' Well, his stand seems to have emboldened him to take on the authorities in various other freedom of speech test cases. Last year, he was citied for displaying signs proclaiming himself 'a motherfucker' in a public place with children present. But this week his luck ran out as he was jailed for three days over a protest he staged about a zombie nativity scene. Thomer dressed as a member of the undead and growled outside court in support of Jasen Dixon, who is facing chargers that his full-size zombie nativity display breached planning laws. However, Thomer's use of a megaphone disputed the court proceedings, leading to the jail spell.

• Jon Fisk, a DJ/producer/model/musician/dancer/actor has recently added stand-up to his CV… but by performing as a 3D rabbit in virtual reality, via VRChat.net. Users watched his routine with headsets, such as Oculus Rift, and appeared to him as an audience of avatars. 'As I hit the final punchline, not only did they laugh, but a chorus line of digital characters moonwalked, flexed, and swashbuckled at me in approval. Then, to top it all, the Flying Horse flew up into the air and blew a rainbow out of its ass,' he wrote on Motherboard. 'However, my favorite part of performing in VR was that it enabled me to live the dream of introverted performers everywhere: I ended my set by running, while screaming, into a portal that transported me immediately out of the performance space.'

• In Japan, a comedian called Kenichi Takahashi has been arrested on suspicion of stealing dozens of girls' uniforms from a Tokyo high school. Police say he has been committing similar thefts for 20 years to fulfil his sexual desires.

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Published: 8 Jan 2016

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