From "P as in Pork" to Uncontrollable Laughter: A Medical Call Turns Viral

Ever been caught in a fit of uncontrollable laughter at the most inappropriate moment? That's exactly what happened to a medical receptionist trying to relay test results in what became a viral sensation. When spelling the bacteria "pantoea" using creative phonetic references like "P as in pork" and "E as in earth," both the caller and her office colleagues dissolved into contagious giggles that resonated with millions online.

The phonetic alphabet exists precisely to prevent such communication mishaps – those standardized references like Alpha, Bravo, Charlie that create clarity during important exchanges. Yet there's something undeniably human about improvising in the moment and the unstoppable wave of laughter that follows when we realize our mistake. The receptionist's valiant attempts to regain composure while delivering critical medical information captures that delightful tension between professionalism and our shared capacity for spontaneous joy.

Beyond this lighthearted story, we explore Melania Trump's new initiative leading a presidential artificial intelligence challenge for children, raising questions about the balance between technological advancement and educational priorities. We also dive into the intense Ohio State-Michigan rivalry manifested in Dave Portnoy's stadium ban, showcasing how collegiate competitions extend beyond the playing field into administrative decisions. As summer concludes, we contemplate vacation preferences – whether you're drawn to relaxing beach days with a good book or adventurous cultural explorations. Whatever your preference, these moments of respite reveal our values and what truly helps us recharge.

What moments have made you break into unstoppable laughter when you were trying to maintain composure? Share your story, subscribe to hear more everyday observations that connect us, and join our growing community of listeners who appreciate finding humor in life's unexpected moments.

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Liberty Line each week on Sunday, look for topics on my X file @americanistblog and submit your 1-3 audio opinions to anamericanistblog@gmail.com and you'll be featured on the podcast. 

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Chapters

• 0:29 The Radio Phonetic Alphabet Introduction
• 1:04 Hilarious Doctor's Office Voicemail Story
• 2:19 "P as in Pork" Phonetic Mishap
• 5:47 Melania Trump's AI Education Project
• 7:13 Dave Portnoy's Ohio Stadium Ban
• 10:01 Vacation Preferences Question

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:15

The Radio Phonetic Alphabet. Are you ready for it? Here we go Alpha Bravo, charlie, delta, echo, foxtrot, golf, hotel, india, juliet, kilo, lima, mike, november, oscar, papa, quebec, romeo, sierra, tango, uniform, victor, whiskey, x-ray, yankee, zulu. And yes, I had to look it up because I, you know, I used to know it by heart, being prior military. But I bring this up because of this story I'm about to share with you. Doctor's office leaves patient a hilarious voicemail and even the receptionist can't help but laugh. I'm so sorry. All right, so it's from the New York Post and it goes like this, which, okay, we're going to read through it and I'm going to stop and comment like I normally do.

Speaker 1: 1:08

This proved that some calls from a doctor's office can get your heart racing in the right way. When Haley Giamarino answered a call from her dermatology clinic, she never expected it to become a viral moment, much less a particularly memorable one. Well, if you're recording it, you want it to go. If you're obviously wanting it to go viral, obviously it's a TikTok video that's racked up nearly 6 million views. Haley, who goes by Haley Blaley on the platform, shared the viral voicemail she received from her doctor's office. The video starts innocently enough, showing Haley smiling in a halter dress by a window before cutting to the audio. That set the internet into a fit of giggles.

Speaker 1: 1:57

The voicemail begins in standard professional fashion. A clinic staff member introduces herself sweetly and begins explaining the results of a bacterial culture taken of a recent appointment. So the culture and this is the this is her starting off. So the culture came back as a bacterial called panto pantoea species, the woman says a bacteria that can be either a harmless environmental contaminant or an opportunistic pathogen causing serious infection. Of infection, according to the national library of medicine. Now, I don't think that's that part she didn't explain, that's just the writer of the article explaining it. So at first, when I read that, I thought well, that's what I'd be more concerned about, not about the phonetic alphabet she's about to lay upon you.

Speaker 1: 2:55

So, and the test results eventually sent her into increasing hysterics as she struggled to spell out the finding using her own phonetic alphabet. Oh God, y'all get ready for this. I can't stand it when people do this. I hear it all the time. They can't use the proper phonetic alphabet, like what I just said to you, the NATO phonetic alphabet. Nobody knows it, so they make up their own. And y'all, this lady made up her own, you ready?

Speaker 1: 3:24

So she's spelling this word pantoea p-a-n-t-o-e-a. And so she starts off with this is this is spelled p as in pork. The woman, it is kind of funny. The woman says, before a long silence oh my gosh. And the people in the background are cracking up too. Muffled laughs could be heard in the background as another staff member repeated a disbelief. Other staff member repeated a disbelief Pork. Somebody must have been hungry.

Speaker 1: 4:09

Oh, from that point on, the woman struggled to suppress her chuckles as she continued through the word. The staffer did her best to recover. Following up with A is for apple, n as in new. No, you can't say N as in new, because it can be spelled with a K as well. Oh, mercy.

Speaker 1: 4:28

At that point the woman began to crack, stifling her laughter and obviously trying to calm herself. To make it through. Each remaining letter. She says I'm so sorry. She said each remaining letter. She says I'm so sorry. She said, trying her best not to chuckle, attempting to hold it together. She hurried through the rest T as in tree, o as in orange, e as in earth, a as in apple. But it was too late as the laughter takes over. Before finishing the call.

Speaker 1: 4:59

She valiantly tried to convey the rest of the medical message asking about a potential drug allergy, and despite the chaos, she did manage to get the critical information across. Oh my gosh. And then the people had to comment too. The people had to comment. Somebody said E as in earth has me dying. One user wrote while another chimed in Once you get the giggles, you can't stop. And that is true. The other girl in the background repeating pork oh my gosh. Okay, well, that's a good chuckle for you this morning.

Speaker 1: 5:33

I hope all right now they're going to have first lady melania trump will head effort to teach next generation about AI. My very first thought about this was oh, we don't like AI. We think it's dangerous. So let's get the most beautiful moment in the world to sell it to you. But, but, but, but. Here we go. In an exclusive statement in the New York Post, first Lady Melania Trump has revealed her next official project leading the presidential artificial intelligence challenge to inspire children and teachers to embrace AI technology and help accelerate innovation in the field. Now, I guess we have to do this because we need to keep up with everybody else, so I guess this has to be done, right? Okay, I'm not going to finish reading that. You can go finish reading that. I just thought that was interesting. My next one, though, that I have a question for you Now.

Speaker 1: 6:28

We know that Ohio State and Michigan have a huge rival, just like down here in Alabama we have Auburn and I think Georgia and Florida. They have a big. You know, there's always a big, huge college rival between a certain set of schools. Well, ohio State and Michigan is one of them, and I believe Dave Portnoy is a graduate of Michigan. But here's my question why is Ohio State banning him from their stadium?

Speaker 1: 6:58

There's a story out from the New York Post Ohio State is banning Barstool Sports founder, dave Portnoy, from going to Ohio Stadium while he's there for Fox's big noon kickoff. The front office they don't tell us why, and I was taught. I asked my husband why, my husband why? Because you know he, he's a sports guy and he told me that the Patriots, the New England Patriots, even tried to ban him from their stadium. Of course, he wore a disguise and got in. I don't know if they eventually kicked him out, but why I don't know why. All right, so the front office sports report noted that Barstool Sports is barred from being on the campus and that, even though he's banned from inside the stadium, portnoy will still appear on big noon kickoff on saturday. However, the well-known michigan fan portnoy will also. He's just a michigan fan, I don't know. Did he graduate from there or is he just a fan, I don't't know. So he, likes Michigan fan, will likely not be there for the end of the show, which usually takes place inside the stadium.

Speaker 1: 8:06

Big noon kickoff Fox's competitor competitor to ESPN's College Game Day is broadcasting from Columbus ahead of the Buckeyes' highly anticipated season opener against no 1 Texas. Fox announced last month that Portnoy will be joining its college football show, along with a wide-ranging deal that included Barstool Sports, the Barstool's college football show, streaming on Fox Sports digital channels and on Tubi before big noon kickoff. A source has told Front Office Sports that Fox had anticipated an issue with Portnoy and Ohio State and that it was never in the original plans for the sports media personality to enter the stadium. But why? The Barstool college football show will go on as it previously had been planned by Barstool Sports.

Speaker 1: 8:58

I'm trying to read it and try to find out why Portnoy, a noted Michigan alum who has trolled Ohio State over the years, posted a photo of himself with sunglasses and a mustache in a a response to social media post about the report. Yeah, he looks. He looks like a I don't know. Okay, I love this effing rivalry. Portnoy also wrote on x. One team has to win once in a while for it to be considered a rivalry. Uh, so anyway, it goes on. But it doesn't tell us why he's banned. Maybe because he likes Michigan? That's a dumbass excuse to ban somebody from the stadium. Come on, ohio State, grow a pair. Let the man in Come on. All right, that's all I've got for you today. I guess I need to do the question of the day. All right.

Speaker 1: 9:50

Now that summer's reaching an end and everybody's had their vacation, my question for you is when you go on vacation. If you go on vacation, what is your preferred vibe? Would you rather go on vacation to just chill and relax or do you prefer something more adventurous, touristy, to go learn something about the culture? I like probably a little bit of both, but I'm going to tell you, my favorite vacation is going to the beach taking a cooler full of food snacks, because the gent and I we do not drink alcohol, so our cooler is filled with water and maybe some coffee and some snacks and a book, and we go to the beach, and that's what we do. We rent the chairs down there with the umbrellas and we sit on the beach all day long and it is marvelous. And we have a vacation coming up in a few months to go do that, and I'm so looking forward to it. I'm already picking out my book that I want to take with me.

Speaker 1: 10:55

So, all right, gotta go. It's been a few couple of years since we've been down there, so I'm looking forward to it. All right, gotta go. Thanks for listening. Love y'all. Bye.