PHUC DAT BICH SAYS THANK YOU? EXCUSE ME?

     Okay, last week when I saw this story, I thought it was a joke, but apparently, this was a real story about a guy named Phuc Dat Bich! What the hell? I mean, I know we Asians have weird names, but this is pretty hilarious. It would have been better if he was traveling with Poo Cum Slo. That would have made this story a hundred times better. 

     Anyway, Phuc Dat Bich, the 23-year-old Vietnamese-Australian man, who looks like my cousin Matthew, took to Facebook this morning to show his gratitude to the thousands of people who supported him after he posted a photo of his passport on the social media site to prove that it was his real name. He said in the post, "I'd like to mention that I am very grateful to those who have been supportive of certain names that populate in different cultures. We live in a diverse and multicultural society and the fact that there are people out there who are supportive and encouraging really makes me happy."

     Dat Bich's (sorry, I had to!) January post of his passport garnered over 160,000 "likes" and over 80,000 "shares". It was posted in response to Facebook terminating his account several times for a name they called "false and misleading." Reactions to the original post were mostly positive with people offering support for the name. One Facebook user wrote, "Mate, ignore any disbelievers as they are only jealous of your name. We think it's the best name a man can have." 

     Personally, I think the name is fantastic, but I too would have been leery of it at first as well. I say this only because I used to be the person responsible for writing the birthday lists on the Elvis Duran Morning Show many many years ago, where producer Skeery Jones would read the day's birthday names. I would slip in names like Sum Ting Wong or Patty O'Furniture or Lynn Guini (I think you get the picture) for Skeery to read on the air. It used to be a really funny bit. 

     The hilarious thing about Dat Bich's (sorry, I had to again!) name is that it's actually pronounced "Phoop Dook Bic" and is a common name in Vietnam. I'm guessing it's like John Smith in Vietnam. Can you imagine John Smith was a dirty looking name in Vietnamese. That would be a total flip of the script.