“I’ve known Ben for over a decade. Every few years I decide to mess with him in some way or another,” Ben’s friend, who has chosen to be identified only as “Fred,” wrote in an email to Scene. “In the past, I’ve made Halloween masks, stickers, and now shirts. It’s only because Ben is a good friend that I feel comfortable pulling these pranks.”
The plan was hatched back in March when Fred asked Ben’s wife Julie to send over some high resolution photos of Ben. Fred then drew designs and started pressing the tees at his home. Thirty-five days before Ben’s 30th birthday, Fred distributed the shirts so that when he told Ben about the prank, some of them might’ve already been sold.
Fred says he had initially not planned on telling Ben about the shirts, with the hopes that one day he would stumble upon someone wearing his face in public. But with his birthday coming up, he couldn’t resist the urge to show his friend.
“I don’t want to say the exact number of shirts or stores,” Fred says. “Part of the prank is that Ben doesn’t know the full scope of it.”
While this might seem a little concerning, Julie says her husband thinks the prank is great. Fred encourages anyone who comes across a “Ben face” shirt to post a picture to social media with the hashtag #WhereHaveYouBen.
So far, Ben and Julie have spotted at least one shirt around town. On Monday, Julie posted a picture (below) to Reddit of one such tee she found for $3.99 with the caption “perfect prank.”
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This article appears in Aug 7-13, 2019.
Yes, let’s make fun of poor people so Ben, Fred and all their friends can get a good laugh.
Explain how he is making fun of poor people? First off, don’t assume only poor people shop at thrift stores. Secondly, it’s funny that strangers are walking around with his face on their shirt. I don’t see how those strangers being poor or rich has anything to do with it. Frankly, I’m looking at that picture thinking “Damn, I can get a brand new shirt for $3.99 somewhere? What store is that in because I don’t care what’s on the front for that price.”
Stop making stuff up to be sensitive about.
Instead of giving regular shirts to thrift stores let us give joke shirts.
And while we are at it let us give muffins to the homeless shelter but just give them the stumps.
That is a Savers store. The Salvation Army stores have many shirts for .99 cents last time I was there
Is that the dollar store at 106th and Lorain? Sure looks like it!
I have found GREAT shirts there over the years. LOTS of Browns gear for cheap, and college sweatshirts. Even found Holy Family and Valley Forge Patriot tees for my wife. It’s NOT just for poor slobs! Damn betcha!
He shoulda put “Where you been all my life?’ next to the face. Would have made it a lot funnier.
Oh, crap…that shoulda read: WHERE YOU BEN ALL MY LIFE? Sorry for the misteak.
“Joke shirts”? Again, you’re searching for something to be offended about (and you glomed onto my username to post about it? WTF?) The joke has nothing to do with where the shirts are sold and who’s wearing them. The joke would have the same meaning to the same small group of people if he put a rack of those in Nordstrom….except Nordstrom won’t sell them and thrift shop will. Too bad, because in Nordstrom you could work a second joke angle: selling the exact same shirt for $95 and THEN and only then could you laugh at the people buying them. BTW I fully support laughing at $95 t-shirt buyers.
Also you’re analogy doesn’t work. The muffin stumps were the undesirable half of the muffin in that episode. What’s undesirable about those shirts? I’d say people would be more interested in a new, unworn shirt than a used one. What’s your definition of “regular shirts”? Old ones that you’ve worn until they’re completely out of style or practically falling apart? Maybe like an old puffy shirt, if we’re going to keep with the Seinfeld references. Are those the kind of “regular” shirts you donate?
But I don’t wanna look like a pirate!
The thing is, it’s extremely classist. But Cleveland and the greater area residents wouldn’t acknowledge that. They don’t acknowledge the oppression that this area faces as the MOST segregated city in America. There is a reason it’s this way.
Abe, I see you agree with me now.. You echoed my point when you said “laugh at the people buying them.” That is EXACTLY what I said in the first place – we can’t do that in a society like ours.
All good.
Youre insane. 1st, dont assume only poor people shop there. 2nd, these arent the only shirts sold there, everyone purchasing one did so by choice. 3rd, the laughing at the buyer paying $95 for the tee shirt is due to them paying $95 for a tee shirt. 4th, your desperately looking for a reason to be offended, and there isnt anything here. 5th, you should see a Dr about removing that stick wedged firmly up your ass.