Skip to content

Brendan Hughes

Brendan Hughes

  • My Next Appearance
  • Charts and Graphs from My Tortured Brain
  • Pictures of People Punching Me in the Face
  • Press and Awards
    • Interviews and features
    • Reviews
    • Awards
  • Contact

Socratic Irony Strikes at the Hanoi Hilton

November 4, 2019

On April 6, 1967, Doug Hegdahl of the US Navy was blown overboard from the USS Canberra in the Gulf of Tonkin. He swam for several miles before being picked up by Cambodian fishermen, who turned him over to the North Vietnamese army.

At the Hanoi Hilton, he decided to play dumb with his interrogators, turning up his bumpkin demeanor and country accent. He pretended to be illiterate, and performed feats of such dimness around the camp that he became known to his captors as “The Incredibly Stupid One,” and was thus free to roam around, harmless as they thought he was.

He used his access to memorize the names, capture dates and personal information of 256 fellow inmates, to the tune of Old MacDonald Had a Farm. His information proved crucial when he was released.

Socratic Irony is when you pretend to be dimmer than your opponent, so that they reveal themselves. This is one of the more audacious examples in history. E-I-E-I-O motherscratcher!

Related

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Email

Post navigation

Previous Post:

A Pill for the Misbegotten

Next Post:

The Smell of Insecurity

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

The Comedy Album

The cover of my comedy album The Pizzicato Effect

Follow on Spotify

The Podcast

The Dad Jeans Podcast       Subscribe! iTunes | Facebook

Listen to a recent episode!

Listen to a recent episode!

The Comic Lectures

       

The Short Films

Unpaid Interns from Brendan Hughes on Vimeo.

 

A Lesson at Classon Avenue on the G. from Brendan Hughes on Vimeo.

© 2021 Brendan Hughes
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.