By: Allison Terres
Howe Howe and Nash Ndemo, two students at Old Dominion University, have found that it is easy to become an Internet sensation. All you need is a good idea.
“My friends and I had been pulling pranks on each other for a while,” Howe said.
Three years ago Howe found a fake lottery ticket at a Norfolk novelty store and gave it as a present to his friend Ndemo. Howe recorded Ndemo’s reaction, and the video has since gone viral.
Of course, the “winning lottery ticket” videos aren’t exactly an original idea, but Howe thought he would give it a shot anyway. “The reason the video has gotten so much attention is because of Ndemo’s unique reaction,” Howe said.
After nervously scratching the fake lottery ticket, Ndemo honestly believed he hit the jackpot and won 10,000 dollars. Ndemo began bouncing wildly around the house screaming “I’m Rich! I’m Rich!” After a few minutes, Howe told Ndemo to read the back of the ticket. Ndemo, who hails from Kenya, slowly realized the whole thing was a prank and became extremely disappointed.
Since the video was put on Youtube in 2008, it has been featured multiple times on television. Not only on MTV, but also Tru TV’s “Top 20 Most Shocking” pranks episode, where it was number 14. The prank video was most recently featured on The Tonight Show.
NBC called Howe on Dec. 14, to offer him an all expenses paid trip to Universal City in Los Angeles, California. The show provided a hotel room and transportation to and from the taping.
Jay Leno, host of the Tonight Show, featured Howe and Ndemo and their video clip on live TV. After interviewing the two boys, Leno presented a tub of 10,000 pennies as a consolation prize for the fake ticket. Howe and Ndemo also had the chance to do a shout out for Old Dominion, which they took without hesitation.
Howe came from Yorktown and has been at ODU for five years. He majors in Marine Biology and minors in Japanese. He enjoys ODU and has made a home for himself here in Norfolk. Ndemo is an Art Studio major.
In case being an Internet star doesn’t work out, Howe has been working hard off screen too. Howe is the president of ODU’s Marine Biology Association. The Association, that Howe helped to start, will soon be accredited. Of course, he still plans on taking advantage of the Internet when he can.
Howe said he doesn’t quite feel like “an internet star.” The actual video only had about 1,000 views before being featured on MTV for the first time. Even though the video is hard to find, it hasn’t stopped the major television companies from discovering it. “We are trying to come up with another prank,” said Howe. He and his friends are now working to take full advantage of their 15-minutes of fame.
Where’s a link to the video?
Awesome, truly awesome, who would have thought having fun would get someone so far
keep up the pranking guys 