You've probably heard about the gaffe made on BBC News 24 last week.  If not, they were meant to be interviewing a computer expert (a white, bearded man) about the Apple v Beatles court case.  Apparently they went out into the foyer, shouted out the expert's name and a gentleman waiting in reception put his hand up.  What with the pressures of live TV, they miked him up, sat him down and started to interview him.  Only afterwards did they discover that they had interviewed the computer expert's taxi driver (a black man with a French accent).  A video of the interview can be seen here. 

I'd heard about the story over the weekend, but only managed to track down the video today - worth a watch.

I'm sure the BBC are not alone in mistaking a person's identity.  I doubt if many of us could deny asking a perfect stranger a question about what we're going to have for dinner down a supermarket aisle, or something more intimate perhaps?

I remember at the age of 7 or 8 going to the public library with my Grandfather.  After picking my 3 books (The Hardy Boys probably) from the childrens' section, I dashed up to the adult section and flung myself on the back of an aged gentleman bending over to look at the selection of oversized print books on the bottom shelf.  I don't know who was most shocked - me or the total stranger.