After one of the machines at work suddenly went on the fritz, our boss called the repair service and asked to speak to the manager, Ahmed.

“Hello, Ed speaking. How can I help you?” said the guy who answered the phone.

“Sorry,” said my boss. “I was looking for Ahmed.”

“This is Ahmed,” came the reply. “How can I help you?”

“I thought you just said your name was Ed?” asked my boss.

“It is. But whenever I say ‘Ahmed,’ people think I’m saying, ‘I’m Ed.’ So I figured it’s just easier to be Ed.”