USF alumnus does ‘Stupid Human Trick’

 

Cory Watts, a recent USF graduate, thought his talent was “kind of ridiculous” and  “pretty awkward.”  

David Letterman found it impressive enough to fly two to New York City for an all-expenses-covered three-day trip so Watts and his friend, Jonathan Fudge, could star in Letterman’s recurring “Stupid Human Tricks” segment of The Late Show.  

The segment featured three other participants, ranging from the bizarre to the odd, including a hula-hooper doing pull-ups. 

But as Watts stuck a balloon through his right nostril, pulled one end out through his mouth, had his friend blow through the other end still sticking out through his nostril and contorted the balloon into a dog on television Tuesday night, Letterman and the country watched in awe – and disgust.

“I think you both have a personality disorder,” Letterman said. “Oh, oh, oh, oh. I’m shaking.” 

Watts first learned the “trick” after having a few drinks with his friend, a balloon artist, in early February. 

“He was talking about how he had a friend one time who stuck a balloon up her nose, but wasn’t able to get it out,” she said. “So I was like, ‘I’m sure I could do that.’ I decided to try it and it worked out pretty well. … We were just messing around and then made a YouTube video.”

The video, which now has more than 4,000 views, was picked up by someone from Letterman’s show, who contacted Watts a few months later.

Last Thursday, Watts got a call asking if he and his friend could fly to New York to film Tuesday’s show. 

The experience, Watts said, was one he won’t forget.

A “chauffeur” drove the two to a “super-nice, 4-star hotel right near Central Park.”

“I couldn’t ask for anything more,” Watts said.

Though the show’s producers didn’t allow the Stupid Human Tricks participants talk to Letterman other than when they were onstage, Watts said the experience was “exhilarating.” 

“When I was backstage and stuff, it was extremely nerve-wracking,” he said. “You see David Letterman, a figure you’ve grown up watching on TV and you’re only a few feet away from him backstage. Once I heard my name called out I kind of freaked a little bit.”

Letterman and the producers, he said, were very welcoming. 

But for Watts, who graduated with a degree in psychology in May and works at Meridian Hookah Lounge – the location where his infamous video was shot – the video may be a one-hit wonder.

“I don’t really plan on doing anything with it in the future,” he said. “I’m not a crazy stunt guy or anything. It was an exhilarating experience from a small YouTube video to going to the Big Apple. There are no real plans for it in the future.”