By Margie WylieBill Gates, a man used to having his cake and eating it too, today had his cake and wore it too.
In Brussels, Belgium, to visit European Union officials, the Microsoft chairman was struck in the face with a cream pastry--a cake or possibly a pie--as he was entering a government building to give a speech on education. The prankster escaped, but one accomplice and a cameraman were taken into custody and later released after Belgian prankster Noel Godin appeared on television to take responsibility for the attack.
Gates will not press charges, according to a Microsoft spokeswoman.
Godin, a self-appointed anarchist, has made a name for himself targeting the rich, famous, and pompous with cream pies in public. His exploits have become so renowned that a French word has been coined to describe the act of being creamed: entarter.
Perhaps one of the most famous men in the French-speaking world, Godin himself is called "L'entarteur," or "the Pieman." He often appears on TV shows and films and is an author of a book about his exploits.
Those who take Godin's exploits with good humor are never bothered again. However, L'entarteur has been known to repeatedly target people who react with ill humor to his antics, what he calls the "revolt of laughter."
This may not be the last cream pie endured by Gates. The billionaire, who is said to dislike the touch of strangers, recently has made a concerted public relations push to come across as a likable, easygoing guy who can make fun of himself. "Oddly enough, [Godin] apparently complained that [Gates] didn't react strongly enough," the Microsoft spokeswoman said.
"This incident is very unfortunate, especially in light of the types of things Bill is trying to do," she added. "He later made a joke about how the cream didn't even taste that good.
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