A Florida TV news reporter's coverage of Hurricane Ian has gone viral, but not because of the harrowing glimpses into the power of nature she's giving.
Rather, it's because of the way she waterproofed her microphone—by putting a condom over it.
Kyla Galer was reporting yesterday on Ian from a parking lot in Fort Myers, Florida—one of the hardest-hit areas of the state—when the appearance of her microphone suddenly distracted viewers all over the internet.
Suddenly Galer was delivering a much needed moment of levity during the lead-up to what some are saying may shape up to be the most devastating US hurricane since 2005's catastrophic Hurricane Katrina.
But Galer's use of a prophylactic wasn't meant to be a joke.
It's actually standard procedure for keeping microphones and their wireless transmitters and battery packs protected from rain, performers' sweat or any other liquids in all sorts of media production settings, from live concerts and Broadway shows to film shoots and yes, news reports.
Still, it's pretty hilarious to look at your television screen and see the instantly recognizable reservoir tip of a condom jutting up from the top of a newscaster's microphone.
Galer got so much attention for it she took to her Instagram Story to confirm and explain the practice, as seen below.
As Galer explained:
“A lot of people are asking what is on my microphone."
“It is what you think it is. It’s a condom."
"It helps protect the gear. You can’t get these mics wet. There’s a lot of wind and a lot of rain, so we gotta do what we gotta do and that is put a condom on the microphone.”
Galer's colleague, news anchor Jeff Butera, confirmed the practice as well, quipping condoms are essential to anyone wishing to "practice safe hurricane reporting."
Of course, none of this stopped people from giggling about it on Twitter.
So there you have it, condoms are an essential part of any hurricane preparedness supply--for multiple reasons.
