The Sun today shares a sensationalistic tale that involves Siri, normally the iPhone 4S's helpful personal assistant, hurling expletives at young Charlie Le Quense, a 12-year-old from the UK. Charlie was with his family at a Tesco retail location in Coventry, England when he decided to sample Apple's latest gadget. He grabbed a nearby demo unit, and made a basic inquiry to Siri to test its capabilities. What he got in return was a phrase that included a four-letter obscenity. Employees at the store were understandably taken aback when his mother demonstrated Siri's newly acquired filthy tongue but were quick to diagnose the problem.

As those who use the standout feature on the 4S regularly know, Siri likes to refer its handler by name. In this case, pranksters seemingly used that personal touch for mischievous purposes by entering the profanity-laced text in the "My Info" area of Siri's settings menu. In theory, the phone was functioning normally and addressing Charlie by what it understood his name to be — known less pejoratively as "Mr. Quiet-Down-You-Unattractive-Individual" in this situation. This makes it difficult for us to surmise how Apple could put a stop to such antics. Maybe the company could prevent Siri from repeating vulgar words in that settings dialog, though phonetic soundalikes would likely skirt those restrictions. Perhaps requesting further confirmation of a name that would otherwise result in a soap-in-mouth punishment would help matters. Why do immature minds always find some way to bring out the worst in products?