If you're ever wearing a microphone, there are some situations when it's always worth double checking whether it's on or off.

One Texan mayor found that out the hard way last week when he decided to take a toilet break during a meeting. Georgetown Mayor Dale Ross returned to the sounds of laughter, after those attending the meeting overheard his toilet trip on the room's sound system.

Rachael Jonrowe was speaking about infectious diseases at the time, and inevitably she found it impossible to keep a straight face as she tried to talk over the soothing sounds of flushing:

Mayor Ross, for his part, has seen the humour in the situation and the video's subsequent viral success. He told the American Statesman that “I think the average person can relate to this, that even the mayor — when nature calls — has to go,”. He added that he believes in open and transparent government, joking that "recently, I showed I believed in it".