Friends fans often wondered if Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) and Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) brought home the correct baby after leaving Ben on a bus. The babysitting incident occurred in season 2 and still stands as a memorable episode. Ben was the infant son of Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) and his ex-wife. Even though the child appeared on a handful of episodes in the future, Ben would later disappear from the series. His presence as a baby, however, has stirred up a lot of debate.

The Ben mishap happened in season 2’s “The One With The Baby On The Bus.” Ross has an allergic reaction to kiwi-lime pie, forcing Monica (Courtney Cox) to take him to the hospital. Without anyone else to watch Ben, Ross reluctantly allows Joey and Chandler to watch his young son. While babysitting, the pair notice that they can use the baby to attract women. While on the bus, Joey and Chandler chat up two women, and the group agrees to go for drinks, but the men completely forget about Ben and leave him on the city bus.

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Joey and Chandler frantically search for Ben before winding up at the Department of Human Services. While there, they are forced to pick Ben out of two identical babies who were both found abandoned. They believe they chose the right baby and return him to Ross. The incident was kept a secret until Ross finds “Property of Human Services” stamped on his son. Following the episode, a portion of viewers debated whether or not Joey and Chandler picked the right baby, but a key scene at the end of the episode hints that the men did indeed get the real Ben back.

Ben’s Parents Would Have Realized If It Was The Wrong Baby

First, Ross would have known whether or not the baby they brought home was Ben. It was made clear throughout Friends that Ross was not the most attentive father, but he was around his child long enough to tell him apart from other infants. Even if that wasn’t the case, Ross’ ex-wife, Carol, would have instantly found out, giving the show a reason to return to the plot. It was a hilarious gag for Joey and Chandler to panic when picking the right baby, but that wouldn’t have been the case for Ben’s real parents.

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At the start of the episode, Joey and Chandler made fun of Monica because Ben cried every time she held him. When the duo brought the baby home, they initially worried that they didn’t have the right child – until he cried in Monica’s vicinity. Once Ben became upset at Monica’s presence, it revealed that they did pick the right kid. Because of that reaction near Monica, Friendsconfirmed that Joey and Chandler managed to clean up their mess.

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Kara Hedash
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Kara Hedash is a features editor and writer for Screen Rant. From time to time, she dives into the world’s most popular franchises but Kara primarily focuses on evergreen topics. The fact that she gets to write about The Office regularly is like a dream come true. Before joining Screen Rant, Kara served as a contributor for Movie Pilot and had work published on The Mary Sue and Reel Honey. After graduating college, writing began as a part-time hobby for Kara but it quickly turned into a career. She loves binging a new series and watching movies ranging from Hollywood blockbusters to hidden indie gems. She also has a soft spot for horror ever since she started watching it at too young of an age. Her favorite Avenger is Thor and her favorite Disney princess is Leia Organa. When Kara’s not busy writing, you can find her doing yoga or hanging out with Gritty.

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