"An incomplete and infuriating list"
March 2, 2024 9:12 AM Subscribe
Things Unexpectedly Named After People. For example: Main Street in San Francisco is named after Charles Main. By Roland Crosby. Via.
I knew about German chocolate cake but not about Baker's Chocolate. That may be nominative determinism: if your name is Baker, you are destined to make chocolate that is designed to be used in recipes.
Slightly different, but at some point I realized that a Bakewell tart is called that because it was invented in the town of Bakewell and has nothing to do with the quality of the baking.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 9:22 AM on March 2 [4 favorites]
Slightly different, but at some point I realized that a Bakewell tart is called that because it was invented in the town of Bakewell and has nothing to do with the quality of the baking.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 9:22 AM on March 2 [4 favorites]
the magic marker is named for its inventor Marcus Wizzardd [fake]
posted by glonous keming at 9:33 AM on March 2 [1 favorite]
posted by glonous keming at 9:33 AM on March 2 [1 favorite]
I knew about German chocolate cake but not about Baker's Chocolate. That may be nominative determinism: if your name is Baker, you are destined to make chocolate that is designed to be used in recipes.
shurely omnomnominative determinomism
posted by lalochezia at 9:48 AM on March 2 [17 favorites]
shurely omnomnominative determinomism
posted by lalochezia at 9:48 AM on March 2 [17 favorites]
I spent a lot of time on the Outerbridge Crossing Bridge as a child, and was delighted to learn, oh so many years later, that its not an outer bridge, but named after a person named Outerbridge!
posted by supermedusa at 9:50 AM on March 2 [6 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 9:50 AM on March 2 [6 favorites]
Me too! wrt the Outerbridge Crossing and the estimable Eugenius Outerbridge
posted by Citizen Cane Juice at 10:01 AM on March 2 [2 favorites]
posted by Citizen Cane Juice at 10:01 AM on March 2 [2 favorites]
I seem to remember hearing that Black Boxes (aka flight recorders) were named after their inventor, a Dr. Black. Annoyingly that appears not to be the case, although an early patent was apparently registered by Dr. James J. "Crash" Ryan which is almost as good.
posted by jontyjago at 10:01 AM on March 2 [1 favorite]
posted by jontyjago at 10:01 AM on March 2 [1 favorite]
Miramax is named after the Weinsteins' parents, Miriam and Max. Maybe that's too widely known?
posted by paper chromatographologist at 10:02 AM on March 2 [4 favorites]
posted by paper chromatographologist at 10:02 AM on March 2 [4 favorites]
the estimable Eugenius Outerbridge
Once you start thinking that way, the next obvious question is "what percentage of Wikipedia entries are that?"
And then "what if it's ALL that?"
posted by The Bellman at 10:10 AM on March 2 [1 favorite]
"Eugenius Harvey Outerbridge (March 8, 1860 – November 10, 1932) was a businessman and promoter of patent fiberboard, and the first chairman of the interstate agency known then as the Port of New York Authority . . . "This is the kind of Wikipedia entry that makes you start having dark thoughts like "what if some entries on Wikipedia are just totally made up practical jokes with no basis in reality at all?"
Once you start thinking that way, the next obvious question is "what percentage of Wikipedia entries are that?"
And then "what if it's ALL that?"
posted by The Bellman at 10:10 AM on March 2 [1 favorite]
My personal favorite from the list: the cosmetic brand Max Factor is not some vapid marketing for "the maximum factor™" but is named after the company's turn-of-the-century founder Maksymilian Faktorowicz (who also popularized the word "make-up").
posted by Rhaomi at 10:10 AM on March 2 [15 favorites]
posted by Rhaomi at 10:10 AM on March 2 [15 favorites]
In probability and statistics, Student's t distribution is named for William Sealy Gosset's 1908 paper under the pseudonym "Student". (Gossett was the head brewer for Guiness at the time.)
posted by Theiform at 10:15 AM on March 2 [5 favorites]
posted by Theiform at 10:15 AM on March 2 [5 favorites]
There's apparently a movement afoot to name an Aubrey Plaza Plaza in Wilmington, DE and I am sad this hasn't happened yet.
posted by Ishbadiddle at 10:35 AM on March 2 [15 favorites]
posted by Ishbadiddle at 10:35 AM on March 2 [15 favorites]
I was thrilled to learn that the Sheetz gas station chain is owned by a whole family of Sheetzes: Bob Sheetz, Steve Sheetz, Joe M. Sheetz, Louie Sheetz, Charlie Sheetz, and all the rest.
posted by knotty knots at 10:37 AM on March 2 [5 favorites]
posted by knotty knots at 10:37 AM on March 2 [5 favorites]
The Gardenia is named after the botanist Alexander Garden
posted by vacapinta at 10:53 AM on March 2 [12 favorites]
posted by vacapinta at 10:53 AM on March 2 [12 favorites]
> whole family of Sheetz
i like how Robin was apparently all "no, fuck that i'm not doing the wall-lean pic"
posted by glonous keming at 10:57 AM on March 2 [4 favorites]
i like how Robin was apparently all "no, fuck that i'm not doing the wall-lean pic"
posted by glonous keming at 10:57 AM on March 2 [4 favorites]
Also the bacteria Salmonella which was named by David Salmon after himself.
posted by vacapinta at 11:02 AM on March 2 [5 favorites]
posted by vacapinta at 11:02 AM on March 2 [5 favorites]
Robin was apparently all "no, fuck that i'm not doing the wall-lean pic"
In fact, if I remember correctly her name at one point used to be Ilene Sheetz, but she changed it. Her newspaper mugshot had it listed when she was arrested for suspected involvement in a bank heist.
posted by tigrrrlily at 11:15 AM on March 2 [1 favorite]
In fact, if I remember correctly her name at one point used to be Ilene Sheetz, but she changed it. Her newspaper mugshot had it listed when she was arrested for suspected involvement in a bank heist.
posted by tigrrrlily at 11:15 AM on March 2 [1 favorite]
The color Fuchsia was named after the botanist Fuchs.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 11:16 AM on March 2 [8 favorites]
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 11:16 AM on March 2 [8 favorites]
I made a (fake news generating) site about this phenomenon a while back.
posted by ignignokt at 11:27 AM on March 2 [2 favorites]
posted by ignignokt at 11:27 AM on March 2 [2 favorites]
My favourite is the Screech Owl Sanctuary, because I drove past it inummerable times in what now seems like a past life, making the obvious assumption about it, before relatively recently discovering that, while there might be screech owls there, it is in fact a less restrictive owl sanctuary that is owned and run by a Mr & Mrs Screech. Nominative determinism perhaps, but surely, one might say, eponysterical.
screechowlsanctuary.co.uk
posted by merlynkline at 11:34 AM on March 2 [15 favorites]
screechowlsanctuary.co.uk
posted by merlynkline at 11:34 AM on March 2 [15 favorites]
My personal favorite from the list: the cosmetic brand Max Factor is not some vapid marketing for "the maximum factor™" but is named after the company's turn-of-the-century founder Maksymilian Faktorowicz (who also popularized the word "make-up").
To be fair he named himself Max Factor, too. Well worth reading that wiki page - one of those incredibly eventful turn of the (20th) century immigrant stories.
posted by atoxyl at 11:49 AM on March 2 [2 favorites]
To be fair he named himself Max Factor, too. Well worth reading that wiki page - one of those incredibly eventful turn of the (20th) century immigrant stories.
posted by atoxyl at 11:49 AM on March 2 [2 favorites]
One company that I thought until last year was named after a person but isn't: Ramada.
A few more that I hadn't known or only learned about in the past few years:
Adidas – Adi Dassler (Adolf Dassler)
Aldi – Theo and Karl Albrecht (Albrecht Discount)
Alltech - Aoife Louise Lyons, daughter of company founder Pearse Lyons
Audi – August Horch (audi is Latin for horch = "listen" in English)
Borders – Tom and Louis Borders
Datsun – Kenjiro Den, Rokuro Aoyama, and Meitaro Takeuchi
Haribo – Hans Riegel (and produced in Bonn)
Tesco – T.E. Stockwell and Jack Cohen
posted by rory at 12:57 PM on March 2 [4 favorites]
A few more that I hadn't known or only learned about in the past few years:
Adidas – Adi Dassler (Adolf Dassler)
Aldi – Theo and Karl Albrecht (Albrecht Discount)
Alltech - Aoife Louise Lyons, daughter of company founder Pearse Lyons
Audi – August Horch (audi is Latin for horch = "listen" in English)
Borders – Tom and Louis Borders
Datsun – Kenjiro Den, Rokuro Aoyama, and Meitaro Takeuchi
Haribo – Hans Riegel (and produced in Bonn)
Tesco – T.E. Stockwell and Jack Cohen
posted by rory at 12:57 PM on March 2 [4 favorites]
Yes, the Southern blot is named after a person, but Northern, Eastern, and Western blots are not. They're a play on the original.
posted by dephlogisticated at 12:58 PM on March 2 [3 favorites]
posted by dephlogisticated at 12:58 PM on March 2 [3 favorites]
Bacitracin, the topical antibiotic, was discovered in 1945 in a leg injury of seven-year-old Margaret Tracy. Its name is a combination of Bacillus and Tracy.
posted by themanwho at 1:01 PM on March 2 [3 favorites]
posted by themanwho at 1:01 PM on March 2 [3 favorites]
Barnes and Noble should have named their store “Noble Barnes” so you’d think it was named after fancy farm buildings.
posted by madcaptenor at 1:20 PM on March 2 [3 favorites]
posted by madcaptenor at 1:20 PM on March 2 [3 favorites]
The saxophone is named after its inventor, Adolphe Sax. He also invented the less-popular saxtuba.
posted by lock robster at 1:24 PM on March 2 [2 favorites]
posted by lock robster at 1:24 PM on March 2 [2 favorites]
Sadly, Arm & Hammer is not named after Armand Hammer.
posted by dephlogisticated at 1:29 PM on March 2 [2 favorites]
posted by dephlogisticated at 1:29 PM on March 2 [2 favorites]
Nachos and nazis both ultimately come from the name Ignatius, but only nachos are named for an actual person.
posted by themanwho at 1:45 PM on March 2 [2 favorites]
posted by themanwho at 1:45 PM on March 2 [2 favorites]
The actor Armand Hammer’s great-grandfather of the same name did try to buy the company that makes the baking soda, though, because he was tired of being asked about it. He did eventually end up on their board though.
posted by madcaptenor at 1:45 PM on March 2 [3 favorites]
posted by madcaptenor at 1:45 PM on March 2 [3 favorites]
James Thomas Brudenell, the seventh Earl of Cardigan, popularized knitted waistcoats; his regiment was wearing them when he commanded the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava.
Also at Balaclava: FitzRoy James Henry Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan. After his lordship lost his right arm at Waterloo, his tailor designed garment sleeves with a diagonal armhole seam to allow greater range of motion of the remaining arm.
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:46 PM on March 2 [3 favorites]
Also at Balaclava: FitzRoy James Henry Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan. After his lordship lost his right arm at Waterloo, his tailor designed garment sleeves with a diagonal armhole seam to allow greater range of motion of the remaining arm.
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:46 PM on March 2 [3 favorites]
Bridgestone Tire was founded by Shojiro Ishibashi. Ishibashi translated his name into English, which is literally "stone bridge," and then switched the order to "bridge stone."
posted by zardoz at 1:55 PM on March 2 [5 favorites]
posted by zardoz at 1:55 PM on March 2 [5 favorites]
Kinko's is named after founder Paul Orfeala's nickname because of his curly hair.
posted by zardoz at 1:57 PM on March 2 [2 favorites]
posted by zardoz at 1:57 PM on March 2 [2 favorites]
"'Who would like the triangle?' asked Mrs. Jewls. Joe raised his hand, and Mrs. Jewls gave it to him. 'Why is it called a triangle?' asked Joe. 'I don't know,' said Mrs. Jewls. 'Maybe because it's shaped like a triangle,' suggested John. 'No, that can't be it,' said Mrs. Jewls. 'Then the tambourine would have to be called a circle.' 'Maybe it was invented by a person named Joe Triangle,' said Rondi. 'That's probably it,' said Mrs. Jewls. She held up the next instrument. It was a glockenspiel. 'Who would like the glockenspiel?' she asked. Sharie raised her hand. Nobody asked why it was called a glockenspiel. It was obvious."
posted by naoko at 2:14 PM on March 2 [12 favorites]
posted by naoko at 2:14 PM on March 2 [12 favorites]
Of course everyone knows that Birds Eye foods was named for its founder Clarence Birdseye.
posted by Phanx at 2:40 PM on March 2
posted by Phanx at 2:40 PM on March 2
There's apparently a movement afoot to name an Aubrey Plaza Plaza in Wilmington, DE and I am sad this hasn't happened yet.
You’ll be pleased to know that after a change.org petition, Edmonton City Hall was renamed to honour a hometown hero: the Nathan Filllion Civilian Pavilion. Looks like it was just for 24 hours, though. Booo.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 2:41 PM on March 2 [9 favorites]
You’ll be pleased to know that after a change.org petition, Edmonton City Hall was renamed to honour a hometown hero: the Nathan Filllion Civilian Pavilion. Looks like it was just for 24 hours, though. Booo.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 2:41 PM on March 2 [9 favorites]
”I feel like people don't talk enough about how James Bond is controlled by the Broccoli family, of broccoli fame. They're not named after broccoli, broccoli is named after them!!!!!!!!””
posted by rongorongo at 3:08 PM on March 2 [6 favorites]
posted by rongorongo at 3:08 PM on March 2 [6 favorites]
Max Factor lived down the street from my grandmother when she was a baby. He gave her the nickname she used her entire life.
posted by atomicstone at 3:40 PM on March 2 [3 favorites]
posted by atomicstone at 3:40 PM on March 2 [3 favorites]
Fond memories of an ancient SNL sketch, where Garrett Morris plays a footman, loudly announcing the arrival of nobles to the ball:
Ladies and Gentlemen...
The EARL of SANDWICH!
(a man enters, placing meat between bread)
The DUKE and DUCHESS of ARGYLE!
(enter a couple attired in all Argyle knits)
LORD and LADY DOUCHEBAG!
posted by bartleby at 3:43 PM on March 2 [5 favorites]
Ladies and Gentlemen...
The EARL of SANDWICH!
(a man enters, placing meat between bread)
The DUKE and DUCHESS of ARGYLE!
(enter a couple attired in all Argyle knits)
LORD and LADY DOUCHEBAG!
posted by bartleby at 3:43 PM on March 2 [5 favorites]
The color Fuchsia was named after the botanist Fuchs.
The plant was named after the botanist, and the color was named after the plant.
posted by oneirodynia at 4:00 PM on March 2 [4 favorites]
And who can forget the time when we all learned that Señor Ding Dong was not just a marketing gimmick?
posted by ckape at 4:54 PM on March 2 [2 favorites]
posted by ckape at 4:54 PM on March 2 [2 favorites]
French toast is named after colonial-era innkeeper Joseph French.
posted by AsYouKnow Bob at 5:03 PM on March 2
posted by AsYouKnow Bob at 5:03 PM on March 2
After explaining that Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, my Dad started telling us that everything else was invented by Alexander Graham ___. Television? Alexander Graham Tube. Electric stove? Alexander Graham Element. I don't know if he originated this or picked it up somewhere.
posted by TreeRooster at 5:06 PM on March 2 [5 favorites]
posted by TreeRooster at 5:06 PM on March 2 [5 favorites]
And french drains were named after Henry French.
posted by Horkus at 5:08 PM on March 2 [2 favorites]
posted by Horkus at 5:08 PM on March 2 [2 favorites]
“the guillotine, invented by the Freemason Joseph-Ignace Guillotin…” is actually an example of Stigler's law of eponymy, which was of course invented by Robert Merton.
posted by autopilot at 5:11 PM on March 2 [1 favorite]
posted by autopilot at 5:11 PM on March 2 [1 favorite]
TreeRooster: Tangentially related to your story - Don Ameche played the title role in The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939); which apparently led to the use of the word "ameche" as juvenile slang for a telephone. So MY father would occasional refer to getting a call on the Ameche-phone.
posted by AsYouKnow Bob at 5:15 PM on March 2 [3 favorites]
posted by AsYouKnow Bob at 5:15 PM on March 2 [3 favorites]
list of inventions named after people has some unexpected ones. In addition to the already named leotard and guillotine, there’s also the jacuzzi, the mason jar, shrapnel, the saxophone, the uzi, the Zamboni and the zeppelin.
posted by autopilot at 5:26 PM on March 2
posted by autopilot at 5:26 PM on March 2
Uline is named after that absolutely awful Uihlein family.
posted by phooky at 5:32 PM on March 2 [1 favorite]
posted by phooky at 5:32 PM on March 2 [1 favorite]
Adidas – Adi Dassler (Adolf Dassler)
Incorrect! Everyone knows it's an anagram for All Day I Dream About Sex.
posted by kirkaracha at 6:06 PM on March 2
Incorrect! Everyone knows it's an anagram for All Day I Dream About Sex.
posted by kirkaracha at 6:06 PM on March 2
This is so, so great.
There's something about me that is just delighted to learn that something I reasonably thought was true turns out to have a whole other interesting story behind it.
(I DID know about German's chocolate cake - and I annoyingly always call it that when I'm ordering it - but I was especially pleased to learn about Main Street and Taco Bell from this list.)
This is just wonderful - thank you so much for posting it, russilwvong!
posted by kristi at 6:12 PM on March 2
There's something about me that is just delighted to learn that something I reasonably thought was true turns out to have a whole other interesting story behind it.
(I DID know about German's chocolate cake - and I annoyingly always call it that when I'm ordering it - but I was especially pleased to learn about Main Street and Taco Bell from this list.)
This is just wonderful - thank you so much for posting it, russilwvong!
posted by kristi at 6:12 PM on March 2
This is great. I refuse to verify anything written here, just believing that half of you are telling the truth and half of you are lying. But which half is which?!
posted by Literaryhero at 6:53 PM on March 2 [2 favorites]
posted by Literaryhero at 6:53 PM on March 2 [2 favorites]
The automobile was actually invented by Otto Mobil who went on with his friend Jack Singleton to create Exxon Mobil. So how does Singleton become Exxon? Well, he was illiterate so signed everything by putting his x on it.
This, of course, is totally untrue.
posted by Literaryhero at 6:55 PM on March 2 [2 favorites]
This, of course, is totally untrue.
posted by Literaryhero at 6:55 PM on March 2 [2 favorites]
This, of course, is totally untrue.Totally? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottomobile
posted by aneel at 7:20 PM on March 2 [1 favorite]
There is a suburb outside of Chicago named Carol Stream. Carol is the daughter of town founder Jay Stream.
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:28 PM on March 2 [3 favorites]
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:28 PM on March 2 [3 favorites]
The Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier is named after Joseph-Armand Bombardier and not for any specific type of aircraft they make. The company initially made snowmobiles.
posted by McSly at 7:45 PM on March 2 [1 favorite]
posted by McSly at 7:45 PM on March 2 [1 favorite]
Carol is the daughter of town founder Jay Stream.
In Gary there's a subdivision named Glen Ryan, with winding leafy streets that depart sharply from the city grid. Was the name meant to evoke bucolic scenes of life in the old country? No -- it was named for the developer, Glen Ryan.
posted by Not A Thing at 7:54 PM on March 2
In Gary there's a subdivision named Glen Ryan, with winding leafy streets that depart sharply from the city grid. Was the name meant to evoke bucolic scenes of life in the old country? No -- it was named for the developer, Glen Ryan.
posted by Not A Thing at 7:54 PM on March 2
Let's not forget the Holland Tunnel, not named after New York's Dutch heritage but after its first chief engineer, Clifford Holland, who died while the tunnel was still under construction (his replacement also died before the tunnel was done, that guy's replacement survived long enough to see cars going under the Hudson).
Boston has things that are obviously named after people, but not the people you'd think. The Sumner Tunnel is not named for Charles Sumner (anti-slavery senator famous for getting beaten by a Southern congressman with a gutta-percha stick) but for William H. Sumner, a 19th-century developer who turned an island his mother's family owned into the Boston neighborhood of East Boston, which the tunnel connects to downtown.
posted by adamg at 8:04 PM on March 2 [1 favorite]
Boston has things that are obviously named after people, but not the people you'd think. The Sumner Tunnel is not named for Charles Sumner (anti-slavery senator famous for getting beaten by a Southern congressman with a gutta-percha stick) but for William H. Sumner, a 19th-century developer who turned an island his mother's family owned into the Boston neighborhood of East Boston, which the tunnel connects to downtown.
posted by adamg at 8:04 PM on March 2 [1 favorite]
There is a suburb outside of Chicago named Carol Stream. Carol is the daughter of town founder Jay Stream.
I always assumed that, given the absurd number of credit card companies, financing firms, phone companies and late-night TV advertisers that have historically asked for payment to a PO Box there, it was because Carol Stream was an anagram for "reclamators".
posted by eschatfische at 8:04 PM on March 2 [1 favorite]
I always assumed that, given the absurd number of credit card companies, financing firms, phone companies and late-night TV advertisers that have historically asked for payment to a PO Box there, it was because Carol Stream was an anagram for "reclamators".
posted by eschatfische at 8:04 PM on March 2 [1 favorite]
Burton Borough School is, according to Wikipedia (citation needed), not named after any of the places called Burton, but after JS Burton Borough. Probably related to John Charles and Elizabeth Burton Borough.
posted by paduasoy at 10:33 PM on March 2
posted by paduasoy at 10:33 PM on March 2
An APGAR assessment is carried out on all babies who are born in the presence of a competent midwife, usually one minute and 5 minutes after delivery. The mnemonic works in (at least) English - Portuguese - German
posted by BobTheScientist at 11:06 PM on March 2 [8 favorites]
- Appearance - Aparência (skin color) - Aussehen
- Pulse (heart rate) - Pulso - Puls
- Grimace (reflex irritability) - Gesticulação - Reflexe
- Activity (muscle tone) - Atividade - Grundtonus
- Respiration - Respiração - Atmung
posted by BobTheScientist at 11:06 PM on March 2 [8 favorites]
Oldham Road, which goes between Manchester city centre and Oldham, is named after an industrialist called Mr Oldham
My father was an influential local politician, especially on planning matters, and a housing construction company said they'd let him name streets in a new development. He wanted to name one after my mother - her maiden name. She said: absolutely not. When the street names were revealed they were all named after old coal mines, and one of those mines just happened to share the same name as my mother. Anyway, they got divorced a few years later which was best for everyone.
posted by BinaryApe at 2:03 AM on March 3 [1 favorite]
My father was an influential local politician, especially on planning matters, and a housing construction company said they'd let him name streets in a new development. He wanted to name one after my mother - her maiden name. She said: absolutely not. When the street names were revealed they were all named after old coal mines, and one of those mines just happened to share the same name as my mother. Anyway, they got divorced a few years later which was best for everyone.
posted by BinaryApe at 2:03 AM on March 3 [1 favorite]
”I feel like people don't talk enough about how James Bond is controlled by the Broccoli family, of broccoli fame. They're not named after broccoli, broccoli is named after them!!!!!!!!””
Nice try, Broccolis. I don't buy it.
Broccoli was first cultivated by Italian farmers more than two thousand years ago; its name comes from the Italian word broccolo which means ‘the flowering crest of a cabbage’. It was held in such high regard among the ancient Romans, that Drusus Caesar, son of the Emperor Tiberius, reportedly ate nothing but the vegetable for an entire month.
Broccolo is a diminutive of brocco (“shoot, sprout”), from Latin broccus (“projecting, pointed”).
posted by rory at 3:42 AM on March 3 [3 favorites]
Nice try, Broccolis. I don't buy it.
Broccoli was first cultivated by Italian farmers more than two thousand years ago; its name comes from the Italian word broccolo which means ‘the flowering crest of a cabbage’. It was held in such high regard among the ancient Romans, that Drusus Caesar, son of the Emperor Tiberius, reportedly ate nothing but the vegetable for an entire month.
Broccolo is a diminutive of brocco (“shoot, sprout”), from Latin broccus (“projecting, pointed”).
posted by rory at 3:42 AM on March 3 [3 favorites]
it was because Carol Stream was an anagram for "reclamators".
Nice idea, but the real answer is more mundane. Carol Stream is home to a large USPS processing facility, surrounded by industrial and commercial parks. Very convenient to have a mail sorting company in this area. Netflix used to ship DVDs from next door as well.
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:57 AM on March 3
Nice idea, but the real answer is more mundane. Carol Stream is home to a large USPS processing facility, surrounded by industrial and commercial parks. Very convenient to have a mail sorting company in this area. Netflix used to ship DVDs from next door as well.
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:57 AM on March 3
Speaking of Brownian motion, Everyone Should See This Experiment For Themselves.
posted by lock robster at 11:24 AM on March 3 [1 favorite]
posted by lock robster at 11:24 AM on March 3 [1 favorite]
A friend just told me that bloomers are named after the suffragette Amelia Bloomer (although she did not invent them).
posted by autopilot at 1:09 PM on March 3
posted by autopilot at 1:09 PM on March 3
Not many people know that Morse Code was invented by Samuel Code.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 1:35 PM on March 3 [8 favorites]
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 1:35 PM on March 3 [8 favorites]
Nalgene, albeit slightly indirectly.
Chemist Emanuel Goldberg developed the first plastic pipette jars. He went on to found the Nalge Company, which Goldberg named using his wife's initials: Natalie Levey Goldberg.posted by zamboni at 8:36 PM on March 3
Gray whales. They are only coincidentally that color, they're named after some guy.
I always have to look up which spelling they use (and he used.)
posted by tangerine at 2:02 PM on March 4
I always have to look up which spelling they use (and he used.)
posted by tangerine at 2:02 PM on March 4
Gray whales. They are only coincidentally that color, they're named after some guy.
I see from Wikipedia how you've got there, but it sounds apocryphal. The OED has them as "grey whales" ("Formed within English, by compounding"—first citation 1834, thirty years before John Gray placed them in their own genus). Maybe they just appealed to Gray because of their name.
posted by rory at 2:25 AM on March 5
I see from Wikipedia how you've got there, but it sounds apocryphal. The OED has them as "grey whales" ("Formed within English, by compounding"—first citation 1834, thirty years before John Gray placed them in their own genus). Maybe they just appealed to Gray because of their name.
posted by rory at 2:25 AM on March 5
The Broccolis claim that the name
Of the vegetable, broccoli, came
From their forebears. A fond
Misbelief, Mister Bond:
It's from brocco (“shoot, sprout”). What's their game?
"Hey, I heard a zoologist's tale
That the animal called the gray whale
Was named for John Gray."
Well, ignore what they say.
It's an etymological fail.
posted by rory at 3:20 AM on March 5 [3 favorites]
Of the vegetable, broccoli, came
From their forebears. A fond
Misbelief, Mister Bond:
It's from brocco (“shoot, sprout”). What's their game?
"Hey, I heard a zoologist's tale
That the animal called the gray whale
Was named for John Gray."
Well, ignore what they say.
It's an etymological fail.
posted by rory at 3:20 AM on March 5 [3 favorites]
I like that everywhere else in the world, a waste bin is a waste bin - but in France it is a Poubelle named in honour of this guy.
posted by rongorongo at 10:11 AM on March 5
posted by rongorongo at 10:11 AM on March 5
Obligatory reference to Bleak Expectations and Pip Bin, the inventor of the rubbish bin.
posted by vacapinta at 10:34 AM on March 5 [1 favorite]
posted by vacapinta at 10:34 AM on March 5 [1 favorite]
In a similar spirit, Euclidean zoning for city planning is not a reference to Euclidean geometry, but rather the type of zoning practiced in Euclid, Ohio.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 4:44 AM on March 9 [1 favorite]
posted by paper chromatographologist at 4:44 AM on March 9 [1 favorite]
After Euclid Township, of course.
posted by Not A Thing at 8:52 AM on March 9
posted by Not A Thing at 8:52 AM on March 9
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Carry on.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 9:18 AM on March 2 [15 favorites]