Klarinet Archive - Posting 000372.txt from 2002/01

From: "Robert" <LetsReason@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Just a little fun FYI
Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 13:05:49 -0500

>From Dee Hays, <<"Saran Wrap" is a specific brand of plastic wrap and thus
should be
capitalized to indicate that. However, like many other names, it often gets
applied in a generic sense.>>

We had an interesting week back in 1988 when I was a manager of the
Lynnhaven 8 Theaters in Virginia Beach, Virginia (USA) when the General
Manager asked us in a manager's meeting how many name trademarked items that
had become so popular that their brand name had become the commonly used
name of the generic item. Here are some we came up with: (please keep in
mind, they are subjective because one person may suggest an item and another
insists that "they" never call it by that name)

Kleenex (facial tissue), Q-Tips (cotton swabs), Vaseline (petroleum jelly),
Vise-grips (adjustable locking pliers), Phillips screwdriver (?-sorry,
drawing a blank), and I believe Crescent Wrench was a trademark name
(adjustable wrench) but am in no way sure on that one, Jell-o (gelatin),
Jeep (jeep? LOL), Band-aid (plastic [adhesive?] bandage), Kool-aid (this
one may have gone the wayside but was surely the rage in 1988--flavored
instant drink), Walkman (pocket-sized cassette-tape player, now including
various other devices), Saran Wrap (plastic wrap), for a relatively brief
while IBM was synonomous with PCs as well ("Do you have an Apple or IBM?"
where IBM could be any brand of personal computer not Apple.) For just an
instant, it seemed that "Bic" (or was it Bik?) was trying to replace
"lighter" when their ad campaign was in full swing.

There are actually many more. Can you think of any?

Robert

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