Origin of Brand Names

A few will be aware I have been known to speak on various subjects over the years. Fundamentally these all revolve around my favourite subject of etymology. Have always enjoyed bringing this fascinating subject to others. It’s not for me to say whether the audiences have, although many have asked me to return.

Thought it might be worthwhile sharing a snippet or two from these etymological presentations, continuing with Origins of Brand Names. Daz, Marmite, Polo, Vimto, Steradent - such odd words and yet we recognise them instantly as product names. Many of us will have added them to our weekly shopping list without a second thought and yet there must have been a time when someone sat down and considered a selection of names before deciding the best suggestion for the new washing powder was OMO. This talk looks at a number of the classic and modern brand names and explains just why they are known as they are. There is a PowerPoint presentation to accompany this talk if required.

Persil was sold with green granules or grains among the powder. These did absolutely nothing for the wash, but did give the product its name – persil is the French for ‘parsley’.

Oxo – there are more brand names using the letter ‘O’ than any other vowel, while the letter ‘X’ is far more common than the consonant would normally be. Thus no surprise to fine OXO, but also this represents what Desmond Morris referred to as a ‘threat-faced brand name’ – it dares you NOT to buy it. Another produce would be OMO (washing powder from yesteryear). Compare the number of businesses featuring an owl as their logo – same idea applies.

Subbuteo – was launched as a tabletop football game launched by Peter Adolph in the 1940s. He wanted it to be a hobby, rather than a toy, envisaging leagues in neighbourhoods as all manner of football fans played against their chums. To make it sound more of a hobby, he wanted to call it such, but could not register the name. So he took the name of the bird, the hobby, and looked at its scientific name Falco subbuteo and seeing the second element contained the phonetic ‘boot’ opted for the name of Subbuteo. Note while football is most commonly associated with the name, Subbuteo have also produced versions for cricket, rugby union, rugby league, and hockey. Football supporters might be interested to learn there is a Subbuteo football world cup, won most often by Italy, and only once by England – and has never been won by a team from outside western Europe.

If you think you know someone who would like to hear me speak on this subject, drop me a line.

Food Etymologies

A few will be aware I have been known to speak on various subjects over the years. Fundamentally these all revolve around my favourite subject of etymology. Have always enjoyed bringing this fascinating subject to others. It’s not for me to say whether the audiences have, although many have asked me to return.

Thought it might be worthwhile sharing a snippet or two from these etymological presentations, continuing with Food Etymologies. This looks at the unusual and often hilarious origins of the words in everyday use. You will never look at a menu or the contents of your plate in the same way again. There is a PowerPoint presentation to accompany this talk if required.

As previously, I thought it might be good to drop a couple of teasers in and start with one of my favourite meats – venison. As with other meats it came to English from French, where Old French venesoun referred generally to ‘meat of large game’. This in turn is derived from Latin venationem ‘a hunt, the chase’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo European wen ‘to strive for’.

Rather than find a vegetable, we’ll opt for that very word which again is from Old French vegetable meaning ‘living, fit to live’ and back to Latin vegetabilis ‘animating, enlivening’, and ultimately good old Proto-Indo European weg ‘to be strong, lively’. Seems odd that a vegetarian insists on eating something which is derived from a word meaning ‘animated’, but that is the wonder of the ever evolving world of language.

And on the subject of evolving language, let’s go for a fruit – the avocado. The word came to Europe via the Spanish, who altered the Nahuatl (Aztec, if you prefer) word ahuakatl to avocado; where the Spanish word meant ‘lawyer’ while the Aztec original meant ‘testicle’ – this as the fruit was considered the same shape, and also an aphrodisiac. The irony is this aphrodisiac is no longer able to reproduce itself and all avocados are today pollinated by humans.

If you think you know someone who would like to hear me speak on this subject, drop me a line.

Lost Lines

A few will be aware I have been known to speak on various subjects over the years. Fundamentally these all revolve around my favourite subject of etymology. Have always enjoyed bringing this fascinating subject to others. It’s not for me to say whether the audiences have, although many have asked me to return.

Thought it might be worthwhile sharing a snippet or two from these etymological presentations, continuing with Lost Lines. In 1963 the infamous Beeching Report saw the closure of more than 2,500 railway stations and the lifting of 5,000 miles of track. This released a large amount of land that has since been put to an amazing array of uses. The gentle gradients that were once perfect for trains are in turn perfect as footpaths and cycleways. Stations have become refreshment stops or cycle hire premises on leisure routes. Yards now serve as recreation sites, grassland, retail parks or housing developments. And there are the unusual and quirky: signal boxes used as greenhouses, hen coops and art studios; railway sheds housing mechanics, youth groups and dance studios; and, of course, much has simply become overgrown. There is a PowerPoint presentation to accompany this talk if required.

One route where the rails have been removed is the 21-mile long Cinder Track from Scarborough to Whitby. I use this example simply because I enjoyed this walking/cycling route and the views it affords. Being a former railway track, the gradients are very easy – certainly another plus.

Starting at Scarborough the first sign of a stop comes at Hayburn Wyke Station after around 7 miles. Opening on 16 July 1885 on the up side of the line, it was quickly moved to the down side on the request of the North Eastern Railway. Rebuilt in 1893 it closed temporarily between 1 March 1917 and 2 May 1921. Reduced to an unstaffed halt in 1955, it closed permanently on 8 March 1965. The former stationmaster’s house is still a private residence and the platform very evident.

Ravenscar, the resort that never was, is around the halfway point. Planned as a Victorian resort, the streets were laid out, along with the sewers and drainage, but none of the planned buildings appeared. Approaching from either direction it is the steepest part of the route, and that was the problem. The path down to the beach was a long descent and climb, but the real end came when the company went bust.

Flying Hall Station is three miles further along. It only ever served a population of around 200, and today little evidence can be seen as the platform is very much overgrown.

Robin Hood’s Bay station is 15 miles along, where the station building survives, the stationmaster’s house is now holiday accommodation, and the goods shed is now the village hall.

Hawsker station has only ever been a small intermediate stop, ticket sales reflect this. Indeed, as the headquarters of Trailways Cycle Hire, it likely has more ‘paying customers’ annually today than before it closed in 1965.

Larpool Viaduct, also known as the Esk Valley Viaduct, is among the highlights of the journey. With excellent views over the valley it also crosses the North Yorkshire Moors Railway shortly after it leaves Whitby.

Whitby marks the end, where both the modern railways services, the heritage steam line, and the Cinder Track all terminate.

If you think you know someone who would like to hear me speak on this subject, drop me a line.