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Universal Names 1

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sbudzynski

Technical User
Jul 7, 2005
462
US
From another thread -

Reynold's Wrap never earned universal name that Xerox, Kleenex, or Q-Tips did, at least not where I grew up.

So other then Xerox, Kleenex, and Q-tips. Can you think of any other universal names?

Chapstick
Coke (in some parts)

----------

Steve Budzynski


"So, pass another round around for the kids. Who have nothing left to lose and for those souls old and sold out by the soles of my shoes"
 
There is a duck tape brand.

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Steve Budzynski


"So, pass another round around for the kids. Who have nothing left to lose and for those souls old and sold out by the soles of my shoes"
 
The Wikipedia article on Duck/Duct tape is rather interesting (thanks Lunatic). It's still a bit contraversial but it looks like the general name (duck) came first.

Ceci n'est pas une signature
Columb Healy
 



Sheet Rock - drywall

Westinghouse LOST the rights to Escalator, moving staircase.

Skip,
[sub]
[glasses] [red][/red]
[tongue][/sub]
 


Sorry, it was Otis Elevator Company that failed to protect it trade name.

Little League - often refers to ANY youth sports league, when, in reality, it is a protected trade name.

Skip,
[sub]
[glasses] [red][/red]
[tongue][/sub]
 
kerosene--
Linoleum
Mayonaise


pc.gif

Jomama
 
Gooser said:
Mayonaise -- Really?
No, mayonnaise is not a commonisation, but Miracle Whip is a commonisation of a trademarked mayonnaise-like product from Kraft Foods.

[santa]Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I can provide you with low-cost, remote Database Administration services: see our website and contact me via www.dasages.com]
 
Genericized Trademarks

Heres a wikipedia list of such trademarks. Apparently Kerosene is not one...

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Steve Budzynski


"So, pass another round around for the kids. Who have nothing left to lose and for those souls old and sold out by the soles of my shoes"
 
I'm pretty sure that kerosene was a brand by Standard Oil and it became generic.

Also, asprin

pc.gif

Jomama
 
maybe, I too young for all that, I was just recited what I read on wikipedia..

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Steve Budzynski


"So, pass another round around for the kids. Who have nothing left to lose and for those souls old and sold out by the soles of my shoes"
 
Hi,
If Wikipedia can be believed, it pre-dates Standard Oil by some years:

Kerosene was first refined from a naturally-occurring asphaltum called Albertite by Abraham Gesner in 1846, founding the modern petroleum industry in the process. Gesner went on to establish his Kerosene Gaslight Company to market kerosene around the world in 1850. Scottish chemist James Young built the first truly commercial oil-works in the world at Bathgate in 1851, using oil extracted from locally mined Torbanite, shale and bituminous coal.. Polish chemist Ignacy ?ukasiewicz discovered the means of refining kerosene from the less expensive seep oil in 1856.



[profile]

To Paraphrase:"The Help you get is proportional to the Help you give.."
 
I believe that Merriam-Webster asserts a definitive etymology: Greek
M-w.com said:
kerosene
Variant(s): also ker·o·sine /'ker-&-"sEn, "ker-&-'/
Function: noun
Etymology: Greek kEros + English -ene (as in camphene)
: a flammable hydrocarbon oil usually obtained by distillation of petroleum and used for a fuel and as a solvent and thinner.


[santa]Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I can provide you with low-cost, remote Database Administration services: see our website and contact me via www.dasages.com]
 
From sbudzynski's link above

heroin – diacetylmorphine; originally registered by Bayer as a pain reliever

Any bets on if its still trademarked :p
 
Kool-Aid is the one that jumped into my head... it caused them to launch into the "Kool-aid Brand softdrink mix" to try to protect the name, which apparently, they have.

Coke - for certain!



Best Regards,
Scott

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."[hammer]
 
So can someone bi-lingual in English & American please enlighten me on Saran wrap (clingfilm?), dumpster (I'd always thought that refered to the bin lorry, but guessing not from context) and sheet rock/drywall?

"Your rock is eroding wrong." -Dogbert
 
Ok, some things that are not Universal (IMHO) but may be regional:

All these really aren't used in the UK, our equalivilant next to it:

Band-Aid - Plaster (or sticky plaster)
Saran Wrap - Cling Film?
Dumpster - bin?
Drywall - Plasterboard?


Only the truly stupid believe they know everything.
Stu.. 2004
 
Yeah those are pretty universal in the US.

I honestly don't know what I would say for:

Band-aid - small bandage?
Dumpster - big large steel trash can?

saran wrap - press and seal? (jk)

----------

Steve Budzynski


"So, pass another round around for the kids. Who have nothing left to lose and for those souls old and sold out by the soles of my shoes"
 
Saran Wrap is a roll of transparent plastic that you do thinkings like wrap the top of a plate with to reduce the amount it dries out in the fridge. I think there is also a brand out there called 'Clingwrap'.

Dumpster - Big 4x8 and larger metal bin that garbage trucks come by and dump the contents into their holding area to transport it to the dump/transfer station.

Drywall/sheetrock - Drywall, often called gypsum, wallboard or sheetrock, is made of a crumbly fire resistant substance called gypsum. It is wrapped in a thick paper coating, is durable and easily cut, trimmed and repaired. Drywall can be used to cover conventional bare stud walls or damaged lath and plaster walls.

Drywall is the generic name in the USA, with Sheetrock being the trademarked name:

However Drywall and Sheetrock are used pretty interchangably among contractors, especially in the Pacific NW (more than a little experience with sheetrocking - my dad is a contractor).

If there is any fine-turning... my recollection is you often buy 'drywall' but you 'sheetrock' the house.
 
Ah, so Saran Wrap definitely clingfilm then.
Dumpster possibly a wheelie bin? Drywall sounds similar to plasterboard, but possibly not identical.

"Your rock is eroding wrong." -Dogbert
 
The Wheelie Bin looks more like our trash cans here in the U.S. A dumpster is a large receptacle, usually for industrial use or for diving!

[sup]Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.[/sup][sup] ~George Bernard Shaw[/sup]
Consultant Developer/Analyst Oracle, Forms, Reports & PL/SQL (Windows)
My website: Emu Products Plus
 
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