Let's blow this popsicle stand.
As we celebrate (or grimly accept) the various election results pouring in, a few naming related measures are on my mind. Residents of Detroit, Oregon decided their town’s name is not tarnished by the Motor City’s reputation – they voted against a name change. Rhode Islanders also decided, by an overwhelming majority, not to shorten their official state name. Some things shouldn’t change.
In other place-naming news, the town that Ali G put on the map is contemplating a rebrand. It’s an easy argument to say that Staines, a commuter town outside of London, is a name that leaves something to be desired. But would Staines-on-Thames really make anything better?
Unilever has found a foe in San Francisco’s mom & pop ice cream shop Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous. Turns out, they’re not allowed to serve fudgsicles, even if they do taste out of this world. The owners thought it was pretty rad that such a big company had ever heard of their tiny shop, and they’ve since changed the offering’s name to the Trademark Bar.
You can send your name to Mars! NASA has recently announced that anyone and everyone on Earth can add their name to a database that will be put on a microchip and sent to Mars with the Curiosity Rover in 2011. Whoa, cool.
Citing concerns of gender equality, the Spanish government is trying to pass new legislation to alter the way childrens’ last names are chosen. In a strange twist, this initiative might result in surnames that fall primarily in the beginning half of the alphabet.
Li Xiaolong, ring a bell? That’s Bruce Lee in Chinese – and Lee’s daughter recently discovered, with the help of a team of experts, that the Chinese name has been registered as a trademark in China for several products. Obviously, she won’t let this one go without a fight.
