proprietary eponyms: Xerox, Kleen-ex, band-aid

[Gato Moteado]

proprietary eponyms are brand names for products that are so popular that they become commonly used for the product even if it's made by a different manufacturer. some examples:

xerox machine
band-aid
kleen-ex
scotch tape
white-out

OK, help me come up with more. post the ones you remember.

[Gormy Cuss]

1. Let me 'google' that for you

;)

[Gato Moteado]

5. good one!

nt

[Mutley]

2. Q-Tip

[TheMightyFavog]

3. Liquid Paper

FedEx
Crescent Wrench

[woo me with science]

37. or Wite Out nt

[El Fuego]

43. Trivia: Liquid Paper was invented by Monkee Mike Nesmith's mother.

[Jokerman]

4. "Dumpster" n/t

[Gato Moteado]

6. i guess "crapper" would qualify as one also

nt

[Squeech]

7. Coke

I remember an occasion when the Coca-Cola company sent a nasty trademark-defense letter to Creem Magazine about their use of the word "coke" with a lower case C. Any pinhead would have recognized from context that that usage was referring to the controlled substance, not the beverage, and I don't see where it would have benefited the Coca-Cola company to open that can of worms at that time.

(Yeah, I know that when it was originally formulated, the drink was an allegedly medicinal tonic that included the drug as an ingredient. But it hasn't been that way for a couple generations. Anybody that tells you anything interesting about the psychopharmaceutical properties of Coke and aspirin is either delusional, or older than me.)

[RedStateShame]

9. GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!

[RedStateShame]

8. I believe Percolator was a brand name

And of course, there's always Coke. No, no, the liquid one!!!

[Gato Moteado]

10. saran wrap probably qualifies as one too.....

i never hear anyone call that stuff by any other brand name.

[RandiFan1290]

11. Jello!

[trof]

12. dumpster

The term was coined by the Dempsey Dumpster company.

[Book Lover]

13. asprin

[Gato Moteado]

14. aspirin was a brand?

i never knew that. every manufacturer of aspirin calls it aspirin (i.e. bayer aspirin)

[Book Lover]

15. As I recall from my days of reading "Writers' Digest"

Companies would take out ads threatening writers not to use brands in a generic manner; asprin was used as an example.

on edit: from aspirin.com: Since its market introduction under the trademark Aspirin® in the year 1899, acetylsalicylic acid has attained a leading position world-wide in the prescription-free therapy of painful, inflammatory and feverish states. The substance's tolerability and special pharmacological traits allow for an easy controlling of therapy.

[Gato Moteado]

19. whodathunk......but it's probably not a proprietary eponym anymore...

since there is no longer a brand name aspirin as far as i know.

the thing about proprietary eponyms is that the original maker of the product really benefits from name recognition. if someone needs a copy machine (xerox machine) for the office, chances are that they will look in the phone book for xerox dealers even though canon, casio, and probably a host of other companies make them.

when someone needs aspirin, they get to choose between bayer and probably a hundred generic brands on the walgreen's shelf. but i don't think i've ever seen the brand of aspirin called "aspirin".

but still....it's interesting stuff!

[NNadir]

22. It is still one of the best drugs ever discovered.

I think the power of this pharmacological agent is widely under appreciated.

It actually may be one of the most important drugs ever discovered. It is probably not used as often as it should be since no one can make money marketing it anymore. But it an outstanding drug: Pain reliever, anti-inflammatory, anti-coagulant, and anti-cancer. Great, great stuff.

[RandiFan1290]

16. Tums

:shrug:

[TallahasseeGrannie]

17. Walkman

[Gato Moteado]

20. and ipod for that matter

i never hear of anyone refer to them as an LG MP3 player

[NNadir]

18. Kool-Aid. It's a Republican drink.

You can't be a Republican unless you drink the Kool-Aid.

[Roon]

21. Vaseline

:evilgrin:

[RandiFan1290]

23. ChapStick

Vicks

[jarab]

24. Frigidair(y) ... (for any refrigerator); yeah I'm old. eom

...O...

[smtpgirl]

59. Chicklets

[mwooldri]

25. A funny one: Durex.

In the UK and the US it is a brand of condom.

In Australia it's the equivalent of Scotch Tape.

(btw in the UK Scotch Tape is the equivalent of Sellotape... Scotch is better known for
videocassette tape than sticky tape).

In the UK white-out is more commonly known by Tipp-Ex.
Vacuum cleaners are better known as Hoovers.
My grand-mother-in-law still called the refridgerator the Kelvinator.

Hand dishwashing liquid in the UK is still often called Fairy Liquid, even if you're not buying the Fairy Liquid brand.

Coke is often used for any kind of cola flavoured drink, including Pepsi.

[Gato Moteado]

26. durex condoms are the equivalent of scotch tape?

they must not work very well. and getting them off must hurt like hell.

;)

[meow2u3]

34. Better known as Trojans in the States

For most of my life, I've heard condoms being called Trojans.

[Gato Moteado]

27. velcro is another one

velcro is the name of the company that first started making velcro.

[GreenPartyVoter]

28. Tylenol

[jmowreader]

29. Phillips Screwdriver

The cross-tip screwdriver was invented by the Phillips Screw Company to turn its brand of screws.

It's still in business. http://www.phillips-screw.com

And not one of the screws the Phillips Screw Company currently makes can be turned with a generic Phillips screwdriver.

[arwalden]

49. Allen Wrench

[Richardo]

55. That's your Village People persona, innit?

:)

[arwalden]

56. Oh My Word! -- ROFL!!

[YankeyMCC]

30. Crapper

Not sure if that counts or not. :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Crapper

[Redstone]

31. Cellophane.

Redstone

[elvisbear]

32. Tupperware.

http://order.tupperware.com:8080/coe-images/items/10054376000_detail.jpg

[Gato Moteado]

35. good one.

forgot about that.

[meow2u3]

33. Jacuzzi

Now any spa or bathtub that comes with high pressure water circulation is known as a Jacuzzi.

[Ivan Sputnik]

36. Laundromat

It's a "service mark" according to the dictionary.

[Beware the Beast Man]

38. Gatorade.

[NewWaveChick1981]

39. Tampax

[smtpgirl]

58. was going for Kotex

[slide to the left]

40. Q-tip

coke- in the deep south and Texas
polo
Port-o-potty
Laundamat (actually a proper noun)

[Gato Moteado]

45. yeah, coke is synonymous with any cola just about anywhere

but, yeah, in the south it's synonymous for anything drinkable

[slide to the left]

57. zip lock

I always forget that one.

[dysfunctional press]

41. Hoover, in england.

they don't vaccuum the carpets, they "hoover" them.

[El Fuego]

42. Post-It note

[NoPasaran]

44. Zipper

[u4ic]

46. Pampers

[arwalden]

47. Aspirin

[arwalden]

48. Linoleum, Formica

[WolverineDG]

50. Reynolds Wrap n/t

[Duer 157099]

51. Rolodex

I can't even think of another name for it

edit to spell it correctly

[Duer 157099]

52. Daytimer

[Duer 157099]

53. Visine

[idgiehkt]

54. frigidaire, but only in the south, among older people

.