Author Topic: Proof Apollo was hoaxed redux  (Read 27816 times)

Offline smartcooky

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Re: Proof Apollo was hoaxed redux
« Reply #30 on: April 13, 2014, 10:07:59 PM »
It can get a bit brandish. I still "I'll hoover up" yet use another brand. Not sure if it something that will last long.
Plenty of examples where the trademark becomes the term for the generic act or product, though trademark holders hate this. Thermos, instead of vacuum flask, Kleenex, instead of disposable handkerchief, Aspirin, instead of acetylsalicylic acid, Band-aids instead of adhesive bandage. Googling and to Google instead of using an online search engine, etcetera, etcetera. Some of these have entered common speech to the degree that they can no longer be trademarked at all, and the companies fight tooth and nail for the rest.
Xerox copies for photocopying
Polaroids for instant photos
Dry Ice for solid carbon dioxide

and if you're a Kiwi or an Aussie, "Clayton's" for something that is a poor substitute for the real thing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claytons
If you're not a scientist but you think you've destroyed the foundation of a vast scientific edifice with 10 minutes of Googling, you might want to consider the possibility that you're wrong.

Offline Noldi400

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Re: Proof Apollo was hoaxed redux
« Reply #31 on: April 13, 2014, 11:49:46 PM »
My late grandmother always referred to her refrigerator as a "Kelvinator" even though she had a Frigidaire for as long as I could remember.

"Weed eater" for any brand of string trimmer also comes to mind.
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Offline raven

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Re: Proof Apollo was hoaxed redux
« Reply #32 on: April 14, 2014, 02:32:41 AM »
My late grandmother always referred to her refrigerator as a "Kelvinator" even though she had a Frigidaire for as long as I could remember.

"Weed eater" for any brand of string trimmer also comes to mind.
Not to mention, I am pretty sure I've heard Frigidaire used as a generic term for refrigerator also.

Offline Andromeda

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Re: Proof Apollo was hoaxed redux
« Reply #33 on: April 14, 2014, 03:36:50 AM »
Am I right in thinking that in some areas of the US, "coke" is used as a name for any carbonated beverage?
"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'" - Isaac Asimov.

Offline smartcooky

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Re: Proof Apollo was hoaxed redux
« Reply #34 on: April 14, 2014, 05:58:03 AM »
My late grandmother always referred to her refrigerator as a "Kelvinator" even though she had a Frigidaire for as long as I could remember.

Whenever I hear the words "The Fridge", the first thing that comes to mind is William Perry! 8)
If you're not a scientist but you think you've destroyed the foundation of a vast scientific edifice with 10 minutes of Googling, you might want to consider the possibility that you're wrong.

Offline Echnaton

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Re: Proof Apollo was hoaxed redux
« Reply #35 on: April 14, 2014, 09:40:31 AM »
Am I right in thinking that in some areas of the US, "coke" is used as a name for any carbonated beverage?

That is in the South, home of the industry dominant Coca Cola Company.  In Texas we mostly now say soda but for natives, coke is understood as a generic term.   It always disturbs me to go up North and have someone offer me a pop. 
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Offline Echnaton

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Re: Proof Apollo was hoaxed redux
« Reply #36 on: April 14, 2014, 09:43:17 AM »
It was Hoover, but it is now Dyson.

This brings up a favorite question of mine.  What is the difference between a Hoover and a Harley?



The location of the dirt bag.
The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new. —Samuel Beckett

Offline Glom

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Re: Proof Apollo was hoaxed redux
« Reply #37 on: April 14, 2014, 02:34:04 PM »
Am I right in thinking that in some areas of the US, "coke" is used as a name for any carbonated beverage?

In some areas, it isn't used for a drink but a rather different consumable. No less healthy though.

Offline smartcooky

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Re: Proof Apollo was hoaxed redux
« Reply #38 on: April 14, 2014, 06:15:33 PM »
It was Hoover, but it is now Dyson.

This brings up a favorite question of mine.  What is the difference between a Hoover and a Harley?



The location of the dirt bag.



Oi!!!!  >:(...... :D
If you're not a scientist but you think you've destroyed the foundation of a vast scientific edifice with 10 minutes of Googling, you might want to consider the possibility that you're wrong.

Offline gillianren

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Re: Proof Apollo was hoaxed redux
« Reply #39 on: April 15, 2014, 12:57:46 AM »
That is in the South, home of the industry dominant Coca Cola Company.  In Texas we mostly now say soda but for natives, coke is understood as a generic term.   It always disturbs me to go up North and have someone offer me a pop. 

I moved from a "soda" part of the country to a "pop" part of the country and had a hard time adjusting.  Not the hardest time I've had, mind; moving from Los Angeles to rural Washington State was challenging in a lot of ways.  But that was a small, frequent "I'm Not From Around Here" that I could have done without.
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Offline JayUtah

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Re: Proof Apollo was hoaxed redux
« Reply #40 on: April 16, 2014, 12:32:36 PM »
My late grandmother always referred to her refrigerator as a "Kelvinator" even though she had a Frigidaire for as long as I could remember.

Part of the problem is that the Kelvinator brand name has been resold so many times over the past few decades.  I believe Nordyne owns it now.  The owner of the brand at any time applied to any number of kinds of appliances loosely based on heat transfer.
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Offline Luke Pemberton

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Re: Proof Apollo was hoaxed redux
« Reply #41 on: April 16, 2014, 02:04:02 PM »
The owner of the brand at any time applied to any number of kinds of appliances loosely based on heat transfer.

Talking of heat transfer, He Who Shall Not Be Named has recently presented Rene's calculations that 'show' the PLSS needed to contain 48 kg of water to cool the astronauts 'on a J-type mission.'

{EDIT: Change of word}
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Offline Sus_pilot

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Re: Proof Apollo was hoaxed redux
« Reply #42 on: April 16, 2014, 02:35:57 PM »

It was Hoover, but it is now Dyson.

This brings up a favorite question of mine.  What is the difference between a Hoover and a Harley?



The location of the dirt bag.

I have to tell that one to my wife.  She's a rider-coach. 

And I gave her a Soft Tail Deluxe for our 15th...

Offline darren r

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Re: Proof Apollo was hoaxed redux
« Reply #43 on: April 16, 2014, 02:48:57 PM »

Plenty of examples where the trademark becomes the term for the generic act or product, though trademark holders hate this. Thermos, instead of vacuum flask, Kleenex, instead of disposable handkerchief, Aspirin, instead of acetylsalicylic acid, Band-aids instead of adhesive bandage. Googling and to Google instead of using an online search engine, etcetera, etcetera. Some of these have entered common speech to the degree that they can no longer be trademarked at all, and the companies fight tooth and nail for the rest.


There used to be a long-running educational kid's TV programme in the UK called Blue Peter. It often had a segment showing the audience how to make something out of junk and household items, usually a low-cost version of a current, popular toy such as Tracy Island (though Advent Crowns would crop up with monotonous regularity). Because it was on the BBC, advertising wasn't allowed, so they used to black out the brand names on the cereal packets and washing-up liquid bottles they utilised. They also used to talk about using 'sticky-backed plastic' to secure everything. This term was so ubiquitous that it became a running joke in the UK whenever anyone mentioned the programme or interviewed one of the former presenters. It was years before I realised they were talking about Sellotape!

Why they didn't just use the more obvious, generic term 'sticky tape' baffles me to this day.
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Offline smartcooky

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Re: Proof Apollo was hoaxed redux
« Reply #44 on: April 16, 2014, 05:15:52 PM »

Plenty of examples where the trademark becomes the term for the generic act or product, though trademark holders hate this. Thermos, instead of vacuum flask, Kleenex, instead of disposable handkerchief, Aspirin, instead of acetylsalicylic acid, Band-aids instead of adhesive bandage. Googling and to Google instead of using an online search engine, etcetera, etcetera. Some of these have entered common speech to the degree that they can no longer be trademarked at all, and the companies fight tooth and nail for the rest.


There used to be a long-running educational kid's TV programme in the UK called Blue Peter. It often had a segment showing the audience how to make something out of junk and household items, usually a low-cost version of a current, popular toy such as Tracy Island (though Advent Crowns would crop up with monotonous regularity). Because it was on the BBC, advertising wasn't allowed, so they used to black out the brand names on the cereal packets and washing-up liquid bottles they utilised. They also used to talk about using 'sticky-backed plastic' to secure everything. This term was so ubiquitous that it became a running joke in the UK whenever anyone mentioned the programme or interviewed one of the former presenters. It was years before I realised they were talking about Sellotape!

Why they didn't just use the more obvious, generic term 'sticky tape' baffles me to this day.

I surmise from your post that you would have enjoyed "Billy & Johnny", Hale & Pace's take on Blue Peter?

« Last Edit: April 16, 2014, 05:18:29 PM by smartcooky »
If you're not a scientist but you think you've destroyed the foundation of a vast scientific edifice with 10 minutes of Googling, you might want to consider the possibility that you're wrong.