this post was submitted on 21 Feb 2024
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[–] waterore 78 points 8 months ago (4 children)

The Dumpster Brothers? Their last fucking name was Dumpster? Wild that that was just a common last name with no connection to trash for centuries

[–] [email protected] 69 points 8 months ago (6 children)

Look again, it actually says Dempster

[–] [email protected] 41 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Both words are used, so I understand the confusion; also, sprinkled with a little misspelling:

Dumpster: The Dempster Brorthers, Inc.

EDIT: Just read the Dumpster Wikipedia page. The Dempster Brothers' had a truck called The Dempster Dumpmaster 😂

[–] samus12345 11 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Ormagord, Sorper Morio Brorthers

[–] satanmat 12 points 8 months ago (1 children)

On cold nights, we’d gather together around the Dempster fire and discuss how bad things were, we’d share drinks and bond as the we burned the garbage to stay warm on those cold nights. No one could turn away for those Dempster fires as they were amazing to watch. Yep Everyone loved watching those Dempster fires

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[–] Lamedonyx 18 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Wait until you learn about Thomas Crapper, who made major improvements to the modern toilet.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago

It's kind of indicative that the courts have bent to corporations on not generciding names for nearly 60 years. How long have dumpsters been so ubiquitous that no one even knew it was a brand? Very Berenstain Bears situation.

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[–] [email protected] 45 points 8 months ago (6 children)

Zoom was actually a word before 2011

[–] [email protected] 21 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Not with that meaning but yes, poor terminology on the visual since it implies it was not.

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[–] fidodo 14 points 8 months ago (5 children)

Trademarks are context sensitive, and zoom was not used as a term for video calls before that. It is interesting that that's the only one on the list that isn't also a made up word

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[–] mihnt 39 points 8 months ago (8 children)

The Jeep one has kind of fallen out of normal use. Like, I wouldn't call a Land Rover or a Bronco a jeep.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago

If anything Jeep on this list is backwards. It was originally a generic term for that military style vehicle made by various manufacturers. Then it became its own thing as the Jeep brand. But then Jeep further broadened their offerings ( Cherokee, Patriot, compass, etc) and the Jeep became a wrangler. But when I say I drive a Jeep, everyone assumes specifically a wrangler.

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[–] [email protected] 36 points 8 months ago (9 children)

Who says "zoom" as a verb? People say "video chat" or, more realistically, "facetime" for all video chats.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 8 months ago

I've heard a lot of people talk about "zoom meetings" when the meetings are actually held on google meet, or webx.

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 8 months ago (5 children)

Has 'zoom' become a generic term for video calling/conferencing? For example are people saying "let's zoom later on Skype" ?

[–] accideath 15 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Might be a thing with zoomers

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[–] DrMango 11 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I hear FaceTime used more generically than Zoom (for mobile video chat)

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[–] [email protected] 31 points 8 months ago

Super Hero is trade marked??? That one was surprising.

[–] fidodo 30 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I had no idea that a lot of those were brand names

[–] Ultraviolet 15 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

That's why when someone says "they have to protect their IP otherwise they lose it", they're full of shit. The bar for losing a trademark is essentially that no one can be reasonably expected to know it was a trademark.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 8 months ago (8 children)

When was the last time you heard someone use the term 'Xerox?'

iirc, it's used as another word for clone in some 1980's science fiction.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Arguably it's a bit dated but I don't think it's gone completely the way of the dinosaur.

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[–] son_named_bort 26 points 8 months ago (11 children)
[–] hactar42 15 points 8 months ago

Typical exchange in Texas:

Person A: Can I have a coke?

Person B: What kind?

Person A: Dr Pepper

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[–] samus12345 25 points 8 months ago (5 children)

I've never heard Google, Uber or Zoom used unless it meant the specific company. "Google" became a verb, but I've never heard of someone saying they googled something on DuckDuckGo, for example.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 8 months ago (3 children)

"Google it" means look it up on the Internet. My kids don't use Chrome, they use Google (probably call it that because it's the homepage of Chrome).

I've heard people say they're going to uber home. They sometimes use Lyft.

And I've definitely heard people say they were on a zoom call even when it was Microsoft Teams or Google ...what is the Google one called again? I don't remember anymore because people will say Google zoom call!!

[–] pizzazz 13 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Citing a comment I've recently seen, it's amazing how humanity managed to produce only one generation actually competent with computers.

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[–] angrystego 10 points 8 months ago

I use it exactly like that all the time.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 8 months ago (3 children)

Vaseline, Velcro, Mace and Styrofoam aren't generic? The fuck? I didn't even know those were trademarked names. Vaseline maybe, but the other three are common enough that I was sure they were generic.

[–] LemmyFeed 25 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Petroleum jelly, hook and loop, pepper spray, and polystyrene.

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[–] w2tpmf 10 points 8 months ago (2 children)

The one that got me was zipper. What else do you call one?

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 8 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 36 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I hope the world loses realtors

[–] [email protected] 10 points 8 months ago (4 children)

That's the only that surprised me, and it's still protected? How does that one work?

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago (4 children)

In the UK: Hoover is what everyone called their vacuum cleaner. Can't stop for tea, I have the hoovering to do at home

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I try to avoid using all these names and instead use the more generic names.

[–] rigatti 32 points 8 months ago (3 children)

What do you use for zipper, super hero, and trampoline?

[–] [email protected] 18 points 8 months ago (3 children)

I too would like to know.

Fastener? Meta human? Bouncy springy thingy?

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (3 children)

From Wikipedia: A zipper, zip, fly, or zip fastener, formerly known as a clasp locker

Trampoline: The generic term for the trademarked trampoline was a rebound tumbler

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (4 children)

Wait, are these the dates when the brand that eventually was deemed a "common word" were first trade marked? I was reading this as the years they were deemed common words.

Cause 2011 is WAYYYY too early for zoom to be common. If anything, that would've been Skype on 2011. Similar thing for Tupperware and zipper.

Also, wtf was heroin's common name before being branded heroin? Lol, also, I can't help but imagine heroin got its name as some kind of "there's a hero in every needle" marketing campaign.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 8 months ago (2 children)

year the brand name was first introduced.

It says so in the legend. Zoom has been a word for a long time but it now also means "participate in a (video) teleconference", which is a new meaning directly linked to the zoom software released in 2011. When a word became generic is usually very hard to pinpoint exactly (except for zoom that was 2020)

For heroin: I don't think there was heroin before the introduction of the heroin brand. Bayer literally invented the substance. (Wikipedia says it was invented 23 years earlier in Britain from morphine, but the inventer didn't do anything with it so it was reinvented later). It was also not a drug you take to get high, it was an over the counter cough suppressant; no needle or spoon or lighter involved. Wild times for sure...

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 8 months ago (4 children)

Wait, who owns super hero?

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[–] deeferg 12 points 8 months ago

Losing yo-yo right before the centennial anniversary is pretty funny.

[–] KoalaUnknown 12 points 8 months ago

Roomba is a big one that is missing.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago

Aspirin & Heroin: Bayer

lost rights to its trademarks as a result of WWI

Thanks Gavrilo Princip. Do you know how much potential revenue you erased from the Bayer balance sheet?

[–] RampantParanoia2365 11 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (5 children)
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[–] fox2263 10 points 8 months ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I wish this graphic had the old name as well.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago (4 children)

I'll take the low hanging fruit. Kleenex.

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