Woa! There are deeper meanings to our everyday brands that you probably never knew!
1. Canola oil
Apparently the word canola comes from Canada oil low acid. I honestly had no idea. I always assumed canola was just something else that produced oil, like an olive.
2. WD-40
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. WD-40 means Water Displacement, 40th Formula. It took the inventor 40 attempts to perfect this product.
3. YKK
YKK, the letters you see on lots of zippers, stands for Yoshida Kōgyō Kabushiki Kaisha, translating to Yoshida Manufacturing Shareholding Company. Luckily they abbreviated it… I don’t think all that would fit on a tiny zipper.
4. GEICO
Having always thought GEICO was chosen because of its similarity to the word gecko, its mascot, I was surprised to learn it actually comes from Government Employment Insurance Company.
5. SMART car
Not only is the SMART car called so because it’s a smart choice if you’re looking for good fuel economy, but its origin is from Swatch Mercedes Art: the companies that created the car.
6. Q-tips
This one has always been a bit of a mystery to me, but it turns out it’s actually pretty simple. The Q in Q-tips stands for quality.
7. Yahoo!
Yahoo! is not only a fun word to say, but the meaning behind it is pretty cool, too. It means Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle.
8. M&Ms
These tasty little candies are stamped with “M” for Forrest Mars and Bruce Murrie, after the developer and his business partner.
9. BMW
This car brand actually stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke (which translates into English as Bavarian Motor Works). The logo was also redesigned to contain the colors of the Bavarian flag.
10. 3M
3M used to be known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company. So basic, but so clever.
11. TASER
And here I was thinking TASER was simply another noun. Turns out it is actually an acronym, letters all capitalized, and stands for Thomas A Swift’s Electric Rifle.
12. TCBY
While it now means The Country’s Best Yogurt, this froyo acronym used to mean This Can’t Be Yogurt.
13. ZIP code
It makes sense that ZIP code stands for Zone Improvement Plan, helping to ensure that letters get where they need to be.
14. H&M
This popular clothing store originated in Sweden, where it was known just as Hennes, which translates in English to for her/hers. Later, Hennes paired with Mauritz Widforss, specializing in menswear, and the store because Hennes & Mauritz, or simply H&M.
15. Nabisco
Nabisco, the brand behind Oreo cookies and the delicious Toblerone, used to be the National Biscuit Company, until it was officially shortened in 1971.
16. RADAR
The word radar has become so commonplace that some may have forgotten it’s actually an acronym. It stands for Radio Detection and Ranging.
17. The USA PATRIOT Act
This one really surprised me, but it’s right there in official government documents. Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.
Source: Diply
