6 ms·

>There are plenty of examples Name five?

by largehotcoffee 9y ago

lukewrites 9y ago
To the other examples add Velcro (R).
jeffmould 9y ago
1) Kleenex 2) Google 3) Aspirin 4) Band-Aid 5) Jacuzzi 6) Post-It 7) Q-Tip 8) Sharpie 9) Taser 10) Xerox
- delecti 9y ago
  I would argue that at least half of those don't qualify. Kleenex, Google, Band-Aid, Post-It, Q-Tip, and Sharpie are all in a dominant position in their respective product categories. Off-brand examples of all of them exist, but all of my Sharpies are Sharpie brand, I use Q-Tip brand Q-Tips, I only Google with Yahoo or Bing when Google itself is down, and My Band-Aids are Band-Aid brand adhesive bandages.
  - badestrand 9y ago
    Just this weekend I heard a friend say they "googled somebody on Facebook", meaning they searched for them in the Facebook search form. So it may have become a synonym for "online search" for some. Also, I have used Post-Its all my life but did not even know until now that this was a company or product name.
    - delecti 9y ago
      While I think Post-Its are a potential candidate, I think your friend is just weird. I've only ever heard or used "google" as a verb to mean "performing a search via a web search engine to search the entirety of the internet", and even then it almost always includes the unspoken assumption that it will be done using Google.
      - ams6110 9y ago
        I am not surprised by that usage. The are a lot of people for whom the difference between Google, Facebook, and Internet are not well understood.
- JCharante 9y ago
  Where are you? In new england I've never heard anyone call a tissue a kleenex.
  - jessriedel 9y ago
    I hear it all the time around DC. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_generic_and_genericized_trademarks#List_of_protected_trademarks_frequently_used_as_generic_terms https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_generic_and_genericize...
  - CptJamesCook 9y ago
    Hmm. I've heard it in Maryland and California.
  - psyc 9y ago
    I'm from Boston and I've heard Kleenex all my life. Tissue sounds highfalutin.
    - ars 9y ago
      That's hilarious because to me Kleenex sounds highfalutin, and tissue sounds normal. And I actually use Kleenex brand!
lpolovets 9y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_generic_and_genericized_trademarks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_generic_and_genericize... Aspirin, cellophane, kleenex, thermos, band-aid, crock pot, jacuzzi, photoshop, etc.
- georgyo 9y ago
  Shocking to me is that Tylenol is missing from that page. You hardly ever hear it called acetaminophen, even in hospitals. Edit: Even the main Tylenol page links is ambiguous: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tylenol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tylenol It's a wiki, so I'll guess I'll add it.
  - keithnz 9y ago
    I think it's just a US thing, we (NZ) refer to it as paracetamol or the equivalent brand name "Panadol", the others are more globally used.
    - SOLAR_FIELDS 9y ago
      I wish it was more clear. There are three main widely available OTC medications that broadly cover main categories such as pain reliever, fever reducer, etc: Ibuprofen (known colloquially more commonly as Motrin or Advil in the US) Acetaminophen (also known by chemical name paracetemol outside of the US and brand name Tylenol in US) Acetylsalicylic acid (also known as Aspirin, was previously a trademark but now a generic name) I always try to avoid using the brand names in favor of the actual chemical names to dodge ambiguity and confusion (there are other brand names for acetaminophen, acetylsalicylic acid, and ibuprofen over the ones I have listed even in the US), but even then in the case of acetaminophen it cannot be avoided. Further compounding (pun intended?) difficulty is trying to pronounce acetylsalicylic acid to the layman instead of just saying "Aspirin". In the US at least, you can get away with saying ibuprofen vs "Motrin" and acetaminophen vs "Tylenol", but the Aspirin problem is a bit more of a difficult hurdle to overcome in terms of layman's communication. Slightly tangentially, when referring to airports I even have the same problem. I always try to go by IATA airport code, but those apparently have ambiguities as well: AUS is the IATA airport code for Austin-Bergstrom, but in ICAO terms it's actually known as KAUS, presumably to avoid conflict with other airports outside the US who might also answer to the callsign "AUS"
jen20 9y ago
Across a variety of contexts: Hoover Kleenex Photoshop Xerox Band-Aid
pheldagryph 9y ago
zamboni

>There are plenty of examples Name five?

lukewrites 9y ago

To the other examples add Velcro (R).

jeffmould 9y ago

1) Kleenex 2) Google 3) Aspirin 4) Band-Aid 5) Jacuzzi 6) Post-It 7) Q-Tip 8) Sharpie 9) Taser 10) Xerox

delecti 9y ago
I would argue that at least half of those don't qualify. Kleenex, Google, Band-Aid, Post-It, Q-Tip, and Sharpie are all in a dominant position in their respective product categories. Off-brand examples of all of them exist, but all of my Sharpies are Sharpie brand, I use Q-Tip brand Q-Tips, I only Google with Yahoo or Bing when Google itself is down, and My Band-Aids are Band-Aid brand adhesive bandages.
- badestrand 9y ago
  Just this weekend I heard a friend say they "googled somebody on Facebook", meaning they searched for them in the Facebook search form. So it may have become a synonym for "online search" for some. Also, I have used Post-Its all my life but did not even know until now that this was a company or product name.
  - delecti 9y ago
    While I think Post-Its are a potential candidate, I think your friend is just weird. I've only ever heard or used "google" as a verb to mean "performing a search via a web search engine to search the entirety of the internet", and even then it almost always includes the unspoken assumption that it will be done using Google.
    - ams6110 9y ago
      I am not surprised by that usage. The are a lot of people for whom the difference between Google, Facebook, and Internet are not well understood.
JCharante 9y ago
Where are you? In new england I've never heard anyone call a tissue a kleenex.
- jessriedel 9y ago
  I hear it all the time around DC. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_generic_and_genericized_trademarks#List_of_protected_trademarks_frequently_used_as_generic_terms https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_generic_and_genericize...
- CptJamesCook 9y ago
  Hmm. I've heard it in Maryland and California.
- psyc 9y ago
  I'm from Boston and I've heard Kleenex all my life. Tissue sounds highfalutin.
  - ars 9y ago
    That's hilarious because to me Kleenex sounds highfalutin, and tissue sounds normal. And I actually use Kleenex brand!

lpolovets 9y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_generic_and_genericized_trademarks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_generic_and_genericize... Aspirin, cellophane, kleenex, thermos, band-aid, crock pot, jacuzzi, photoshop, etc.

georgyo 9y ago
Shocking to me is that Tylenol is missing from that page. You hardly ever hear it called acetaminophen, even in hospitals. Edit: Even the main Tylenol page links is ambiguous: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tylenol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tylenol It's a wiki, so I'll guess I'll add it.
- keithnz 9y ago
  I think it's just a US thing, we (NZ) refer to it as paracetamol or the equivalent brand name "Panadol", the others are more globally used.
  - SOLAR_FIELDS 9y ago
    I wish it was more clear. There are three main widely available OTC medications that broadly cover main categories such as pain reliever, fever reducer, etc: Ibuprofen (known colloquially more commonly as Motrin or Advil in the US) Acetaminophen (also known by chemical name paracetemol outside of the US and brand name Tylenol in US) Acetylsalicylic acid (also known as Aspirin, was previously a trademark but now a generic name) I always try to avoid using the brand names in favor of the actual chemical names to dodge ambiguity and confusion (there are other brand names for acetaminophen, acetylsalicylic acid, and ibuprofen over the ones I have listed even in the US), but even then in the case of acetaminophen it cannot be avoided. Further compounding (pun intended?) difficulty is trying to pronounce acetylsalicylic acid to the layman instead of just saying "Aspirin". In the US at least, you can get away with saying ibuprofen vs "Motrin" and acetaminophen vs "Tylenol", but the Aspirin problem is a bit more of a difficult hurdle to overcome in terms of layman's communication. Slightly tangentially, when referring to airports I even have the same problem. I always try to go by IATA airport code, but those apparently have ambiguities as well: AUS is the IATA airport code for Austin-Bergstrom, but in ICAO terms it's actually known as KAUS, presumably to avoid conflict with other airports outside the US who might also answer to the callsign "AUS"

jen20 9y ago

Across a variety of contexts: Hoover Kleenex Photoshop Xerox Band-Aid

pheldagryph 9y ago

zamboni