4 ms·
Why are the letters "z" and "x" so popular in drug names?
- Semiapies 16y agohttp://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/XtremeKoolLetterz http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/XtremeKoolLetterz (Warning: TV Tropes wiki. Do you need another time sink?)
- danilocampos 16y ago> Warning: TV Tropes wiki. Do you need another time sink? You're not kidding. Lost an hour the first time I innocently followed a link there.
- m_myers 16y agoI refuse to click that link. I'll just guess the contents based on the title.
- YuriNiyazov 16y agoBecause those letters make things "sound" scientific.
- grav1tas 16y agoThis is what I heard years ago from the doctors in my family when the first z/x name drugs started emerging.
- brc 16y agoInteresting. Do you think it's the same reason car manufacturers always put either 'z' or 'x' into the model name for a 'sporting model'. The list is endless, it's easier to find a sports model without these additions. Coverage is near-complete if you add 'GT' and/or R into the list, but these speak to 'grand touring' and 'racing', whereas 'z' and 'x' do not.
- JonnieCache 16y agoMy father, a clinical psychiatrist, tells me that he has read in the British Medical Journal (the publication linked in the OP) of a study that had drug names as its variable. They gave many patients the same drug, but gave it to them under a variety of differently constructed names. He says that this study found that names beginning with X and Z produced a greater efficacy than any other letter. Unfortunately he can't remember anything else about it, I am working on finding out more. I know this is a lame excuse for not citing sources but still, its very interesting, and personally I trust my father :)
- pierrefar 16y agoA few candidate papers pop up in this search: http://www.bmj.com/search?fulltext=drug+names&submit=yes&x=0&y=0 http://www.bmj.com/search?fulltext=drug+names&submit=yes...
- localhost3000 16y agothis guy did a similarly in-depth bit on the same topic showing precise distribution of drug name letters compared to their distribution in common written english. pretty interesting stuff. http://www.bookofodds.com/Blogs/Numbers/2010/06-June/Why-Prescription-Drug-Names-Span-the-Alphabet-from-X-to-Z http://www.bookofodds.com/Blogs/Numbers/2010/06-June/Why-Pre...
- Florin_Andrei 16y agoAlso see sportbikes (street-legal racing motorcycles): Suzuki GSX-R, Kawasaki ZX-10R...
- schrototo 16y agoI'm gonna start a company selling two rebranded generic drugs: a sleeping pill called Zzz and a remedy for erectile dysfunction called, obviously, Xxx.
- hanibash 16y agoZ is a very futuristic, advanced sounding letter. Ask a kid to draw a spaceship, and then ask him to name the spaceship. It'll probably start with Z.
- barrkel 16y agoThe numbers in this article are very frustrating, and the graph is misleading. The rise in absolute popularity of drugs with names with z and x has a lot less meaning if it's not presented along with the rise in total drugs too. That number (80% rise) is also mentioned, but you have to do mental arithmetic to figure out how that affects the other numbers, and it doesn't help you normalize the graph. In fact, judging by the graph, if the total number of drugs increased by 80%, it looks like the relative popularity of "x" is actually static / declining over time. All numbers for increases in popularity of x and z should have been normalized to the increase in drug count; in other words, described as an increase in the share of the total set of drug names (or share of new market entrants, or whatever).
- wambie 16y agoZzzzzz is for sleep and xxx for sex
- ben1040 16y agoI had a doc prescribe me Xyzal for allergies last year. I can't help but think the name was a running gag in the marketing department that stuck. Especially considering the drug's website includes a pronunciation key under the brand logo.
- kondro 16y agoNow someone should do the same analysis on start-up names.