5 ms·

I guess if Google can be inspired by the mathematical term "googol" and then choose a variant spelling, it's okay for Naptha to be inspired by the hydrocarbon p

by GCA10 7y ago

I guess if Google can be inspired by the mathematical term "googol" and then choose a variant spelling, it's okay for Naptha to be inspired by the hydrocarbon product "naphtha" (note the second "H") and choose a variant spelling, too. But having grown up in the home of a chemistry professor, I'm having a hard time getting comfortable with this one.

lxe 7y ago
Ah just noticed this! The typo is not acknowledged in the "in the "What's in a Name?" paragraph in the end -- wonder if they noticed it?
- andai 7y ago
  > naptha is a type of fuel often used for lighters from what I gather here, it is an accidental misspelling. Curiously, if you remove the other 'h' instead, as in 'naphta' (nafta), you end up with the word as actually used in many parts of the world.
- antimatter15 7y ago
  (creator here) Unfortunately I only noticed the typo after purchasing the domain name and decided to run with it :)
  - ergothus 7y ago
    Time to build an elaborate (and false) reasoning to share, and at the end of the story reveal the truth.
  - civilian 7y ago
    I have an even better retroactive name justification! Naphtha is used as fuel, but it's also used as a solvent in chemical extraction and purification procedures. I honestly thought that was the reasoning when I saw the name & the tool. You purify text from images with naptha!
  - lxe 7y ago
    This is probably even better -- now it's a unique and memorable word, like "captcha" for instance.
  - muxator 7y ago
    Naptha is the name of a character in Thomas Mann's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magic_Mountain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magic_Mountain
    - GCA10 7y ago
      Naphta, actually, but the allusion to Thomas Mann's Nobel Prize winning book is brilliant in any case. Now there's whole pool of literary names that can be attached to future features, product roll-outs, etc. Project Pepercorn alone is enough to get Business Insider writing about it all the time.

by GCA10 7y ago

lxe 7y ago

Ah just noticed this! The typo is not acknowledged in the "in the "What's in a Name?" paragraph in the end -- wonder if they noticed it?

andai 7y ago
> naptha is a type of fuel often used for lighters from what I gather here, it is an accidental misspelling. Curiously, if you remove the other 'h' instead, as in 'naphta' (nafta), you end up with the word as actually used in many parts of the world.
antimatter15 7y ago
(creator here) Unfortunately I only noticed the typo after purchasing the domain name and decided to run with it :)
- ergothus 7y ago
  Time to build an elaborate (and false) reasoning to share, and at the end of the story reveal the truth.
- civilian 7y ago
  I have an even better retroactive name justification! Naphtha is used as fuel, but it's also used as a solvent in chemical extraction and purification procedures. I honestly thought that was the reasoning when I saw the name & the tool. You purify text from images with naptha!
- lxe 7y ago
  This is probably even better -- now it's a unique and memorable word, like "captcha" for instance.
- muxator 7y ago
  Naptha is the name of a character in Thomas Mann's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magic_Mountain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magic_Mountain
  - GCA10 7y ago
    Naphta, actually, but the allusion to Thomas Mann's Nobel Prize winning book is brilliant in any case. Now there's whole pool of literary names that can be attached to future features, product roll-outs, etc. Project Pepercorn alone is enough to get Business Insider writing about it all the time.