Saturday, May 12, 2012

Saturday's Quiz - How'd That Company Get It's Name?

I'm a big fan of Sporcle, the online quiz site.  I visit frequently and take the new quizzes when they appear.  I am also a big reader of BuzzFeed, an Internet aggregator.  A while back BuzzFeed had a post asking their readers if they knew how 50 companies got their names.

So, I'm asking you - Do you?  Click here for the answers (in the original BuzzFeed post).  In parentheses, I've indicated, (Y) or (N), if I knew the answer.


  1. 3M (N)
  2. 7-11 (Y - actually Mrs. BA knew this one and reminded me)
  3. Adidas (N)
  4. Adobe (N and not very original naming)
  5. Amazon.com (N but it makes sense)
  6. AMC Theaters (Y, sort of)
  7. Arby's (if the answer is America's Roast Beef, Yes, Sir - then Y, but it's not, so N)
  8. Arm & Hammer (N)
  9. Atari (N)
  10. AT&T (that's an easy one, Y)
  11. Audi (N)
  12. Bridgestone (N)
  13. Canon (N)
  14. Coca-Cola (Y - Mrs. BA would probably divorce me if I didn't know this one)
  15. Comcast (N, but it also makes sense - see #5)
  16. ConocoPhillips (Y - having worked for a time for the Standard Oil family, I became versed in a lot of the oil company names)
  17. CVS (Y)
  18. Duane Reade (N - I really thought it was the name of the founder)
  19. eBay (N)
  20. Garmin (N)
  21. Geico (Y)
  22. Hasbro (N)
  23. H&R Block (Y)
  24. IBM (Y, but it does not stand for "I've Been Moved")
  25. Ikea (N, but c'mon, all those names are made up, aren't they?)
  26. Kia (N)
  27. Lego (N)
  28. Mattel (N)
  29. Nabisco (Y)
  30. Nikon (N)
  31. Nintendo (N)
  32. Nissan (N - but didn't this used to be Datsun, too?)
  33. Nokia (N)
  34. Pepsi (N, and I think I might have been better off not knowing, ew.)
  35. Qualcomm (sort of obvious, so Y)
  36. QVC (Y - operators are standing by!)
  37. Reebok (N - but that's kind of cool)
  38. Saab (N)
  39. Sega (N)
  40. Sharp (N, and really?)
  41. Sony (N)
  42. Sprint (N)
  43. Starbucks (N, but then again I didn't read the book)
  44. Taco Bell (N)
  45. Verizon (N, snort)
  46. Virgin (N, really Branson, that's how you came up with that?)
  47. Vodafone (N)
  48. Volkswagen (Y)
  49. Walmart (Y)
  50. Wendy's (Y)