For the past few weeks, every time I saw an acronym or initials, I took a picture. You know the brands, authors, and pieces of legislation, but do you know what all those letters stand for?
1. BMW
BMW means Bayerische Motoren Werke, which translates to “Bavarian Motor Works.”
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2. L.L. Bean
The company was founded by Leon Leonwood Bean.
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3. CVS
CVS originally stood for Consumer Value Stores. Over time the name became simply CVS.
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4. YKK
Those letters on seemingly every zipper stand for Yoshida Kōgyō Kabushikigaisha, which translates to “Yoshida Manufacturing Corporation.”
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5. A&W
The A and W of A&W are (Roy) Allen and (Frank) Wright.
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6. M&M’s
M&M’s stands for Mars & Murrie’s, the last names of the candy’s founders. Matt Soniak recently wrote about Forrest Mars, Sr. and Bruce Murrie’s famous partnership.
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7. 3M
3M is a shorter, snazzier way to say Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing.
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8. HSBC
HSBC stands for Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.
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9. TCBY
You probably know TCBY means The Country’s Best Yogurt, but it didn’t always. TCBY was “This Can’t Be Yogurt” until they were sued by I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt!, a rival frozen yogurt chain.
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10. Kmart
Kresge is the K in Kmart, for founder Sebastian S. Kresge.
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11. DSW Shoes
DSW is short for Designer Shoe Warehouse, which makes DSW Shoes the ATM machine and PIN number of the retail footwear game.
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12. JCPenney
James Cash Penney.
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13. CBS
Columbia Broadcasting System. (Earlier this year, Erica Hill, Charlie Rose and Gayle King started working mental_floss facts into CBS This Morning. Love seeing the facts on TV!)
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14. TASER
TASER stands for Thomas A. Swift’s Electric Rifle. (Nobody has whipped out a TASER around me of late, so I broke down and used a screenshot.)
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15. smart car
A collaboration between Swatch and Mercedes, smart car is short for Swatch Mercedes Art (car).
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16. ZIP Code
ZIP = Zone Improvement Plan. Smokey
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17. USA PATRIOT Act
That’s the “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism” Act to you. Back to the photos…
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18. P.G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse.
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19. A.A. Milne
Alan Alexander Milne.
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20. E.B. White
Elwyn Brooks White.
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21. P.D. Eastman
Philip Dey Eastman.
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22. Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter Stockton Thompson.
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23. J.R.R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien.
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24. CC Sabathia
Carsten Charles Sabathia.
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25. Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox’s middle name is Andrew.
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26. NECCO
New England Confectionery COmpany.
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27. F.A.O. Schwarz
Frederick August Otto Schwarz founded the toy company with his brothers.
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28. DHL
DHL = (Adrian) Dalsey, (Larry) Hillblom and (Robert) Lynn.
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29. Chuck E. Cheese’s
Chuck E. Cheese’s middle name is Entertainment. (I believe reader Trivia Wayne told us that one.)
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30. ALF
Gordon Shumway’s nickname is an acronym for Alien Life Form.
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31. Rutherford B. Hayes
That B stands for Birchard. While we’re talking presidential middle names, don’t forget James Knox Polk, James Abram Garfield, Chester Alan Arthur, Warren Gamaliel Harding, and Richard Milhous Nixon.
