Now I Know: The "Named For a Person" Challenge or Something?

If you're new to Now I Know, you'll notice that today's format is different than the rest of the week. On Fridays, I take a pause to do a "week in review" type of thing or share something else I think you may find interesting. Thanks for reading! -- Dan

The "Named For a Person" Challenge or Something?


Hi! 

Today's title isn't all that great. So let me explain!

Yesterday, on my Twitter account, I asked:
Of all the widely-used terms that are named after someone, which is the most recently created? Richter scale is from 1935, which I thought was a good candidate, but the Heimlich maneuver (1974) beats it by decades. Anything else?
I got a few replies, which I'll get to in a second, and it was clear that I had to refine my criteria a bit. First, I defined "widely-used" as "something that (a) doesn't require the user to offer a further explanation and (b) typically is the only phrase used to describe the item/situation/etc.," which admittedly isn't a great definition. Second, I vacillated on how "wide" the "widely-used" term needs to be; there are a lot of terms that, among the communities in which the term is used, meet the two prongs of the definition I just laid out. But there's little understanding of the term outside of those communities (I'll get to that soon, too.) And finally, I think "terms" should exclude companies and products that were named for a person unless the item has been genericized since. 

What's really interesting to me is how few candidates there are out there. Here are some that some Twitter users sent in. If you have suggestions, send them to me there or via email. I'll be surprised if there are a lot.

Candidates I Rejected As Not "Widely-Used"
  • Moore's Law (1965), Tommy John surgery (1974), and the Hastert Rule (~2000). All three are very well known in their circles (computing, baseball, and U.S. politics) but don't have widespread implications and haven't entered our regular vernacular as a result. I could see the case for all of these, though. Moore's Law actually predates the Heimlich maneuver, so it would make the larger list but obviously isn't a winner.
  • The Monty Hall problem (1975), the Bechdel Test (1985), Godwin's Law (1990), and the Dunning–Kruger effect (1999). None feel particularly close to meeting the "widely-used" standard.
  • The Mandela Effect (2009). Similarly doesn't meet this standard. I also don't really know if it's fair to say this is named after someone; it's named because of a false memory about that person, which seems different to me.

Candidates I Rejected For Other Reasons
  • "Benjamins," meaning $100 bills. It doesn't quite meet the spirit of the question
  • Bluetooth (1998). Named for a person and widespread, but it's only named for the person because someone thought it sounded cool.
  • Alzheimer's disease (1901). The name dates back much further than the recommender thought.
  • The Riker and Picard Maneuvers (2375 and 2355, respectively). Neither has happened yet, and I doubt the former is widely used.

Potential Winners
  • Amber alert (2000). Because of the push notifications sent to iPhones in the United States, I think this one is going to be as recognizable as the Richter scale and Heimlich maneuvet if it isn't already.
  • Asperger syndrome (1976, maybe earlier). The only issue here is the date -- there's a case to be made that it was coined well before it was popularized. 
  • Obamacare (2007). Whether this meets the test of time is to be determined, but it could have a chance.

Any suggestions? Let me know.

The Now I Know Week in Review

Monday: Polly’s Neighbor Want a Walnut?: Some parrots share. Not all do, though.

Tuesday: The Secret Life of Honey Buns: The underground, tasty currency of prisons.

Wednesday: Why the Michelin Man is White (and Maybe an Alcoholic): And he's tired, too. (Get it?)

Thursday: The Figuratively-Easter, Literally-Egg Easter Egg: Try this at home!

And some other things you should check out:


Some long reads for the weekend.

1) "Searching for the Notorious Celebrity Book Stylist" (NY Times Style Magazine, 11 minutes, April 2022). Welcome to a world where books are fashion accessories.

2) "How Untranslatable Words Have Connected Me to My Mother" (Catapult, 7 minutes, May 2022). There's a pull quote in this that struck me: "If human experiences are universal, how can those experiences vary from language to language?" 

3) "The Truth About Slushies Must Come Out" (The Atlantic, 8 minutes, April 2022). No one really knows what a Slushie is, the author argues, and that's kind of weird.

Have a great weekend, and a happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

Dan
Share Share
Tweet Tweet
Forward Forward
Archives · Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 Now I Know LLC, All rights reserved.
You opted in, at http://NowIKnow.com via a contest, giveaway, or the like -- or you wouldn't get this email.

Now I Know is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Some images above via Wikipedia.

Now I Know's mailing address is:
Now I Know LLC
P.O. Box 536
Mt. Kisco, NY 10549-9998

Add us to your address book


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp

Older messages

[Now I Know Offers] Take Noom’s Free Quiz to Kickstart Your Health Journey

Thursday, May 5, 2022

It's a great day to start something new As I mentioned last month, this is a paid email from my friends at Noom. They're great and you should absolutely try their service. But if you really don

Now I Know: The Figuratively-Easter, Literally-Egg Easter Egg

Thursday, May 5, 2022

How to eat in code? View this email in your browser · Missed one? Visit the Archives If you don't know what an easter egg is in this context, the title won't make sense. Click here and it will.

Now I Know: Why the Michelin Man is White (and Maybe an Alcoholic)

Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Those aren't muscles, despite what my kids thought. View this email in your browser · Missed one? Visit the Archives If you're not one who reads the Bonus Facts, do so today; otherwise, you

Now I Know: The Secret Life of Honey Buns

Tuesday, May 3, 2022

"Honey" isn't a portmanteau of "more" and "honey" but it kind of should be. View this email in your browser · Missed one? Visit the Archives This is a re-run from 2016

Now I Know: Polly's Neighbor Want a Walnut?

Monday, May 2, 2022

Do parrots share? Maybe. View this email in your browser · Missed one? Visit the Archives Hope you had a great weekend! I really don't like the title of this Now I Know, but wasn't able to come

You Might Also Like

🎙️ Find That Pod #258

Friday, April 19, 2024

Check out these 5 great podcasts...and bring some awesomeness to your ears. Let's take a look at this week's recommendations. ADVERTISEMENT 5 great podcasts to discover… Welcome to the 258th

The Perils of Writing on the Train (and How it Made Someone’s Week Better)

Friday, April 19, 2024

The silver lining that crushed the cloud of grey ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Closes Tonight • World Book Day Promo for Authors • Email Newsletter + Tweets + FB Posts

Friday, April 19, 2024

Book promo on 4/23/24 for World Book Day Join ContentMo's World Book Day Promotion #WorldBookDay is April 23rd each year. ContentMo is running a special promo on 4/23/24 for World Book Day

🎤 SWIPES Email (Friday April 19th, 2024)

Friday, April 19, 2024

The SWIPES Email ​ Edition: Friday, April 19th, 2024 ​An educational (and fun) email by Copywriting Course. Enjoy! ​ 🎤 Listen to this email here: ​ ​ ​ Swipe: I propose a toast to the single-image-that

Welcome AI to Your Team

Friday, April 19, 2024

Put the GPT Store on your must-visit list. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

👕 Fresh ideas for making $ with dirty clothes

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Ever seen a VIP red carpet for a laundromat? How this wealth manager is building a modern laundry biz Hey Contrarians, The stocks-to-socks career path isn't all that common — but it does exist. We

Closes Tomorrow • World Book Day Promo for Authors • Email Newsletter + Tweets + FB Posts

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Book promo on 4/23/24 for World Book Day Join ContentMo's World Book Day Promotion #WorldBookDay is April 23rd each year. ContentMo is running a special promo on 4/23/24 for World Book Day

3-2-1: Two ways to grow, how to criticize, and a simple recipe for finding good opportunities

Thursday, April 18, 2024

3 ideas, 2 quotes, and 1 question to consider this week. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Course update: Digital Psychology and Behavioral Design

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Emotions are what ultimately motivate people to act. So if your product or website is not pulling on the right emotions for customers to buy, nothing will convince them. But there's a way to use

Justin Welsh Joins an All-Star Lineup at CEX

Thursday, April 18, 2024

New speakers announced at CEX! Discount code inside. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌