Unlikely Company Names - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Richard Crowley
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2016, 06:10:02 pm
content: Looking around Ebay, I came across this wall-wart.Somebody actually thinks that "OEM" is a logical company name.And If I'm not mistaken, it looks like they have actually invoked the circle-R registered trademark symbol.It brings to memory those other legends like that post-war Japanese town that named itself "Usa" so that it could make products marked: "Made in USA"http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/usa.asp

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 04, 2016, 06:19:56 pm
content: Maybe it was place holder text for a customers name and they never bothered with one or to remove the text.

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 12:39:31 am
content: Or it could be a real brand name from before "OEM" came to have its current meaning.Before the late '90s "OEM" was not in general use---I first heard it even later than that!There used to be an Oz Electronics company called "EMAIL"!Re the "Usa" legend.Although that one is apocryphal,I do remember as a kid having toys marked:"Made in USzone Germany"That was really early days,before the "Economic Miracle".

author: eugenenine
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 02:05:35 am
content: I saw a software package from S. E. Xchange at work a few years ago.

author: bills
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 02:10:28 am
content: I think that the city named USA was in Taiwan.

author: Alexei.Polkhanov
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 02:25:18 am
content: I lived in St. Petersburg for a year ....St. Petersburg FloridaI have heard there is Moscow somewhere in Idaho?

author: Jay_Diddy_B
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 02:38:16 am
content: Hi,I have to direct you:http://www.bigassfans.com/company/Regards,Jay_Diddy_B

author: bills
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 02:43:16 am
content: Fucking,wank.I have no idea where to go from there .

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 02:49:04 am
content: Not a company name but I've actually driven through a small town called "Nowhere Else" in Tasmania, Australia.https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Nowhere+Else+TAS+7306/@-41.3713074,146.243056,14z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0xaa7a4f24058312f7:0x403c94dd0ddf1a0

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 02:57:23 am
content: Then there is the venerable British test equipment manufacture Wayne Kerr.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 03:07:14 am
content: A little off topic - but in the same spirit.The computer company Wang had a slogan some years ago - that didn't last long......

author: rrinker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 03:11:17 am
content: Just the fact that the name of the company was Wang was plenty....

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 03:17:24 am
content: Hell has frozen over.http://www.gotohellmi.com/Tim

author: crispy_tofu
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 03:23:44 am
content: Quote from: bills on February 05, 2016, 02:43:16 amKissing and Wedding?

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 03:45:59 am
content: When it comes to scrofulous place names,England has got it over all of us;-http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/15/article-2188441-148C9D43000005DC-40_1024x615_large.jpgBut,wait!------There's more!:http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/244893/slide_244893_1381618_free.jpg

author: Armxnian
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 04:00:07 am
content: Don't forget the classics

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 07:06:46 am
content: Quote from: Halcyon on February 05, 2016, 02:49:04 am"No name city" ? oh that was in a film

author: Muxr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 07:18:39 am
content: If I was selling pens I would name the company Pen Island. The website would read: PenisLand(dot)com

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 07:32:03 am
content: Combining celestial bodies with famous inventors :Uranus - Hertz Screws and Fasteners

author: generic_username
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 07:35:54 am
content: @ blueskullthe mayor of fucking had to concrete the sign as it was so often stolen by tourists.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 07:39:17 am
content: Quote from: Muxr on February 05, 2016, 07:18:39 amThat used to be a actual site selling pens. It seems to have gone, but penisland.net is still selling pens, and they say they specialise in wood.

author: Muxr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 07:40:46 am
content: Quote from: coppice on February 05, 2016, 07:39:17 amHah, their website even has Pen bolded, as in we're not the other Penisland

author: steve30
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 09:17:06 am
content: Here is a BRAND brand cassette player.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 09:38:09 am
content: Quote from: vk6zgo on February 05, 2016, 12:39:31 amEven back in the early '70s, there was debate/confusion as to whether OEM meant "Own Equipment Manufacturer" or "Original Equipment Manufacturer". Different people gave different answers, and there was a bias towards the answer being industry dependent.

author: AlxDroidDev
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 11:09:47 am
content: A classical one was the old ExpertSexChange.comLater they changed the domain to Experts-Exchange.com, for obvious reasons!

author: artag
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2016, 01:08:12 am
content: Quote from: Muxr on February 05, 2016, 07:18:39 amI think England beat you there, toohttp://d.ibtimes.co.uk/en/full/198992/penistone.jpg

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2016, 05:05:37 am
content: Quote from: artag on February 06, 2016, 01:08:12 amPerfect name for an audiophile equipment company (with "wank factor"...)

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2016, 05:12:54 am
content: In Greenwood West Oz,Penistone Road intersects Cockman Road.

author: crispy_tofu
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2016, 05:16:33 am
content: Quote from: steve30 on February 05, 2016, 09:17:06 am*insert placeholder text here*

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2016, 09:19:44 am
content: Quote from: Richard Crowley on February 04, 2016, 06:10:02 pmLooking back,I said I hadn't seen OEM until after the 1990s.On reflection,I should have qualified it by saying I hadn't heard it used in the modern sense.The old meaning of "OEM" was,where,say,Philips made a device "in house" & used it in their own equipment.That exact device was not available elsewhere as a standard part----in other words,it was made by the "Original Equipment Manufacturer".It has now morphed to the point that "OEM manufacturers" are those who make & sell sub units,or finished units to other companies to sell under their own brand,which is altogether a different shade of meaning."Badge Engineering" of this type has always occurred,but the terminology has changed.

author: timb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2016, 10:57:08 am
content: Quote from: artag on February 06, 2016, 01:08:12 amI'm confused... Is the penis a really good singer? Or is it English and just weighs a lot...

author: calexanian
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2016, 03:47:47 pm
content: Bigass fans actually work pretty darn well. They were specked into a design we made the controls for.

author: AlxDroidDev
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2016, 03:55:54 pm
content: Quote from: calexanian on February 06, 2016, 03:47:47 pmTrue. I saw several of them in the Vehicle Assembly Building, in Cape Canaveral (NASA).

author: abaxas
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2016, 04:27:35 pm
content: Note on Penistone...... it's famous for it's organ!http://www.penistone-compton.co.uk/

author: dannyf
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2016, 04:52:07 pm
content: In the good old days of pay phones and land lines, there is a telephone company who connect collect calls named "Whatever":Joe the customer picks up the phone: "could I place a call to my friend John? collect please."Operator: "which company would like to route the call through, Mr.?"Joe: "whatever".Operator: "call going through"....

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2016, 05:31:58 pm
content: Quote from: Armxnian on February 05, 2016, 04:00:07 amAnother classic.

author: Rick Law
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2016, 06:33:33 pm
content: Back in the days (15-20 yrs ago) when large companies prints an internal phone directory... One of the department of that company was "Analytical Service" (it analyze data)The phone directory lists:Doe, Joe... IT Sevice... 123-4567Doe, John...Anal Service... 234-5678

author: Refrigerator
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2016, 06:47:32 pm
content: Don't forget Parts-express.com , the dash makes all the difference.

author: gnavigator1007
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 06, 2016, 10:02:27 pm
content: Quote from: Jay_Diddy_B on February 05, 2016, 02:38:16 amI used to get their catalog years ago. Always lusted after a few of them, but never got to see one in action until or first local brewery opened. Really damn impressive. Really helps them keep their warehouse cool in the Florida summer. And of course they live up to their name

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2016, 12:41:29 am
content: Voltaren analgesic gel was originally marketed in Oz as "Voltaren Analgel".They changed the name to "Emulgel"------- perhaps there were complaints that it was ineffective when applied to some parts of the body ?

author: crispy_tofu
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2016, 04:57:33 am
content: Quote from: blueskull on February 05, 2016, 03:25:06 amThis one?

author: rrinker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2016, 05:03:37 am
content: OK, if we're including city and town names...Here in Pennsylvania, USA we have: Paradise, Intercourse, Blue Ball, and Virginville. If you try to drive from Virginville to Paradise via Intercourse, but make a wrong turn, you end up in Blue Ball. But first you have to go through Bird-in-Hand.All 100% true.

author: apelly
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 07, 2016, 06:18:30 am
content: Don't forget Fairydown. Great Kiwi brand. Didn't sell that well in Aus.Of course we're all too enlightened these days to worry about a name, hey?

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2016, 07:14:22 am
content: Quit trying to steal my thread idea!https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/funny-company-names/My lawyers should be contacting you shortly

author: Cerebus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2016, 09:30:22 pm
content: Quote from: vk6zgo on February 05, 2016, 12:39:31 am"OEM" was in use, with its current generally understood meaning, in the 1970's in the computer industry.Ian

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2016, 09:35:15 pm
content: Quote from: Cerebus on February 07, 2016, 09:30:22 pmI couldn't be bothered to point that out a second time!

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2016, 05:19:19 am
content: Quote from: tggzzz on February 07, 2016, 09:35:15 pmWith respecttggzz,that tsn't what you pointed out,& I quote:-"Even back in the early '70s, there was debate/confusion as to whether OEM meant "Own Equipment Manufacturer" or "Original Equipment Manufacturer". Different people gave different answers, and there was a bias towards the answer being industry dependent"You didn't refer to the computer industry at all,& neither of the terms sound anything like the current meaning.I didn't have anything to do with the computer ingustry in the 1970s.I can only quote my experience in the Electronics Industry.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2016, 09:50:13 am
content: Quote from: vk6zgo on February 08, 2016, 05:19:19 amWhen I wrote the comment I presumed you would accept the information. My mistake.In any case, the computer industry wasoneof the industries, the electronics wasanother. And I didn't want to make any presumptions about other industries because I knew the limits tomyknowledge.As for what "Original Equipment Manufacturer" means,http://www.investopedia.com/terms/o/oem.aspnotes that "... There isn't a typo here; the two definitions do contradict each other. This term has become very confusing since it now can be used in both contexts ...". That was true in the 1970s as well.

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2016, 11:04:36 am
content: Quote from: tggzzz on February 08, 2016, 09:50:13 amMaybe you had the best intentions,but you just had to spoil it with a "snarky oneliner".