Mar 1, 2019

More Items Named After Real People

The Bowler hat (also Derby hat) was created by Thomas and William Bowler. This was so the high top hats of the Earl of Derby’s gamekeepers would not be hit by branches while on horseback. This was also said to be a compromise between social classes’ top hat and flat cap. Incidentally, Dick Van Dyke inherited Stan Laurel’s bowler hat in 1965.

The term ‘Gerrymandering’ was derived from Gerry Elbridge, the governor of Massachusetts and salamander from an outline of a newly-defined district map. The outlined shape of a dragon in the form of a map pertains to a cartoon in the Boston Gazette in 1812. This awkward location that creates unusual shapes is suitable for voters in certain districts for political advancement.

Adolphe Sax invented the saxophone in 1840; unfortunately, he was unsuccessful with the instrument. Luckily, a century later, the sax became popular with jazz musicians.
Jean Nicot de Villemain, a French ambassador who learned about tobacco on his trip Portugal. When he went home, he brought snuff, leaves, and seed with him and presented it to the royal court of France in the 1560s. The plant became a hit and so Jean was commemorated by having the plant named after him - nicotine. Only in succeeding centuries did nicotine come to mean chemical inside the tobacco plant.

Bloomers were named after Amelia Bloomer, a women’s rights supporter. She did not make the garments, but her efforts embodied her appearance of women.

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