Brand Names

Many words we use are really patented or trade marked names owned by specific companies. Here are a few of names that have become more-or-less generic, but are still owned.

Breathalyzer, Bubble Wrap, ChapStick, Crock Pot, Dumpster, Jacuzzi, Jet Ski, Kleenex, Ouija Board, Ping Pong, Popsicle, Rollerblade, Seeing Eye Dog, Styrofoam, Taser, Velcro, Zamboni

What's in a Name, Jacuzzi

The seven Jacuzzi brothers emigrated from Italy to California in the early 1900s. In California, they began developing innovations for the big new craze: the airplane. Their biggest hit was the creation of the first plane with an enclosed cabin, which the US Postal Service bought to deliver mail.

According to legend, their mother was worried about her sons’ safety and eventually convinced the brothers to change jobs. They started concentrating on hydraulic pumps for irrigation and hospital use. In the late 1940s, Candido Jacuzzi’s young son Kenneth started suffering from arthritis. He received hydrotherapy at a hospital, but his father decided his son needed to have access to it at home as well. He filed a patent for his invention, but it wasn’t until another relative, Roy joined the business years later that they started selling their Jacuzzi tubs to the public. Well, that is just about the hot and cold of it.