I’m a name freak. Interesting company, product or service names intrigue me. So do unique human
names.

For example, I just watched a local Denver traffic report delivered by Amelia Earhart. I kid you not.

While she may be 110-years-old, Amelia was nonetheless up in the sky, reporting traffic patterns live from a Sky 9 helicopter. She looked great, made no mention of having been MIA for 70 years and would neither confirm, nor deny, reports that World War II-era Japanese soldiers had imprisoned, raped and tortured her. Amazing stuff.

I wonder what would have possessed Amelia’s parents to saddle her with such a moniker? Did they know that one day she’d be a traffic reporter and need a memorable name? Regardless, she’s back in the sky where she belongs and all is well.

And, how’s this for another Colorado name oddity? We were tooling down Boulder’s Anaconda Blvd yesterday when Catharine Cody spied a tattoo shop named ‘Scarred for life.’ Talk about truth in advertising. Not only did the proprietor create a memorable name, he/she also conveyed the long-term effects of his/her service. 

I really like the ‘truth in naming’ strategy and suggest the following name changes:

– The New York Stock Exchange — ‘America’s financial roller coaster’
– McDonald’s — ‘McClog’
– Viagra — ‘Mr. Happy’
– Disneyworld — ‘The ultimate rip-off’
– TSA guards — ‘permanently pissed off pseudo police’
– NYC’s Lincoln Tunnel — ‘Carbon Monoxide Central’

Memorable names help differentiate a person, product or organization. And that’s a big deal in our information overloaded world.  You can love or hate their names, but both Amelia and Scarred for Life succeeded in breaking through the clutter and registering on my personal radar screen.