1 of 12
When David Filo and Jerry Yang started a guide to Internet content back in 1994, what did they originally call it?
Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web
ANSWER: From Ethan Trex: They quickly realized they might need a name that took less than three minutes to say, so they switched to a word they liked from the dictionary – one that described someone who was “rude, unsophisticated, and uncouth.” And that’s how Yahoo! was born. [
"9 People, Places & Things That Changed Their Names"] From Ethan Trex: They quickly realized they might need a name that took less than three minutes to say, so they switched to a word they liked from the dictionary – one that described someone who was “rude, unsophisticated, and uncouth.” And that’s how Yahoo! was born. [
"9 People, Places & Things That Changed Their Names"]
2 of 12
Pretty Woman was based on a script called what?
ANSWER: From Kara Kovalchik:
Pretty Woman was based on a script written by J.F. Lawton called
3000 (the amount of money paid for a week’s worth of the hooker’s “company”). In the original story, Julia Roberts’ character was not only a prostitute, she was also a crack addict. When Disney bought the script, they hired new writers to lighten it up a bit, and they decided that 3000 sounded too science fiction-y, so a new title was chosen – one that luckily allowed the producers to use Roy Orbison’s signature tune to accompany the obligatory Julia Roberts-trying-on-clothes montage. [
"What Your Favorite Movies Were Almost Called"] From Kara Kovalchik:
Pretty Woman was based on a script written by J.F. Lawton called
3000 (the amount of money paid for a week’s worth of the hooker’s “company”). In the original story, Julia Roberts’ character was not only a prostitute, she was also a crack addict. When Disney bought the script, they hired new writers to lighten it up a bit, and they decided that 3000 sounded too science fiction-y, so a new title was chosen – one that luckily allowed the producers to use Roy Orbison’s signature tune to accompany the obligatory Julia Roberts-trying-on-clothes montage. [
"What Your Favorite Movies Were Almost Called"]
3 of 12
What did former Florida Marlins owner Wayne Huizenga consider naming the Florida Marlins?
4 of 12
Before changing its name to Nike in 1971, what did Phil Knight call his footware company?
ANSWER: From Ethan Trex: In 1963, an ambitious young runner named Phil Knight met with the Japanese running shoe company Onitsuka about distributing their sneakers in the U.S. The Japanese makers of Tiger running shoes decided to give Knight a shot, but they needed to know the name of Knight’s company. He responded that he was running Blue Ribbon Sports, and he soon began selling Tigers out of his car at track meets around the U.S. By 1971, though, his business had grown to the point where Knight was making his own shoes. He decided to name the shoes and the business after the Greek goddess of victory, Nike. [
"9 People, Places & Things That Changed Their Names"] From Ethan Trex: In 1963, an ambitious young runner named Phil Knight met with the Japanese running shoe company Onitsuka about distributing their sneakers in the U.S. The Japanese makers of Tiger running shoes decided to give Knight a shot, but they needed to know the name of Knight’s company. He responded that he was running Blue Ribbon Sports, and he soon began selling Tigers out of his car at track meets around the U.S. By 1971, though, his business had grown to the point where Knight was making his own shoes. He decided to name the shoes and the business after the Greek goddess of victory, Nike. [
"9 People, Places & Things That Changed Their Names"]
5 of 12
What was Pepsi's original name?
ANSWER: From Ethan Trex: In 1893, pharmacist Caleb Bradham created a new cola formula at his New Bern, North Carolina, business. Customers loved the sweet, fizzy libation, but the name “Brad’s Drink” didn’t really do much for them. After five years, Bradham decided maybe it was time to come up with a better brand name for his drink, so he started calling it Pepsi Cola. [
"9 People, Places & Things That Changed Their Names"] From Ethan Trex: In 1893, pharmacist Caleb Bradham created a new cola formula at his New Bern, North Carolina, business. Customers loved the sweet, fizzy libation, but the name “Brad’s Drink” didn’t really do much for them. After five years, Bradham decided maybe it was time to come up with a better brand name for his drink, so he started calling it Pepsi Cola. [
"9 People, Places & Things That Changed Their Names"]
6 of 12
When Vancouver was first awarded an NBA team for the 1995 season, what did the franchise want to call itself?
ANSWER: From Ethan Trex: The name seemed like a fitting tribute to the bravery of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The plan hit a snag, though, when the Mounties, no doubt skeptical of any cultural crossovers after Dudley Do-Right, made it clear that they didn’t want their name slapped on the expansion franchise. The team quickly regrouped and picked the name the Grizzlies as a tribute to the bravery of Canada’s many bears. You have to commend the Mounties on their foresight for avoiding this train wreck; the team fled to Memphis in 2001 and had an abysmal .329 winning percentage entering this season. [
"What Your Favorite Teams Were Almost Called"] From Ethan Trex: The name seemed like a fitting tribute to the bravery of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The plan hit a snag, though, when the Mounties, no doubt skeptical of any cultural crossovers after Dudley Do-Right, made it clear that they didn’t want their name slapped on the expansion franchise. The team quickly regrouped and picked the name the Grizzlies as a tribute to the bravery of Canada’s many bears. You have to commend the Mounties on their foresight for avoiding this train wreck; the team fled to Memphis in 2001 and had an abysmal .329 winning percentage entering this season. [
"What Your Favorite Teams Were Almost Called"]
7 of 12
What was the original name of Diff'rent Strokes?
ANSWER: From Kara Kovalchik: When Norman Lear was asked by Fred Silverman to build a series around 10-year-old wiseguy Gary Coleman, he mapped out a basic story that had Gary being adopted by a wealthy white man who lived in the Westchester town of Hastings-on-Hudson and called the project 45 Minutes from Harlem. Conrad Bain was brought on board to portray the pater familias, and he suggested the backstory (wealthy widower honoring his dying housekeeper’s request that he adopt her two boys) that became the premise of the series. Since the millionaire’s home had moved from the suburbs to nearby Manhattan, the name of the show was changed to Diff’rent Strokes. [
"What 8 Classic TV Shows Were Almost Called"] From Kara Kovalchik: When Norman Lear was asked by Fred Silverman to build a series around 10-year-old wiseguy Gary Coleman, he mapped out a basic story that had Gary being adopted by a wealthy white man who lived in the Westchester town of Hastings-on-Hudson and called the project 45 Minutes from Harlem. Conrad Bain was brought on board to portray the pater familias, and he suggested the backstory (wealthy widower honoring his dying housekeeper’s request that he adopt her two boys) that became the premise of the series. Since the millionaire’s home had moved from the suburbs to nearby Manhattan, the name of the show was changed to Diff’rent Strokes. [
"What 8 Classic TV Shows Were Almost Called"]
8 of 12
When Hollywood honcho Sonny Werblin and oil tycoon Leon Hess bought the AFL's New York Titans in 1963, they decided the team needed a new name. Before settling on the Jets, what was the other finalist?
ANSWER: From Ethan Trex: According to a contemporary
New York Times story, they considered the Dodgers, but nixed the idea after Major League Baseball didn’t like it. “The Gothams” also got some consideration, but the team didn’t like the idea of having it shortened to the Goths because “you know they weren’t such nice people.” The last finalist to fall was “the New York Borros,” a pun on the city’s boroughs; the team worried that opposing fans would make the Borros-burros connection and derisively call the squad the jackasses. (Little did the Jets’ forefathers know that their home fans would provide all of the booing and heckling a franchise could ever need.) [
"What Your Favorite Teams Were Almost Called"] From Ethan Trex: According to a contemporary
New York Times story, they considered the Dodgers, but nixed the idea after Major League Baseball didn’t like it. “The Gothams” also got some consideration, but the team didn’t like the idea of having it shortened to the Goths because “you know they weren’t such nice people.” The last finalist to fall was “the New York Borros,” a pun on the city’s boroughs; the team worried that opposing fans would make the Borros-burros connection and derisively call the squad the jackasses. (Little did the Jets’ forefathers know that their home fans would provide all of the booing and heckling a franchise could ever need.) [
"What Your Favorite Teams Were Almost Called"]
9 of 12
During the filming of Back to the Future, a Universal Studios executive fired off a memo to all involved in the production stating that no movie with the word “future” in the title had ever succeeded at the box office. What alternative title did he suggest?
ANSWER: From Kara Kovalchik: According to writer/producer Bob Gale, Steven Spielberg “earned his executive producer credit” by stepping in and sending back a note that thanked the studio head for his “joke memo.” [
"What Your Favorite Movies Were Almost Called"] From Kara Kovalchik: According to writer/producer Bob Gale, Steven Spielberg “earned his executive producer credit” by stepping in and sending back a note that thanked the studio head for his “joke memo.” [
"What Your Favorite Movies Were Almost Called"]
10 of 12
What was President Gerald Ford's birth name?
Warren Ronald Morris, Jr.
ANSWER: From the Ford Presidential Library: "President Gerald R. Ford was the son of Leslie Lynch King and his wife Dorothy Ayer Gardner, who divorced soon after the birth of their only child. Their son was known as Leslie Lynch King, Jr., until his mother married Gerald R. Ford, Sr. in 1916, after which he went by the name Gerald R. Ford, Jr."
And of course, this gave birth to the trick question, "Which U.S. President was born a King?" From the Ford Presidential Library: "President Gerald R. Ford was the son of Leslie Lynch King and his wife Dorothy Ayer Gardner, who divorced soon after the birth of their only child. Their son was known as Leslie Lynch King, Jr., until his mother married Gerald R. Ford, Sr. in 1916, after which he went by the name Gerald R. Ford, Jr."
And of course, this gave birth to the trick question, "Which U.S. President was born a King?"
11 of 12
When Married With Children creators Michael Moye and Ron Leavitt shopped their pilot script around, what did they call their show?
12 of 12
What was the original name of the cable network Spike?
The Nashville Network was born in 1983, became The National Network in 2000, became Spike TV in 2003.
