Hurricane Naming
The start of hurricane season is upon us and I was curious as to how do they go about deciding on the names for hurricanes? Do several meteorologists sit around a round table and brainstorm over a few cocktails? Well after researching the topic on the National Hurricane Center’s website, I discovered that there was quite a whirlwind of a history surrounding naming hurricanes (no pun intended, of course).
Originally hurricanes in the West Indies were named after the closest Saint’s Day in which the hurricane occurred. Then, latitude-longitude positions were put to use to differentiate among hurricanes. This naming strategy led to difficulty in communication and it was decided that distinctive names were more succinct and less prone to error.
1941: In George R. Stewart’s 1941 novel, Storm, a women’s name is first used to designate a storm.
During World War II, female naming strategy was put into practice.
1951: United States decided to develop a methodology to name storms by a phonetic alphabet. This was method was slightly confusing.
1953: U.S. weather services returned to using female names.
1978: Both genders were being used to designate storms in the Eastern Pacific.
1979: Male and female names were included in lists for the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico as well.
The name lists are agreed upon at international meetings of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Six lists are used in rotation (again no pun intended). Thus, the 2006 list will be used again in 2012.
By: Trista Thielker
The Meaning of a Day: Memorial Day
For many of us, Memorial Day has come to represent just an extra day off work. It signals the end of the school year and the beginning of summer (and higher gas prices). It’s a chance for us to go to the beach, have a picnic, visit family or take advantage of a huge sale at the mall. Although these activities reflect our society today, none of them have anything to do with the intended meaning of the day.
NASCAR-mania
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If you love stock car racing, surely you’ve been in a souvenir shop and pondered purchasing yourself a NASCAR mug or hat. And if you’re a big fan, maybe you’ve visited the online NASCAR superstore and ordered a checkered flag dog collar for your poodle, a Dale Earnhardt Jr. denim shirt for that special someone, or a Jeff Gordon pacifier for your kid.
But for those uber-fans out there, the NASCAR name stretches far beyond what you can buy at the official store. Dozens of companies use the name under license, making it possible for race junkies to literally eat, sleep, and breathe NASCAR. Check out just a few of the items I found online:
NASCAR bandages
NASCAR burger patties
NASCAR caskets (yes, you read that right)
NASCAR chainsaws
NASCAR cologne
NASCAR couches
NASCAR grills
NASCAR high heels
NASCAR hot dogs
NASCAR mangoes
NASCAR salami
NASCAR sunscreen
NASCAR underwear
NASCAR vacuums
And my personal favorite, NASCAR romance novels (through a partnership with Harlequin).
Happy shopping racecar fans!
Contributed by: Maghan Cook
Let the festivities begin!
Charlotte is home to numerous race fans and the Food Lion Speed Street Festival has attracted thousands of these enthusiasts from not only North Carolina but also from states across the country. Celebrating its 14th year, the family-oriented event will take place on the 22nd through the 24th of May in Uptown Charlotte. Commemorating motor sports, Speed Street offers guest appearances by top Sprint Cup and NASCAR drivers, along with motor sport exhibits like race cars and burn out bikes to name a few. Speed Street is scheduled to entertain guests with artists like Kellie Pickler, Jagged Edge and Tara Allison on three different stages located across Uptown Charlotte. Admission is free. Whether you are a hard encore race addict or just simply looking for something to do over the weekend, the Food Lion Speed Street Festival is a great event to let loose, immerse yourself in the racing world, indulge in a mouth-watering hot dog and enjoy a refreshing cold beer.
By: Nishani Premaratne
Uptown is Downtown
Most people, when they first come to Charlotte, are confused by the use of “uptown” and “downtown” to refer to the center city. Typically, cities refer to their center business district as “downtown.” Is “uptown” different than “downtown”? Not in Charlotte.
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NASCAR, Marketing, & Receding Economy
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Every media channel is buzzing with talk of a possible receding economy and I started wondering how this might affect future marketing initiatives. I then came across an article titled, Racing through Recession: Brand Lessons from the Daytona 500.
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Typo Hunt Across America
Check this out! A group called the Typo Eradication Advancement League (TEAL) is making their way across the U.S. correcting typographical errors. Totals so far… typos found: 405, typos corrected: 222!
Be sure to check out their blog featuring commentary on the adventure!
You say tomato, I say Mortgage Lifter?
Spring is upon us and I’ve spent a lot of time flipping through gardening books, perusing the local nurseries, and trying to decide what to plant. Every time I thought I had made a selection, ok so I’ll plant the tomatoes here, another question would inevitably crop up. (Who knew there were that many different tomato varieties out there?)
Looking through seed catalogs I was actually struck by some really interesting tomato names. One of the tomatoes I came across, the Mortgage Lifter, turned out to have a great back story. Apparently, sometime in the early 20th century, a West Virginia auto repairman known as Radiator Charlie created an extremely popular tomato. In just four years, Charlie paid off his $6000 mortgage by selling his tomato seedlings for $1 each. How ‘bout them love apples?
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Vamos a Wal Mart!
It’s rough out there. The GDP is growing at an anemic rate, and while experts may not be using the R-word just yet, there is no doubt that we are in an economic downturn. And with a sluggish economy comes consumers who are more and more selective about where and why they spend their money.
So one can assume that this is probably not the best time for a value superstore to rebrand one of its flagship stores . . . right?
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Mother’s Day As We Know It
For most of us, Mother’s Day is a day to honor, thank and pamper the mothers in our lives; but Mother’s Day as we know it today, started out a little differently.
In ancient cultures, people didn’t worship human mothers, but rather mother-like female deities. The Egyptians celebrated one of the first annual festivals in honor of the mother deity Isis. The Romans celebrated the Phrygian goddess, Cybele, and the Greeks celebrated Rhea, the Greek mother of the gods. Both the Roman and Greek celebrations occurred in the early spring.
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