What's in a Name?: From Joseph P. Frisbie to Roy Jacuzzi, How Everyday Items Were Named for Extraordinary People Paperback - 2008

by Philip Dodd

A brilliant and personal literary journey, in which Philip Dodd tells the curious talesof people whose names deliberately or by chance became household words

What's in a name? For Philip Dodd, this question led toan international tour, sleuthing the history of some ofour most intriguing eponyms. The result is a collection ofsurprising, stranger-than-fiction stories from history, thearts, the halls of science, and sometimes simply the realmof serendipity. This armchair traveler's delight containslittle-known tales of such immortal figures as:

ċ Roy Jacuzzi, alive and well and still bubbling withideas in Happy Valley, California
ċ Joseph P. Frisbie, the baker whose pie tins inspiredWham-O's ubiquitous flying disc
ċ Ernst Gräfenberg, for whom the G-spot was namedá Samuel Maverick, the Texas pioneer who refused tobrand his calves
ċ And many other colorful figures
From Belgium to Buenos Aires, from Orlando to LosAngeles, Dodd's readers go along for the ride. What's In aName? is a marvelous tribute to people who changed ourlanguage whether through hard work, creativity, or theluck of the draw.