Brands that became everyday words
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Brands That Became Everyday Words — Daily trivia Monday, October 5, 2026: questions and answers
All 10 questions with answers and explanations. Play this daily
Q 01George Nissen once bounced alongside a kangaroo on which invention?
- AThe pogo stick
- BThe trampoline
- CThe springboard
- DThe bouncy castle
Show answer
The trampoline
The trampoline. Nissen took the name from trampolín, Spanish for diving board, and registered it as his trademark.
Q 02Which stretchy fabric, invented at DuPont, became popular for skin-tight cycling shorts?
- AKevlar
- BNomex
- CLycra
- DTyvek
Show answer
Lycra
Lycra. It's still a trademark, yet in Britain and Australia 'Lycra' is now the everyday word for any stretchy spandex fabric.
Q 03Which company's lawyers objected when its name became an everyday verb for photocopying?
- ACanon
- BKodak
- CRicoh
- DXerox
Show answer
Xerox
Xerox. The name comes from xerography, Greek for 'dry writing', and the company has run ads urging people not to use it as a verb.
Q 04'Ping-Pong' was a brand name, so what did rival equipment makers call the game?
- APaddle tennis
- BRacquetball
- CTable tennis
- DPickleball
Show answer
Table tennis
Table tennis. 'Ping-Pong' was a trademark for the game's equipment, and in the US it belonged to Parker Brothers.
Q 05After World War I, a US firm bought a German drugmaker's American business, but couldn't keep which name to itself?
- AAspirin
- BCodeine
- CIbuprofen
- DAcetaminophen
Show answer
Aspirin
Aspirin. Felix Hoffmann, the Bayer chemist usually credited with it, also made heroin, which Bayer sold to suppress coughs.
Q 06Which Sony gadget first went on sale in Britain as the Stowaway and in Australia as the Freestyle?
- ADiscman
- BWalkman
- CPlayStation
- DHandycam
Show answer
Walkman
The Walkman. In the US it was the Soundabout, until the original name caught on and Sony used it worldwide.
Q 07Otis lost which trademark after the word came to mean any maker's machine?
- AElevator
- BMoving walkway
- CDumbwaiter
- DEscalator
Show answer
Escalator
Escalator. Charles Seeberger coined the word, and his step escalator, built with Otis, won first prize at the 1900 Paris Exposition.
Q 08An inventor's pump, built to ease his son's arthritis, grew into which brand?
- AJacuzzi
- BKohler
- CWhirlpool
- DSunbeam
Show answer
Jacuzzi
Jacuzzi. The brothers had started out in aviation, and the family firm didn't launch a built-in whirlpool bath until 1968.
Q 09Which brand's material was meant for WWI gas-mask filters, then sold for removing cold cream?
- AScott
- BKotex
- CKleenex
- DHuggies
Show answer
Kleenex
Kleenex. Buyers kept using it as a handkerchief instead, so the ads switched to saying so, and sales doubled.
Q 10Which brand's name says it was invented to replace a mineral?
- AStyrofoam
- BFormica
- CTeflon
- DBakelite
Show answer
Formica
Formica, as in 'for mica'. It was sold as electrical insulation in place of that pricier mineral before it became a decorative surface.
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