# Businesses With Unfortunate Names **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 10, 2003, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-with-unfortunate-names/167852 "2003-04-10T19:07:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-with-unfortunate-names/167852/1 "2003-04-10T19:07:06Z")
Ok - recently we’ve had threads involving Products With Unfortunate Names, and I thought this thread was necessary after passing a pizza place on the east side D&C Pizza My only thought was that they MUST NOT KNOW what a d&c is. Or if they do, thems a buncha sick puppies!! ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-with-unfortunate-names/167852/2 "2003-04-10T19:23:08Z")
\*\*F & K Trucking \*\* is near us. ---
**Author:** ![Gulo\_gulo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bcef8e/32.png) [@Gulo\_gulo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gulo_gulo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-with-unfortunate-names/167852/3 "2003-04-10T19:39:01Z")
There’s a **B & E Grocery** in Victoria. There is (or was) an **OK Sushi** in Vancouver. Don’t know about you, but that name was a huge turnoff. If this counts, outside of Seattle there’s a little strip mall where two side-by-side businesses have their signs in the same colour and IIRC almost the same font. So if you ever need some roses and your back adjusted, feel free to visit the **Chiropractic Florist**. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-with-unfortunate-names/167852/4 "2003-04-10T20:08:02Z")
There’s **Hitler Hussein’s Day Care Center** Okay, I made that up… ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-with-unfortunate-names/167852/5 "2003-04-10T20:14:58Z")
While driving through West Texas from Santa Fe late one night, I came over a hill and across this business, which only had the first letters lit up in Red. I laughed my ass off: **T** exas **I** nterstate **T** ruck **S** top Of course, that was clearly intentional so I don’t know if it qualifies. Another one: in Southern Missouri there’s a business that is clearly visible from I-40 called FAG Bearings. Southern Missouri isn’t exactly the best place to expect enlightenment about that sort of thing… ---
**Author:** ![El\_Marko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@El\_Marko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Marko)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-with-unfortunate-names/167852/6 "2003-04-10T20:20:33Z")
Here you go: My great-grandfather’s last name was Barber - he was a jeweler specializing in watch repair, but he got a lot of people coming into the store for a shave and a haircut. Also, from Morehead City, NC: The Sanitary Fish Market. I stay away from places that use their name to assure you of the sanitation conditions of the place. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-with-unfortunate-names/167852/7 "2003-04-10T20:22:36Z")
I used to live a couple miles from Hurt Cleaners, one of National Lampoon’s [True Facts](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0809235609/qid=1050006141/sr=1-19/ref=sr_1_19/102-8710457-9552131?v=glance&s=books) entries. ---
**Author:** ![rinni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f6c823/32.png) [@rinni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rinni)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-with-unfortunate-names/167852/8 "2003-04-10T20:26:31Z")
I keep seeing trucks driving by that say S&M Trucking. And I’m not even kidding. There is a hair place where I live called Curl Up & Dye, but I think that’s more clever than unfortunate. 😃 And I’m sure you’ve all seen this by now… [clickety click](http://rinni.fpshosting.com/airconditioner.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-with-unfortunate-names/167852/9 "2003-04-10T20:38:00Z")
**Dooku,** there’s a chain of gas station/restaurant/travel stop places in Indiana. The signs all say “T and A Travel Stop” or something like that. (Tried to find a link - but I was afraid to type that into Google!) ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Brewer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@Master\_Brewer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Brewer)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-with-unfortunate-names/167852/10 "2003-04-10T20:39:35Z")
In my hometown there was a little video place in a strip mall called “Rent a Flick”. The only problem was that the letters on the sign were all capital, and the “l” and the “i” were a little too close together, so it looked like “RENT A F LI CK” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_With_The_Golden_Gun)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-with-unfortunate-names/167852/11 "2003-04-10T20:43:08Z")
I saw a truck in Ohio that said “Big Dick’s Cleaning Service”. Then there’s Experts Exchange, with their website,“[expertsexchange.com](http://expertsexchange.com)”. Although now that I think of it, they changed it to “[experts-exchange.com](http://experts-exchange.com)”. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-with-unfortunate-names/167852/12 "2003-04-10T20:43:25Z")
**Dyke’s Lumber** and **The Divine Hair Salon** always give me a smirk. [Divien voice] “I want a pink d.a. with Elvis sideburns!” [/Divine voice] ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-with-unfortunate-names/167852/13 "2003-04-10T20:43:38Z")
There was a small chain of dry cleaners in my hometown called Johnson Cleaners. We used to call up when we were kids and ask how much it would cost to get our Johnson’s cleaned. I’ve seen pictures online of a gas station the “Pump & Munch” but I don’t know if they were doctored. Anyone ever actually seen this place? ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-with-unfortunate-names/167852/14 "2003-04-10T20:50:40Z")
Well not so much an unfortunate name as an unfortunate sign. A jewelers in Richmond, London kept out this sign GOLD SCRAP Unfortunately the right hand side of the sign would often get obscured leading to OLD CRAP being advertised to all who walked past. ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-with-unfortunate-names/167852/15 "2003-04-10T20:51:52Z")
There’s a gas station/convenience store here called **Kum & Go**. I’ve never been. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-with-unfortunate-names/167852/16 "2003-04-10T20:52:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rinni \* > **There is a hair place where I live called Curl Up & Dye, but I think that’s more clever than unfortunate. 😃** Probably inspired by [The Blues Brothers](http://us.imdb.com/Trivia?0080455) movie. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-with-unfortunate-names/167852/17 "2003-04-10T20:53:19Z")
I saw a photo several years ago of a “Kentucky Fried Chicken” sign with some of the neon letters burned out. The sign read: UCKY FRIED ICK ---
**Author:** ![Wintermute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@Wintermute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wintermute)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-with-unfortunate-names/167852/18 "2003-04-10T20:55:48Z")
I see trucks with “A. Dewy Pyle” written on them all the time. Not a very appealing image. The worst ones for this I think are the Funeral Homes. I’ve seen some that just seemed, well, not well thought out. I don’t care if it is your last name, Scar is not a good name for a funeral home. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-with-unfortunate-names/167852/19 "2003-04-10T20:55:58Z")
[Beaver Research](http://www.beaverresearch.com/hats.htm) [Beaver Tools](http://www.beavertools.com) Also forgot to mention the various businesses in central Oklahoma along Hwy 69. “69 Drive-In”…“69 Cafe”…etc. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-with-unfortunate-names/167852/20 "2003-04-10T20:55:59Z")
In Copenhagen I seem to remember a **Kuntzmuseum**. Kuntz is Danish for art:dubious: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-with-unfortunate-names/167852.md?page=2)