# Things that went out of style due to negative connotations (ex: the Hitler 'stache) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 8, 2007, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067 "2007-03-08T04:44:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/21 "2007-03-08T15:54:44Z")
Abort and aborftion are rarely used except in women’s rights context. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/22 "2007-03-08T16:16:49Z")
DDT. People are dying from Malaria outbreaks, and DDT might never be used again because of a panic book written with no science to back it up. DDT has a stigma that science and human death/tragedy cannot overcome. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/23 "2007-03-08T16:21:34Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] The real tragedy is the original name of the pills was GRYD, but changed because it wasn’t marketable enough. [/QUOTE] I thought I was the last person standing to remember the days of GRID. 😛 **Ebeneezer** After Mr. Dickens wrote that book, I dont think anyone was named Ebeneezer ever again. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/24 "2007-03-08T16:38:47Z")
> [@](#): > > DDT. > > People are dying from Malaria outbreaks, and DDT might never be used again because of a panic book written with no science to back it up. > > DDT has a stigma that science and human death/tragedy cannot overcome. Inaccurate post. Read: > **[DDT](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDT)** > > Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. DDT was first synthesized in 1874 by the Austrian chemist Othmar Zeidler. DDT's insecticidal action was discovered by the Swiss chemist Paul Hermann Müller in 1939. DDT was used in the second half of World War II to limit the spread of the insect-borne diseases malaria and T... ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/25 "2007-03-08T16:43:23Z")
How about black trenchcoats or dusters? If I were to see one today, the first thing I’d think of is the Columbine tragedy, especially if I saw one worn by a high school student. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/26 "2007-03-08T17:16:47Z")
**ACME** There used to be thousands of companies named “Acme” (meaning the best or most successful). Then Wile E. Coyote came along. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/27 "2007-03-08T17:31:55Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] **ACME** There used to be thousands of companies named “Acme” (meaning the best or most successful). Then Wile E. Coyote came along. [/QUOTE] Oh yeah? What about [this](http://home.nc.rr.com/tuco/looney/acme/acme.html) ? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/28 "2007-03-08T17:35:09Z")
I don’t mean to suggest it’s a bad thing to be, but you don’t hear many guys saying, “I feel gay today.” At least, not since the 19th century. Or unless they ARE gay in 21st-century terms. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/29 "2007-03-08T17:50:33Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] Abort and aborftion are rarely used except in women’s rights context. [/QUOTE] No. Abort is still used. In engineering we talk about aborting tests all the time. How common a word was abortion in the past? Not very, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/30 "2007-03-08T17:50:38Z")
> [@iltbr](#): > > I’ve never met anyone named Judas. Technically, if you’ve ever met anyone named Judah or Yehuda or similar variants thereof, you have. “Judas” is simply the Greek form of that Hebrew name. You’re right that Christians avoid the name, but Jews still use it all the time, as they don’t regard the New Testament (including the story of Jesus’ disciple Judas and his treachery) as authoritative scripture. > [@gotpasswords](#): > > Ebeneezer After Mr. Dickens wrote that book, I dont think anyone was named Ebeneezer ever again. The Denver Broncos player [Ebenezer Ekuban](http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/133279) would be surprised to hear that. (Note correct spelling with no double “e”.) Yeah, the name’s nowhere near as common as it was in the 19th century, but neither are many other long-ass Old Testament names such as Jedediah, Ezekiel, and Hepzibah. I’d want to see some evidence before concluding that Dickens’ _Christmas Carol_ was really the driving force behind the obsolescence of “Ebenezer”. ---
**Author:** ![zelie\_zelerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/59ef9b/32.png) [@zelie\_zelerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelie_zelerton)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/31 "2007-03-08T17:59:36Z")
[QUOTE=yBeayf] Well, pretty much anything related to the Nazis applies. The swastika was once not uncommon as a decoration, as well as being a religious symbol for millions of people (which it still is). The “Nazi salute” goes back to Roman times, and used to be used in the US. Both are now indelibly associated with Nazism, at least in Western culture. [/QUOTE] [Case in point.](http://www.boltoneveningnews.co.uk/display.var.739461.0.swastikas_on_bank_floor.php) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/32 "2007-03-08T18:30:06Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] Oh yeah? What about [this](http://home.nc.rr.com/tuco/looney/acme/acme.html) ? [/QUOTE] Of course, but the name used to be way more common than it is now. And of course, the name is sometimes chosen \*\*\*because of \*\*\* the cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/33 "2007-03-08T18:33:02Z")
[QUOTE=zelie zelerton] [Case in point.](http://www.boltoneveningnews.co.uk/display.var.739461.0.swastikas_on_bank_floor.php) [/QUOTE] My old hometown had a building that was erected back in the 20s that had a swastika adorning the facade at the top. Since the building was acquired by new owners, the symbol has been covered by a new mosaic. But those of us of an age still point it out to newcomers, just as a history lesson. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/34 "2007-03-08T19:37:32Z")
I betcha **Ahab** has become a lot less common as a name since Mr. Melville wrote that book. I’ll bet this was true even in the 19th century, when naming your kids after Jewish kings was still hip. I’m not too familiar with **Jezebel** s, either, aside from the one in Asimov’s “Caves of Steel”. Regarding flags and symbols of disappeared and unlamented regimes, if you go to the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial (the upstairs one that you enter from Central Park west/8th Ave) at the American Museum of Natural History, you’ll find “Rising Sun” Japanese flags on the wall mural. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/35 "2007-03-08T19:43:18Z")
[QUOTE=Philster] DDT. People are dying from Malaria outbreaks, and DDT might never be used again because of a panic book written with no science to back it up. DDT has a stigma that science and human death/tragedy cannot overcome. [/QUOTE] Well, DDT can and is still used, but it did significantly harm birds by making the birdshells too thin. The brown pelican (SoCal) was almost wiped out. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/36 "2007-03-08T19:50:06Z")
[QUOTE=yBeayf] Well, pretty much anything related to the Nazis applies. The swastika was once not uncommon as a decoration, [/QUOTE] I helped run a pool party for a number of young teenaged girls last weekend, and you should have heard the shrieks when they spotted the swastikas in the tile around the pool. The building is beautiful, and built by Al Capone, so the swastikas, I’m sure, are original. It took a \*lot \*of work to calm them down and explain the historical context. [QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] Abort and aborftion are rarely used except in women’s rights context. [/QUOTE] It wasn’t long ago when my computer would do something dumb, and ask me if I wanted to Wait, Retry or Abort [QUOTE=Dewey Finn] How about black trenchcoats or dusters? If I were to see one today, the first thing I’d think of is the Columbine tragedy, especially if I saw one worn by a high school student. [/QUOTE] They’re THE thing with the emo boys. I bought one for my son for Christmas. The ideal is floor length, black wool and very square in the shoulders. I ended up getting him a nice men’s cashmere overcoat a couple of sizes too big and he’s declared it “perfect”. I don’t think I’ve ever met a Lucifer, although I know several men named Lucien. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/37 "2007-03-08T20:01:02Z")
[QUOTE=Dewey Finn] How about black trenchcoats or dusters? If I were to see one today, the first thing I’d think of is the Columbine tragedy, especially if I saw one worn by a high school student. [/QUOTE] Black trenchcoats are practically a rainy-season uniform here. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/38 "2007-03-08T20:04:58Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] Of course, but the name used to be way more common than it is now. And of course, the name is sometimes chosen \*\*\*because of \*\*\* the cartoons. [/QUOTE] Did you even look at the link? This is a catalog of all the Acme products used in WB cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/39 "2007-03-08T20:16:54Z")
[QUOTE=Philster] DDT. People are dying from Malaria outbreaks, and DDT might never be used again because of a panic book written with no science to back it up. DDT has a stigma that science and human death/tragedy cannot overcome. [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=CalMeacham] Inaccurate post. Read: > **[DDT](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDT)** > > Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. DDT was first synthesized in 1874 by the Austrian chemist Othmar Zeidler. DDT's insecticidal action was discovered by the Swiss chemist Paul Hermann Müller in 1939. DDT was used in the second half of World War II to limit the spread of the insect-borne diseases malaria and T... [/QUOTE] _Inaccurate_ is something of an understatement. DDT is in use to fight malaria, DDT is definitely harmful, Rachel Carson’s book can’t accurately be described as “panic”, there’s plenty of science to back it up, and arguably DDT should be _more_ stigmatized than it now is, since people still seem motivated to defend it. So I would say “completely wrong in every respect, bordering on disingenuous” is a better description. Sailboat ---
**Author:** ![Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/40 "2007-03-08T20:34:50Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] Well, DDT can and is still used, but it did significantly harm birds by making the birdshells too thin. [/QUOTE] Birds have shells? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067.md?page=3)