# Vastly different products with the same name **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 22, 2013, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vastly-different-products-with-the-same-name/674550 "2013-11-22T18:33:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vastly-different-products-with-the-same-name/674550/21 "2013-11-23T03:28:06Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > One unusual example: [Hershey](http://www.hersheys.com/) the chocolate company and [Hershey](http://www.hersheyicecream.com/) the ice cream company are not the same business and never have been. The two companies just coincidentally happened to be founded in the same year (1894) by two different Hershey families (who were unrelated) and who lived only a few miles apart. The two companies have sued each other back and forth for decades. And chocolate and ice cream are two products that have a close enough association that you might naturally expect a company that made one to be tempted to expand into the other. It’s not the same at all from wondering whether that energy drink company also makes electrical equipment. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vastly-different-products-with-the-same-name/674550/22 "2013-11-23T03:29:56Z")
Burlington Coat Factory stores used to (and maybe still do) have a disclaimer on their front doors saying that they were “Not related to Burlington Industries”. ---
**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:** [November 23, 2013, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vastly-different-products-with-the-same-name/674550/23 "2013-11-23T03:34:23Z")
Many years ago, there was a couple named Trump, and their long-standing grocery store was “Trump’s.” Guess who sued them . . . and won. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vastly-different-products-with-the-same-name/674550/24 "2013-11-23T04:03:40Z")
Edit: never mind, got distracted and forgot what the OP was actually asking for. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vastly-different-products-with-the-same-name/674550/25 "2013-11-23T06:20:39Z")
I was just watching this rather dreamy [video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SLwmlMezS3U) of Bladerunner done in watercolor animation. I noticed that the Roy Batty was a model Nexus 6 and according to Wikipedia, and Rick Deckard may have been a Nexus 7! ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vastly-different-products-with-the-same-name/674550/26 "2013-11-23T07:09:29Z")
Sun-gard is a brand of window tinting film. Sungard is a software company. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vastly-different-products-with-the-same-name/674550/27 "2013-11-23T15:55:12Z")
[Columbia Pictures](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Pictures) [Columbia Sportswear](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Sportswear) [Columbia University](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_University) ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vastly-different-products-with-the-same-name/674550/28 "2013-11-23T16:20:36Z")
> [@Crawlspace](#): > > Although there might someday be a market for tactical baby knives, right now the two Gerber companies are unrelated. And there’s a PCB layout file called [a Gerber,](http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/41768/which-is-the-best-pcb-software-to-generate-gerber-file) not to mention [Gerber routers](http://www.gspinc.com/?contentID=49). ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vastly-different-products-with-the-same-name/674550/29 "2013-11-23T18:13:54Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > In company names rather than products, Lowe’s is a hardware retailer. Loews is a conglomerate with its hands in oil drilling, gas pipelines, and luxury hotels I’ll see your Loews and raise you [Lowes Foods](http://www.lowesfoods.com/). ---
**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:** [November 23, 2013, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vastly-different-products-with-the-same-name/674550/30 "2013-11-23T19:49:58Z")
Remember when the iPad came out, and the name was criticized for being confused with feminine hygiene products? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vastly-different-products-with-the-same-name/674550/31 "2013-11-23T22:54:26Z")
There is a weather forecasting service called Skynet which one of our local TV stations uses. And of course, there’s the Skynet from the Terminator movies. Beware, people! Judgment Day is upon us! ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vastly-different-products-with-the-same-name/674550/32 "2013-11-23T23:41:44Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > In company names rather than products, Lowe’s is a hardware retailer. Loews is a conglomerate with its hands in oil drilling, gas pipelines, and luxury hotels > [@SpazCat](#): > > I’ll see your Loews and raise you [Lowes Foods](http://www.lowesfoods.com/). And Loews Theatres, which still operates in many states even though the chain is now owned by AMC. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vastly-different-products-with-the-same-name/674550/33 "2013-11-24T00:03:40Z")
If you want to celebrate your daughter’s 21st birthday, make sure the Magnum you buy her is champagne, and not the extra-large condoms. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vastly-different-products-with-the-same-name/674550/34 "2013-11-24T00:08:36Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > If you want to celebrate your daughter’s 21st birthday, make sure the Magnum you buy her is champagne, and not the extra-large condoms. Would an [icecream](http://www.icecreamsource.com/Magnum-Classic-Bar_p_1332.html) do? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vastly-different-products-with-the-same-name/674550/35 "2013-11-24T00:31:05Z")
Fannie May: Manufacturer of delicious chocolates, such as mint meltaways and trinidads. Fannie Mae: A government-sponsored enterprise that primarily buys mortgages from lenders for cash or pools them and sells them as mortgage-backed securities to investors on the open market. Significantly less delicious. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vastly-different-products-with-the-same-name/674550/36 "2013-11-24T02:29:32Z")
I use an application called Nexus. It’s a file processor used in commercial printing. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vastly-different-products-with-the-same-name/674550/37 "2013-11-24T22:44:37Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > One unusual example: [Hershey](http://www.hersheys.com/) the chocolate company and [Hershey](http://www.hersheyicecream.com/) the ice cream company are not the same business and never have been. The two companies just coincidentally happened to be founded in the same year (1894) by two different Hershey families (who were unrelated) and who lived only a few miles apart. The two companies have sued each other back and forth for decades. Never heard of the ice cream one. Must be a lot more regional than the one that is synonymous with chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vastly-different-products-with-the-same-name/674550/38 "2013-11-24T23:47:29Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > I’ll see your Loews and raise you [Lowes Foods](http://www.lowesfoods.com/). Lowes Foods made me think of Cisco (the maker of routers, among other computer equipment) and Sysco (industrial food supplier.) Also, there’s Costco (the well-known warehouse retailer) and Cosco, which seems to be some sort of shipper. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vastly-different-products-with-the-same-name/674550/39 "2013-11-24T23:51:22Z")
Kraft makes a line of cheeses named Cracker Barrel, and there’s also an old-timey down-home restaurant with the same name. I just read last week that the restaurant was trying to introduce a line of products at the grocery store, but Kraft successfully blocked them from doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2013, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vastly-different-products-with-the-same-name/674550/40 "2013-11-25T12:49:44Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > I’ll see your Loews and raise you [Lowes Foods](http://www.lowesfoods.com/). In our neighborhood it’s particularly bad since there’s a Lowes hardware store and a Lowes Foods grocery store in the same plaza. After a couple missed connections we’ve learned to be very explicit when referring to them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vastly-different-products-with-the-same-name/674550.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vastly-different-products-with-the-same-name/674550.md?page=3)