[Ads-l] dodgem cars

[Arnold Zwicky]

> I just spotted the term "dodgem cars" in a letter to the editor in the 
> Worcester Telegram & Gazette yesterday. It's what I call "bumper cars". 
> A quick Google Ngram search shows that "dodgem cars" outnumbered "bumper 
> cars" from 40s-60s (if all the hits check out), but now "bumper cars" is 
> the really (massively) dominant form. I actually like "dodgem" better 
> than "bumper": it's neat how each term is emphasizing a different aspect 
> of the ride.

the wikipedia page --
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumper_cars
thinks "bumper cars" is the predominant US variant and that "dodgems" is the *only* variant in the UK.

and it tells us that "dodgem" was originally a brand name:

During their heyday (in the late 1920s through 1950s), the two major bumper cars brands were Dodgem (by Max and Harold Stoehrer of Methuen, MA) and the Lusse Brothers' Auto-Skooter (by Joseph and Robert 'Ray' Lusse of Philadelphia.

arnold

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