Unitaz = "Universal'nyi Taz" = Toilet Bowl

[Valentino, Russell]

..
To change the subject slightly, it occurs to me that ?????? is one of a small group of trade-names that have become generic terms in Russian.  There is the fairly obscure ??????? [klakson] and the more recent ????? [skotch] and ??????? [kseroks]; no doubt there are others that I haven't thought of.  In the 1970s I found it intriguing to come across the pre-revolutionary ???????? [gerkules], as in ???????????? ???? [gerkulesova kasha].  In connection with the last example I am told that something similar happened in Spanish with Quaker Oats.  Can anyone confirm this?

John Dunn.

 

I don't know about Quaker Oats (though I should since they make them nearby), but another of these brand names that I understand became a generic term is the Swiss pen Caran d'Ache (karandash). Can anyone confirm this?

Russell Valentino





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