Family brand name quiz – while you eat and drive

While putting together a previous post (“Nomen Est Omen?” Uh, Not Always…) I got to thinking about both family and given names that are now well-known brands. There are enough quirky examples and stories that I thought I’d put together a fun quiz; see how well you can do without resorting to the help of a search engine. Answers in my next post.

1. McDonald’s is one of the most famous global brands, and many people know the story of the chain’s development starting from Ray Croc’s deal with the original McDonald brothers. Okay, we know Ray—but what are the given names of the McDonald brothers? (8 points each.)
2. It’s easier to recognize a family name brand when the name is already a noun, verb, or adjective in English. (“Who wouldn’t enjoy a John Ford Western about pioneers who had to dodge arrows and ford the Mississippi on their way to Dodge City?”) Everyone knows Henry Ford; but what is the family name (1 point) and given name (5 points) of the man responsible for the brand generally considered Ford’s biggest rival?
3. Name the Ford model whose name comes from the given name of a member of the Ford family (5 points).
4. Both McDonald’s and Ford have competitors named after the given names of daughters of the company founders. 1 point for the easy one, 10 points for the hard one.
5. Name the American entrepreneur that has both autos (family name) and a food item (under given and family name) named after him. (5 points for the individual’s name; another 10 if you can name the food item, which is less famous than the cars.)
6. Super-bonus question: As I was doing this post, I happened to be engaged in solving an acrostic(*), which contained the clue: “Ford’s load” (2 words, 11 letters). I had the other elements of the acrostic to help me get this one, so in fairness, I need to throw you a few clues: Think very far outside the box; If you’re old enough to be drawing a pension, you’ll have an advantage; Total letters, but several repeat, so there are only seven unique letters; one of them is an “x”. (25 points for this one!)

See you with the answers next time!

–Greg Marus

(*) Acrostic         noun

A series of lines or verses in which the first, last, or other particular letters when taken in order spell out a word, phrase, etc.

PS What are the nicknames for Ford and McDonald’s logos that are famous image registered trademarks?

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