What ever happened to people knowing the roads?

[The Nature Boy]

Well thats because the public does not care about the difference between an interstate shield, California spade or US Routes, County Pentagon route, and a forest route shield.

Depends on the state.  I've often believed that a policy of not repeating route numbers from I, US, and SR routes leads to people not understanding the difference between the different routes.  That, and always referring to all routes, be they I, US, SR, or County, as "highway".  (Yes, WisDOT, that's you!)

It's a big difference between say Michigan, where people do know the difference and actually use them in speech, i.e. "take M 14 to I 275 north to M 5" or "take 94 east to US 127 north"; and Wisconsin, where people tend not to know the difference, i.e. "take highway 94 to highway 241 to highway 41 to highway C".

In New Jersey its Route for everything.  When I first moved to Florida I was the only one who did not refer to I-4 as such.  I called it Route 4 as in New Jersey I-78 was Route 78, and even US 1 was often Route 1.  So if you had to take US 1 to I-287 to get to Easton, PA it would be Route 1 to Route 287 to either Route 22 or Route 78. 

That is why no duplicate routes in many states because people are synonymous with all designations.  That maybe why all the PA 202, PA 209, NY 209, etc. with states not getting the proper shield for the right route number.  Many people see the sign and most would not even notice a state shield for US route.  Heck I bet residents of Parsippany, NJ do not even know that the NJ 202 shields near US 46 are even erroneous!

When I lived in the Northeast, I also heard "route" for everything. When I'm in North Carolina, it's sometimes difficult to switch. I remember trying to tell someone to take "Route 1" (US 1) and just getting a blank stare until I said "Highway 1."

[roadman65]

Heck I was in Goodlettesville, TN and no one even knew that US 41 existed there.  It was referred by locals by its local street name.  Even co-signed US 31W was unheard of.  I found that out while asking directions about US 41 and got a stare as well.

Even here in Orlando many do not even know that Orange Blossom Trail is also US 17 & 92 in addition to US 441.  In fact the US 17 & US 92 shield are dominate over the US 441 shields along the way that most people travel.  The two digit routes are on top with the three digit below it.  How can you miss that?   What even irks me is the idiot who installed the signal at Orange Blossom Trail and Stable Drive erected the new back lit signs that Orange County uses to say "US 441" instead of Orange Blossom Trail which is what other area signals have on the overhead street signs with the county logo.  This one just is plain without county logo and plain ordinary lettering that reads one third of the road's route numbers.

[The Nature Boy]

Heck I was in Goodlettesville, TN and no one even knew that US 41 existed there.  It was referred by locals by its local street name.  Even co-signed US 31W was unheard of.  I found that out while asking directions about US 41 and got a stare as well.

Even here in Orlando many do not even know that Orange Blossom Trail is also US 17 & 92 in addition to US 441.  In fact the US 17 & US 92 shield are dominate over the US 441 shields along the way that most people travel.  The two digit routes are on top with the three digit below it.  How can you miss that?   What even irks me is the idiot who installed the signal at Orange Blossom Trail and Stable Drive erected the new back lit signs that Orange County uses to say "US 441" which all the other area signals on OBT do not.  Not even a mention of the Orange Blossom Trail (which all the other signals have with our county logo on it) is at this intersection.

I would assume that it may have been US 441 for years before it was also multiplexed with 17 and 92. People are stubborn about sticking to old names and not learning what else it can be referred to as.

[ZLoth]

If it weren't for technology such as the Internet, databases, and web browsers, I wouldn't be able to post maps of my upcoming road trips and ask for advice as to where to go and where to stay.

[wisvishr0]

Here in MD, we don't really have any routes that don't have a corresponding name. MD 355 = Rockville Pike or Wisconsin Avenue. US 29 = Colesville Rd or Columbia Pike or Georgia avenue

For roads without a clear name or for highways, we use just the number. "Take 495 to 50 east," never mind that one is an interstate and one is a US highway. If we want to be clearer, we use Route, but almost never highway.

[Zzonkmiles]

When I lived in the Northeast, I also heard "route" for everything. When I'm in North Carolina, it's sometimes difficult to switch. I remember trying to tell someone to take "Route 1" (US 1) and just getting a blank stare until I said "Highway 1."

I've heard a lot of people in South Carolina use the word "road" for state routes and US routes. For interstates, they just use the number.  "Get on 77 north." In the same vein, I don't think most average people distinguish between a hiighway, a freeway or an expressway. Knowing the differences would help!

[jeffandnicole]

In the same vein, I don't think most average people distinguish between a hiighway, a freeway or an expressway. Knowing the differences would help!

Depending on where you're from, there is no difference between the 3.

[1995hoo]

In the same vein, I don't think most average people distinguish between a hiighway, a freeway or an expressway. Knowing the differences would help!

Depending on where you're from, there is no difference between the 3.

Yup. I recall one of those "dialect quizzes" asking what you call a road where you drive fast that doesn't have traffic lights. You know the sorts of quiz–it asks things like what you call a carbonated beverage and gives you a choice of answers such as soda, soft drink, fizzy drink, Coke, pop, etc. For the road question, I recall it offering the options highway, freeway, expressway, "I have no name for this," and probably "other." Just because the Federal Highway Administration ascribes a particular significance to "freeway" versus "expressway" doesn't mean the regular "man on the street" has to respect that difference in everyday usage. I've always thought of "freeway" as a California-ism. The only time I normally hear that word used, except by people from out West, is when it's part of a road's name, such as the Whitehurst Freeway. To me "highway" is a generic term referring to the grade of road New Yorkers call an "expressway" and the FHWA calls a "freeway." I've heard people from some areas out West use it in lieu of "route" or "I-" or whatever (for example, "To get to Charlottesville from DC, take Highway 66 west to Gainesville and then Highway 29 south to Charlottesville"), but that sounds alien to my ears.

If you asked me how long it takes to get to Tysons Corner, I might tell you (depending on the time of day, of course!) it's 15 minutes on the highway versus half an hour through the streets. In this case "the highway" means I-495.

But then, when it comes to giving directions I've always tried to give multiple pieces of information in case the person receiving the directions messes up one part of the instructions. I'll try to give a route number and type (I-66, US-29, VA-123, etc.), an exit number, the cities listed on the BGS if I know what they are, and maybe some other landmark. In local driving I'll tend to use landmarks more, such as a shopping center or a high school or a particular local feature.

[US71]

In the same vein, I don't think most average people distinguish between a hiighway, a freeway or an expressway. Knowing the differences would help!

Depending on where you're from, there is no difference between the 3.

Folks around Searcy, AR call the US 67 freeway "the interstate"

[1995hoo]

In the same vein, I don't think most average people distinguish between a hiighway, a freeway or an expressway. Knowing the differences would help!

Depending on where you're from, there is no difference between the 3.

Folks around Searcy, AR[,] call the US 67 freeway "the interstate"

That's kind of similar to the "dialect quiz" giving the option of "Coke" as a generic term. I understand this is somewhat common in parts of the South. (To me, the generic term is "soda," but the machine is a "Coke machine" even if it has a Pepsi logo.....similar to how the person driving the beverage cart at the golf course is always the "beer girl" even if said person is male).

[roadman65]

How about Band Aid?  People are not aware it is a brand name by Johnson & Johnson, but call all adhesive strips that.  In fact I was unaware of its real name for many years.

Another common misconception is the name Q Tips.  It, too, is a brand name that gotten used to call every other competitor out there same product as well.  The proper name is cotton swab, but people constantly call it a Q Tip.

[DaBigE]

How about Band Aid?  People are not aware it is a brand name by Johnson & Johnson, but call all adhesive strips that.  In fact I was unaware of its real name for many years.

Another common misconception is the name Q Tips.  It, too, is a brand name that gotten used to call every other competitor out there same product as well.  The proper name is cotton swab, but people constantly call it a Q Tip.

Same is true with Velcro and Kleenex

[roadman65]

What is the real name for Velcro?  I never knew that was one brand's product name either.

[DaBigE]

If it's not Velcro brand, it's just a hook and loop fastener.

IIRC, there was a lawsuit over some other company using the Velcro name on its packaging without permission.

[roadman65]

It is more than a hook and a loop to be called that.

[The Nature Boy]

In NC I've heard people use "Clorox" to refer to any kind of bleach. I haven't that elsewhere though.

[Zzonkmiles]

The younger crowd sometimes says "Let's play Nintendo" or "Let's play PlayStation" when they really mean "Let's play video games." We also say "Xerox" instead of "copy."

To bring this back to roads, one term I never liked was referring to an interstate as "The I." Ugh. Sounds like heavy metal band name or the name of a really bad STD or something. 

[jakeroot]

How about Band Aid?  People are not aware it is a brand name by Johnson & Johnson, but call all adhesive strips that.  In fact I was unaware of its real name for many years.

Another common misconception is the name Q Tips.  It, too, is a brand name that gotten used to call every other competitor out there same product as well.  The proper name is cotton swab, but people constantly call it a Q Tip.

Same is true with Velcro and Kleenex

These are called "generic trademarks". "Jell-o" is another example. Along with "elevator", and "aspirin".

[Pete from Boston]

How about Band Aid?  People are not aware it is a brand name by Johnson & Johnson, but call all adhesive strips that.  In fact I was unaware of its real name for many years.

Another common misconception is the name Q Tips.  It, too, is a brand name that gotten used to call every other competitor out there same product as well.  The proper name is cotton swab, but people constantly call it a Q Tip.

Same is true with Velcro and Kleenex

These are called "generic trademarks". "Jell-o" is another example. Along with "elevator", and "aspirin".

Aspirin, I believe, is still a Bayer trademark outside the US.  Here I think we removed the protection as a wartime punishment.   

[roadman65]

The younger crowd sometimes says "Let's play Nintendo" or "Let's play PlayStation" when they really mean "Let's play video games." We also say "Xerox" instead of "copy."

To bring this back to roads, one term I never liked was referring to an interstate as "The I." Ugh. Sounds like heavy metal band name or the name of a really bad STD or something. 

It is better than IH as Texas would say.  Not that I am knocking on Texas, but it is easier to say one letter than two letters.  To me that IH reminds me of "I ate."  Better yet it sounds like "I Hate" which I am sure some Texans say that about I-45 during rush hour lol!

[The Nature Boy]

How about Band Aid?  People are not aware it is a brand name by Johnson & Johnson, but call all adhesive strips that.  In fact I was unaware of its real name for many years.

Another common misconception is the name Q Tips.  It, too, is a brand name that gotten used to call every other competitor out there same product as well.  The proper name is cotton swab, but people constantly call it a Q Tip.

Same is true with Velcro and Kleenex

These are called "generic trademarks". "Jell-o" is another example. Along with "elevator", and "aspirin".

Aspirin, I believe, is still a Bayer trademark outside the US.  Here I think we removed the protection as a wartime punishment.

Fun fact: Heroin was originally a Bayer trademark. I wonder if they miss that one.

[algorerhythms]

Even funner fact: it was originally marketed as a safer alternative to morphine.

[english si]

How about Band Aid?  People are not aware it is a brand name by Johnson & Johnson, but call all adhesive strips that.  In fact I was unaware of its real name for many years.

I always thought it was these guys

Oh you mean plasters.

Over this side of the pond, we use our Dysons (bagless vacuum cleaner, not necessarily a Dyson) to hoover (brand name become a verb as well as a generic noun) the floor.

We use Coke as a generic for all colas (you often get a 'we have Pepsi' response in pubs if you ask for a coke), but all soft drinks/sodas/pop is mental.

We don't genericise brands anywhere near as much as you guys. Mostly food stuffs where there's one brand and then a load of supermarket 'own brands' (Frosties, Rice Krispies, Cornetto, Penguins) rather than competing brands

The younger crowd sometimes says "Let's play Nintendo" or "Let's play PlayStation" when they really mean "Let's play video games."

Nope - what they mean is lets play video games on this specific brand of console.

[1995hoo]

How about Band Aid?  People are not aware it is a brand name by Johnson & Johnson, but call all adhesive strips that.  In fact I was unaware of its real name for many years.

Another common misconception is the name Q Tips.  It, too, is a brand name that gotten used to call every other competitor out there same product as well.  The proper name is cotton swab, but people constantly call it a Q Tip.

You may have noticed Johnson & Johnson changed the lyrics to their jingle. Thirty years ago, it was "I am stuck on Band-Aid because Band-Aid's stuck on me." Now it's "I am stuck on Band-Aid Brand 'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me." The word "Brand" is there to protect the trademark.

As a general matter, policing the trademark matters more with respect to a company's competitors than it does as to the general public, although the public is not entirely irrelevant. The word "Xerox" has not become genericized from a legal standpoint, for example, because the company of that name undertook a serious effort to protect it, including running ads talking about how "you can't 'xerox' something, but you can make a great photocopy on your Xerox brand copier" (or words roughly to that effect). Notice you don't see Xerox's competitors advertising, say, "Buy a Kyocera xerox machine and receive XYZ rebate" or whatever. Xerox would sue them for trademark misuse if they did. Similarly, I've never heard any of Kimberly-Clark's competitors advertising "kleenex" (with a lowercase "k")–they advertise "facial tissues" or the like. I have a feeling the word "Kleenex" might be a fairly close call if it ever did come down to litigation, though, such as if a competitor decided to use "kleenex" and then argued the term is so ubiquitous in American society as to have become generic. There might be a fair chance they'd win. My sense is that "Xerox" was once headed in the same direction but no longer is–I don't think the word "xerox" seems to be used with nearly the same level of ubiquity as the word "kleenex."

I recall some years back there was a cinema chain, National Amusements, that operated under the "Multiplex Cinemas" brand. Another cinema operator opened a multi-screen theater somewhere in Northern Virginia and ran ads in the paper saying something like "Fairfax's newest multiplex." National Amusements went after them for using their trademark and they either settled or National Amusements won, since the ads were changed–I'm guessing they settled because the change came pretty quickly. (The word "multiplex" obviously has other meanings. Some people use it to refer to road concurrencies. Cassette decks usually have a "multiplex filter"–usually labelled "MPX"–to prevent oversaturation of the medium when recording from FM radio. But National Amusements obtained a trademark on the use of that word in connection with a cinema facility with multiple auditoriums.)

The classic example of a company that failed to police its trademark in that manner was Thermos. They didn't respond when other companies started advertising their insulated drink bottles as "thermos bottles" and ultimately the American courts held Thermos lost their trademark protection as to the word "thermos" when applied to that product. They still have their trademark on that name when they use it on other products, however, such as their tailgating grills.


Edited to add: The brand name perhaps most in danger of genericization in recent years is probably Google as applied to the search engine of that brand because so many people use "google it" as a generic term for searching the Internet.

[vdeane]

To me that IH reminds me of "I ate."  Better yet it sounds like "I Hate" which I am sure some Texans say that about I-45 during rush hour lol!

I recall some years back there was a cinema chain, National Amusements, that operated under the "Multiplex Cinemas" brand. Another cinema operator opened a multi-screen theater somewhere in Northern Virginia and ran ads in the paper saying something like "Fairfax's newest multiplex." National Amusements went after them for using their trademark and they either settled or National Amusements won, since the ads were changed–I'm guessing they settled because the change came pretty quickly. (The word "multiplex" obviously has other meanings. Some people use it to refer to road concurrencies. Cassette decks usually have a "multiplex filter"–usually labelled "MPX"–to prevent oversaturation of the medium when recording from FM radio. But National Amusements obtained a trademark on the use of that word in connection with a cinema facility with multiple auditoriums.)

Clearly they also lost that trademark with respect to roads I guess there's more to some people thinking "multiplex" sounds like a movie theater than the similarity to the brand "cinemex".

Edited to add: The brand name perhaps most in danger of genericization in recent years is probably Google as applied to the search engine of that brand because so many people use "google it" as a generic term for searching the Internet.

Seems to be a hazard of being first to have a particular product.