HOME |
RSS | 
Psst!
Want a promotion? The secret to getting promoted at work is quite simple.
Change your name into something simple:
Parents wanting to give their children a leg up in the workforce can start early by giving them a simple name like Michael, Tom, Jane or Mary, new research suggests.
A study by professors at the University of Melbourne and New York University revealed that people with simple, easy-to-pronounce names were more likely to be favored for a promotion at work.
"The effect is not due merely to the length of a name or how foreign-sounding or unusual it is, but rather how easy it is to pronounce," said Simon Laham, the study's lead author from the University of Melbourne
From the NeatoShop: Hello My Name is McLovin
A 30-year-old man in Madison, Wisconsin has found a sure-fire way to get his 15 minutes of fame on the internet.
Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop, 30, was arrested Thursday afternoon on charges of carrying a concealed weapon, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana and a violation of probation in Madison, Wisc.
Zopittybop-Bop-Bop was born Jeffrey Drew Wilschke, according to court records unearthed by the Capital Times. He legally changed his name to Beezow Doo-Doo Zoopittybop-Bop-Bop in October.
According to Zopittybop-Bop-Bop’s apparent Facebook account, when he’s not in trouble with the law he enjoys activities including “eating,” “standing,” walking,” “thinking,” and “diamond.” He’s also single… so there’s that, ladies.
(Image credit: Dane County Sheriff’s Office)
"Neatorama"
Say hello to “Neatorama.” (To the left.)
At Turn Your Name Into a Face dotcom users are invited to submit their name to the site. With the click of a button it will generate an 8 bit facial depiction based on “your name.”
But let’s face it; the real fun comes from submitting your buddy’s name or that of “Mickey Mouse” only to get this beautiful mug staring back at you: 
It’s only a concept now, but designer Juri Zaech is working on a real prototype of his "Write a Bike" concept. If it works out, then you’ll be able to special order a bike that spells your own name. Can’t wait to ride the Neatorama bike!
Cubiclebot has more pics: Link
Imagine that you have the same name as a celebrity. Then imagine having the name of the hottest teen hearthrob of the year: Justin Bieber. The 35-year-old Justin Bieber of Jacksonville, Florida, suffers the consequences. He was kicked off Facebook, presumably for impersonating a celebrity, and he can’t get any sleep because of all the phone calls from fans.
He changed his phone number and put it in his wife’s name, but it still was put on a fan website. Now he gets even more calls – sometimes 50 messages in two hours. Usually, he just unplugs the phone.
He also tried to contact Facebook to get reinstated, but it’s hard. Bieber had an account for six months, when with no warning or email, his account was disabled.
“I guess their policy is ban first, ask questions never.” He was briefly kicked off another social network, Ping, which is affiliated with iTunes.
He also still gets anywhere from two to 10 fan letters a day.
Bieber says there’s an upside to the situation. For the first time in his life, everyone knows how to pronounce his name correctly! Link -via The Daily What
Yes, there really was a Lynyrd Skynyrd, but his name was Leonard Skinner. Skinner, a gym teacher in Jacksonville, Florida, was the inspiration for the band’s name. Skinner died yesterday at a nursing home in Florida. He was 77.
Mr. Skinner never asked to become part of rock ’n’ roll lore. He didn’t even like rock ’n’ roll. He was just a by-the-book gym teacher at Robert E. Lee High School, his alma mater, who, in the late 1960s, sent some students to the principal’s office because their hair was too long.
Gene Odom, who worked security for the band and survived the crash of its plane in 1977, said one of the longhairs was Gary Rossington. Rossington was guitarist in a rock band that would later name itself Lynyrd Skynyrd in a smart-aleck tribute to the gym teacher.
Skinner made friends with the band in later years, and took advantage of the name recognition for his business ventures. Link -via The Daily What
Ceejay Epton of Doncaster, South Yorkshire changed her name. This is nothing unusual, especially in England, where the process is simple. But look what she changed it to!
Ceejay A Apple B Boat C Cat D Dog E Elephant F Flower G Goat H House I Igloo J Jellyfish K Kite L Lion M Monkey N Nurse O Octopus P Penguin Q Queen R Robot S Sun T Tree U Umbrella V Violin W Whale X X-Ray Y Yo-Yo Z Zebra Terryn Feuji-Sharemi – better known as ‘Mummy’ to son Kian – says she made the change ‘for a bit of a laugh’ after her baby was born.
‘My friend wanted to be called “Pink”, so I thought I might as well change my name too,’ said the 22-year-old from Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
‘I’ve just had a baby, so I thought I would change it to help teach him the alphabet.’
For another £10, she’ll be able to change it back when she’s had enough laughs. Link -via the Presurfer
(Image credit: SWNS)
Heresy! Scrabble has recently announced that it is changing its rules to allow place names, people’s names, and brands.
A spokeswoman for the company said the use of proper nouns would "add a new dimension" to Scrabble and "introduce an element of popular culture into the game".
She said: "This is one of a number of twists and challenges included that we believe existing fans will enjoy and will also enable younger fans and families to get involved."
Billie Lampard will always be able to tell people that Danger is her middle name, and so will her brother. Their parents Amy and Glenn Lampard of East Melbourne, Australia named the newborn twins Billie Danger and Ridley Danger.
“I’ve always wanted to be able to say it myself,” Mr Lampard said.
“We’re actually enjoying calling them the ‘Danger Twins’ at the moment. It’s a bit of a novelty.”
Billie Danger Lampard and her brother Ridley Danger Lampard were born about six weeks early at Epworth Freemasons Hospital on Wednesday.
They say family and friends have mixed reactions to the names. Link -via Arbroath
On February 27th, someone created a Facebook group that’s called “MY SISTER SAID IF I GET ONE MILLION FANS SHE WILL NAME HER BABY MEGATRON.” Already there almost 750,000 fans, and the due date isn’t until August. And over at the discussion boards, one thread asks what the middle name will be.
Easy: Destroyer of Worlds.
Link (Image: ©Hasbro) -via College Humor
Harry Potter of Portsmouth, England was born in 1989 and had eight years of peace before J.K. Rowling wrote the books that would make him miserable.
He said: ‘No one ever believes that I’m telling the truth about my name. I had to show my girlfriend my passport, my bank card, and my driving licence to convince her that I wasn’t lying.
‘Even getting my season ticket for Portsmouth FC was a bit of a pain – I’m a massive football fan, but I had problems at the ticket office.
‘First they didn’t believe that my name was genuine, and when I convinced them, they thought it was hilarious. It’s never-ending.
‘I play a lot of football as well in a local league, and the match reports are always full of puns – ‘Harry Potter cast a spell on the opposition and that kind of thing.’
The real Harry Potter also has a scar on his forehead like the book character, and is the same age as Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who plays Potter in the movies. Link -via Unique Daily
Are you dooming your children by giving them “bad” names? Maybe so, according to this interesting study by David Kalist of Shippensburg University about the problem of "feminine" names for boys:
… Shippensburg (Pa.) University professor David Kalist’s report in Social Science Quarterly shows that "unpopular names are likely not the cause of crime," he explains that factors often associated with those names can "increase the tendency toward juvenile delinquency."
Boys with unpopular, girlish or uncommon names often are ridiculed by peers, come from families of low socioeconomic status and face discrimination in the workforce based on a preconceived bias about their names, according to the study, which analyzed more than 15,000 names.
Oh, and the top 10 "bad-boy" names? Here they are: Alec, Ernest, Garland, Ivan, Kareem, Luke, Malcolm, Preston, Tyrell, and Walter.
Previously on Neatorama: 10 Strangest Names EVAR!
