Genericization of trademarks

...is a real thing and probably has happened more often than you might think. For example, do you say facial tissue or Kleenex? gelatin or Jell-o? insulated vacuum-sealed beverage container or Thermos? transparent covering or Cellophane? pressure-sensitive cellulose tape or Scotch tape?

What about crayons?

Wait a minute. Crayons?

I imagine, though I have no proof, that 99 and 44/100ths per cent of people who use crayons and speak English call a crayon a crayon. Where I grew up in North Central Texas, nobody -- and I do mean nobody -- ever said 'crayon' or 'crayons'. No, friends, they engaged in their own unique genericization of trademarks and called them crayolas. Our teachers would say, "Children, get out your crayolas" (except our third-grade teacher, Mrs, Cora Spencer, who called us "Little People") or one child might say to another, "Would you hand me that magenta crayola, please" (we were brought up to be polite). Having moved to Texas from Rhode Island when I was six, I found it bizarre but didn't say anything.

Please don't tell me that you know thousands of people who say 'crayola' instead of 'crayon'.

This all popped into my mind a couple of days ago when I read an annoucement from the Crayola Company that the third annual Crayola Creativity Week will occur from January 22nd until January 28th, 2024. One way of observing it, they suggested, was to see how many words could be made from the two-word phrase 'Creativity Week'. I suppose they were talking to children, but they didn't have to tell me twice.

Here are the words I found, 154 in all:

a at are art arty ate acre ace arc ark act activity active aver avert create cart cat crate creak creek crave crew craw caw car cave caver creaky cavity catty cake civet care carve crave cite cay eve every eye ewe eke ever evict ewer ere ice icy icky ire it I kit kite kew key kitty rack race racy rice ray rave raw rate ret reek rake rite react reactive review tart take tack tick trace track trick tricky trice twice try tray teak tea tear teary teat tit tire ticker trait treat tyke tar twit tat trek tacky trite tact tract ticker tweet tweeter teeter very vice vet view viewer veer vitiate vat vary week we wet wetter were wait wreck ware wear wart wick wit witty wire wiry wave waver wavy wacky weary wry wreak wicker wive waiter wary way watt wake weave weaver ye year yew yea yet yaw

Perhaps you can find even more.

Here is your trivia factoid of the day: Although the word 'crayola' was coined in 1903, since 1984 Crayola has been a wholly ownd subsidiary of Hallmark Cards.