DAILY DIRT: Hey, buddy, wanna a bottle of ‘Brad’s Drink’ to quench your thirst?

Daily Dirt for Wednesday, May 8, 2024

In a few moments, you will know what “Yahoo” actually stands for … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 943 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Did you know Pepsi-Cola was originally known as “Brad’s Drink?”

Don’t feel bad, I didn’t either.

Here’s some background on that a few other name changes that have become important parts of our history:

Pepsi: Back in 1893, a North Carolina pharmacist named Caleb Bradham started experimenting with a soft drink recipes designed to benefit digestion. One of these bore his name: “Brad’s Drink.” In 1898, “Brad’s Drink” was renamed “Pepsi-Cola” and would go on to become one of the world’s most recognized brands.

Google: Back in 1996, the world’s eventual No. 1 search engine was created under the name “BackRub.” Creators Larry Page and Serge Brin renamed their business and technology “Google” in 1998. It was a play on the word “googol,” a mathematical term for the number represented by the numeral 1 followed by 100 zeroes. The use of the term reflects their mission to organize a seemingly infinite amount of information on the web.

Nike: The company was formerly known as Blue Ribbon Sports and originally operated as a distributor for the Japanese shoemaker Onitsuka Tiger. Initially founded with just $1,200 in the bank, the company later took on the name Nike — after the Greek goddess of victory.

Subway: In 1965, “Pete’s Super Submarines” opened in Bridgeport, Conn., selling 312 sandwiches on the first day. One year later, the company’s name changed to “Doctor’s Associates Inc.,” after co-founder Dr. Peter Buck, who held a doctorate and hoped to earn enough money in the sandwich business to pay his college tuition. After little under the two previous names, Buck and co-founder Fred DeLuca gave it a third try using the name “Subway”.

Yahoo: Co-founders Jerry Yang and David Filo were students at Stanford when they created what would become one of the world’s largest search engines. “Jerry’s Guide” was soon renamed to “Yahoo,” which stands for “Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle.”

Playboy: The infamous “Playboy” magazine almost bore a different name. Hugh Hefner has said that he wanted to call his magazine “Stag Party,” but changed it to Playboy as a last-minute decision. One month before publishing, Hefner received a letter from Stag magazine saying that the name was an infringement on their title – and he quickly changed the name to Playboy.

2. We had some quality submissions in recent days for this week’s Great Plate Debate, which for the past three years has sought the most creative vanity license plates across West-Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri.

None of this week’s entrants, however, were able to crack the medal stand, according to The Daily Dirt Board of Control.

Here were some of the past week’s top candidates:

• 1 LAZY P
• BTRSWT 8
• PIPS 24
• MA BUG 4
• MAMMY Z

The medal holders remain:

Gold medal: CO XIST 

Silver medal: S-EVAN

Bronze medal: US-MALE

3. Here’s our latest MLB rankings:

The best 5

1. Philadelphia Phillies: Sure, the loss of injured shortstop Trea Turner will hurt, but the overall fall-off will be minimal, thanks to a quality pitching staff. Unheralded breakout star of the season to date is Philadelphia’s Ranger Suarez.

2. Baltimore Orioles: I’m saying it in early May. The O’s may just run away and hide from the rest of the A.L. East.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers: Piece by piece, the Dodgers are putting their rotation back together. They got Walker Buehler back this week.

4. Cleveland Guardians: The A.L.’s leading hitter,Steven Kwan, who has been hailed this season as Ichiro II, is out for at least a month with a bad hammy. We’ll see how Guardians’ top-notch management team can tip-toe through the raindrops without Kawn, because the team’s skinflint front office certainly won’t spend any money.

5. Atlanta Braves: Just think, Ronald Acuna Jr. hasn’t even started to hit yet.

The worst 5

30. Colorado Rockies: Look at it this way. To be ranked below the Chisox, a team HAS to be pitiful. And that’s exactly what the 2024 Rockies are. And that’s exactly what those their hideous “City Connect” uniforms are, too. That green and white look was terrible a year ago, and even worse this season.

29. Chicago White Sox: Six of the nine Sox regulars are batting .220 and below.

28. Los Angeles Angels: The Angels are paying Mike Trout $682,000 — a day. For not playing. Again. And then there’s Anthony Rendon, who last played regularly about five years ago, who makes $147,000 a day.

27. Miami Marlins: At least Miami doesn’t have the Angels’ kind of contract worries. They also don’t have any starting pitchers.

26. Houston Astros: More bad news for the Astros. One of those MLB stat services recently posted that no club has started a season losing 20 or more of its first 30 games and gone on to make the playoffs. 

Steve Thought O’ The Day — If Cinderella’s shoe fit perfectly, why did it fall off?