The Letter K
JoAnne Schmitz
KKK and racist themes are hidden in product names/packaging. Legends such as
"slave ship depicted on Snapple label" and "letters KKK visible on Marlboro
package" are examples.
Thanks to a friend, I've been getting auction catalogs from the American Social
History and Social Movements Auction. (viewable at http://www.ashsm.com)
I noticed something that seems like it may have been discussed here, or on AFCA,
though I couldn't find a reference to it anywhere -- why do business owners like
to misspell the names of their businesses, e.g. "Kal's Kozy Korner"?
I'd give specific URLs but I haven't found any way to get to these other than
going to
http://www.rtam.com/ashsm/cgi-bin/CATALL.CGI
and scrolling down to the item numbers and clicking the button for that item.
Item 707 in auction #16 is described as follows:
"Klassy Kampus Kleaners -- Manchester College, North Manchester, Ind. Klan
businessmen often worked "KKK" into the name of their operations."
There's another item, number 702, which is a kard, I mean card, that just reads
"TWAK" meaning "Trade With A Klansman." So apparently the idea of doing
business only with other racists seems well-founded.
Now, I don't believe that all businesses that use a K where you'd normally use a
C in a name are in league with the Klan. I wonder if the practice of using K
instead of C started with the Klan and then became more widespread, eventually
including establishments that know nothing of the connection and would not be
happy with it. Otherwise what could we think of Krazy Glue and Kozy Shack
pudding and flan?
I didn't find many web pages or usenet articles about the use of the letter K by
Klan members, but it's hard to search for them. One is about a Spokane tow
truck owner-operator who put three red K's on his door and says the "three "Ks"
placed together ... [signifies] "three strikes, you’re out.""
http://www.thelocalplanet.com/Archives/Authors/Article.asp?ArticleID=2125
JoAnne "ignore my middle initial" Schmitz
Donna Richoux
>
> I didn't find many web pages or usenet articles about the use of the
> letter K by Klan members, but it's hard to search for them. One is about
> a Spokane tow truck owner-operator who put three red K's on his door and
> says the "three "Ks" placed together ... [signifies] "three strikes,
> you're out.""
>
> http://www.thelocalplanet.com/Archives/Authors/Article.asp?ArticleID=2125
The weird thing is, he's not even right about that. K isn't the
individual strike (swing and a miss), it's the *strikeout*, the out
obtained by having three strikes. You could say, three strikeouts and
the side is retired, or something.
--
Donna "if they're going to lie, they should lie right" Richoux
Narcissa
But it has to be three balls swung at. Called strikes in a strikeout
garner a backward K.
Alexia "peanuts and Cracker Jack my ass, where's the bratwurst?" Henke
Vic K.
Hmmmm...
VK
Alan Follett
<snip>
> Now, I don't believe that all businesses
> that use a K where you'd normally use
> a C in a name are in league with the Klan.
> I wonder if the practice of using K instead
> of C started with the Klan and then became
> more widespread, eventually including
> establishments that know nothing of the
> connection and would not be happy with it
>. Otherwise what could we think of Krazy
> Glue and Kozy Shack pudding and flan?
It's also unlikely to have figured in the popularity (to the point of
stereotype?) of "Kwality" in the names of Indian-owned businesses.
Googling on "Indian ^ kwality" produces 1,860 hits involving businesses
in a wide range of fields, on at least three continents. Searching on
"kwality" alone gives 5,410 hits, most of which (at least judging by the
first page) also appear to have some Indian connection.
Alan "also probably not a factor in the Finnish KKK grocery chain that
Henry once mentioned" Follett
me
[snip]
> Now, I don't believe that all businesses that use a K where you'd normally use a
> C in a name are in league with the Klan. I wonder if the practice of using K
> instead of C started with the Klan and then became more widespread, eventually
> including establishments that know nothing of the connection and would not be
> happy with it. Otherwise what could we think of Krazy Glue and Kozy Shack
> pudding and flan?
The explanation I've always heard for misspelling in business and product
names was that it was easier to legally protect and restrict their use.
Call yourself the "Cozy Corner Cafe" and a guy down the street can call
himself the "Cozy Kitchen". But if you are the "Kozy Korner Kafe" it is
harder for the other guy to be the "Kozy Kitchen". Trademarks are easier
defended if they aren't also common words. Seems like Intel got into some
trouble on this with the old "x86" nomenclature.
JG
>
> >
> > I didn't find many web pages or usenet articles about the use of the
> > letter K by Klan members, but it's hard to search for them. One is about
> > a Spokane tow truck owner-operator who put three red K's on his door and
> > says the "three "Ks" placed together ... [signifies] "three strikes,
> > you're out.""
> >
>
> The weird thing is, he's not even right about that. K isn't the
> individual strike (swing and a miss), it's the *strikeout*, the out
> obtained by having three strikes. You could say, three strikeouts and
> the side is retired, or something.
Maybe he's just a bit bewildered. As I remember, "in order" refers to
the hope that the next three batters will be retired in order, without
scoring a run, but not necessarily three strikeouts in a row. I found
a relevant cite, er, site on the matter[1]. It takes a while to load
on a computationally challenged machine.
__begin quote
K is for K as in Strikeout tells us that this symbol for "strikeout"
comes from the "back rather than the front of the word 'strike.'"
Baseball pioneer Henry Chadwick, who was the New York Herald's first
baseball editor, first used the symbol in 1868 in Beadle's Guide of
which he was the editor. He often said that the abbreviations he used
were linked mnemonically to the movements described. As far as he was
concerned, the letter "K" is the "prominent letter of the word
strike," adding that "the letter K in struck is easier to remember in
connection with the word, than S.
__end quote
In bowling, three consecutive strikes is a turkey.
Jer "Kellogg: ticker symbol K" ry
Kevin S. Wilson
> The explanation I've always heard for misspelling in business and product
>names was that it was easier to legally protect and restrict their use.
>Call yourself the "Cozy Corner Cafe" and a guy down the street can call
>himself the "Cozy Kitchen". But if you are the "Kozy Korner Kafe" it is
>harder for the other guy to be the "Kozy Kitchen". Trademarks are easier
>defended if they aren't also common words. Seems like Intel got into some
>trouble on this with the old "x86" nomenclature.
The term I've heard an intellectual property attorney use is
"fanciful." A fanciful word or phrase is easier to defend and is more
likely to stand up as a valid trademark if challenged. One example
from my experience: Rescue Winch is a "weaker" trademark than the
fanciful Resc-You Winch.
--
Kevin "co-holder of the patent for the Resc-You Winch" Wilson
Tech Writer at a University Somewhere in Idaho
Ben Zimmer
>
>
> I noticed something that seems like it may have been discussed here, or on AFCA,
> though I couldn't find a reference to it anywhere -- why do business owners like
> to misspell the names of their businesses, e.g. "Kal's Kozy Korner"?
[snip]
> Now, I don't believe that all businesses that use a K where you'd normally use a
> C in a name are in league with the Klan. I wonder if the practice of using K
> instead of C started with the Klan and then became more widespread, eventually
> including establishments that know nothing of the connection and would not be
> happy with it. Otherwise what could we think of Krazy Glue and Kozy Shack
> pudding and flan?
There is some evidence that fanciful "k" spellings predate the Klan,
which was founded in 1866. Mardi Gras clubs in New Orleans have been
called "Krewes" since at least 1857, when the Mystick Krewe of Comus was
founded. According to American Heritage, "_Krewe_ is only an imitation
of an old-fashioned spelling of _crew_ in its standard meaning, but the
word, thanks to its association with Mardi Gras and New Orleans high
society, has taken on some of the mystique of the carnival":
http://www.bartleby.com/61/88/K0108850.html
The early Mardi Gras Krewes were suspiciously like the early Klan in
more ways than kooky spelling. They were all-white, all-Protestant
secret societies with pseudo-Classical trappings like the Masons
("Comus" came from Greek _komos_ 'revelers', while "Kuklux" apparently
was based on Greek _kuklos_ 'circle'). A book called _Lords of Misrule:
Mardi Gras and the Politics of Race in New Orleans_ by James Gill
(University Press of Mississippi, 1997) tells how after the Civil War
the Krewes adopted the costumes, codes of secrecy, and racist practices
of the newly founded Klan:
http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~shgape/reviews/br-gill.html
The Krewes became more benign and less Klan-like over time, of course,
so perhaps some entrepeneurs originally used "k" spellings for their
businesses simply to evoke the playful revelry of Mardi Gras.
A tongue-in-cheek list on the McSweeney's site nails the funny/scary
dichotomy of "k" spellings:
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/lists/kspelling.html
--Ben "now 'Kukla, Fran and Ollie' is another matter" Zimmer
Karen J. Cravens
news:73af7090.02012...@posting.google.com:
> The explanation I've always heard for misspelling in business and
> product
> names was that it was easier to legally protect and restrict their use.
And sometimes it's just line noise. But it did make it easier to register
the domain name.
--
Karen J. Cravens
JG
> tr...@euronet.nl (Donna Richoux) wrote in message news:<1f6bpw7.9vp9vxg01pjbN%tr...@euronet.nl>...
> > JoAnne Schmitz <jsch...@qis.net> wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > I didn't find many web pages or usenet articles about the use of the
> > > letter K by Klan members, but it's hard to search for them. One is about
> > > a Spokane tow truck owner-operator who put three red K's on his door and
> > > says the "three "Ks" placed together ... [signifies] "three strikes,
> > > you're out.""
> > >
> <snip link>
> >
> > The weird thing is, he's not even right about that. K isn't the
> > individual strike (swing and a miss), it's the *strikeout*, the out
> > obtained by having three strikes. You could say, three strikeouts and
> > the side is retired, or something.
>
> Maybe he's just a bit bewildered. As I remember, "in order" refers to
> the hope that the next three batters will be retired in order, without
> scoring a run, but not necessarily three strikeouts in a row. I found
> a relevant cite, er, site on the matter[1]. It takes a while to load
> on a computationally challenged machine.
Oops, I meant to say "retired in order, without making a hit." If a
run is scored, that means at least four at bats for the half-inning
and would not be "in order." Sorry 'bout that. Three consecutive
strikeouts is a perfect way to wrap up the inning for the defense. A
perfect game is not 27 consecutive strikeouts, but a game with no
hits, no walks, no errors, easier said than done.
Jer "one error" ry
Songbyrd11
>Oops, I meant to say "retired in order, without making a hit." If a
>run is scored, that means at least four at bats for the half-inning
>and would not be "in order." Sorry 'bout that. Three consecutive
>strikeouts is a perfect way to wrap up the inning for the defense. A
>perfect game is not 27 consecutive strikeouts, but a game with no
>hits, no walks, no errors, easier said than done.
Worse yet, the 27th batter also strikes out, but the ball is dropped and as it
is thrown to 1st it flies over the head of the 1st baseman, the runner scores.
The tie is broken and the pitcher pitches a perfect game and loses. 27 up and
27 strikeouts, but 1 run.
Song<---it could happen
Sara Moffat Lorimer
> Worse yet, the 27th batter also strikes out, but the ball is dropped and as it
> is thrown to 1st it flies over the head of the 1st baseman, the runner scores.
> The tie is broken and the pitcher pitches a perfect game and loses. 27 up and
> 27 strikeouts, but 1 run.
>
Wouldn't it be the ump's decision, as in rule 7.05(g)? I would think in
this situation the runner would go to second, not home... Alice?
--
Sara "or would you rather hear a list of my old phone numbers?" Lorimer
Queens, New York
Hugh Gibbons
> --
> Kevin "co-holder of the patent for the Resc-You Winch" Wilson
Still working on the Resc-You Wench?
Songbyrd11
>Wouldn't it be the ump's decision, as in rule 7.05(g)? I would think in
>this situation the runner would go to second, not home... Alice?
I am sorry, I assumed that the runner kept running on the bad throw and made it
home. It was implied he touched 2nd and third prior to that. I pictured the
ball deep in the right field corner. Anyway, the pitcher would I guess not
have an official no hitter, but he could in theory face only 27 batters, strike
out 27 batters, no hits, no walks, but 1 run and lose the game.
Song<---when I woke up, Mary Jane and the car were gone
Robert Alston
news:250120022344329843%afa...@panix.com:
> In article <1f6l90d.vtcry3vy0w06N%faster-mil...@nyc.rr.com>,
> Sara Moffat Lorimer <faster-mil...@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
>
>> Songbyrd11 wrote:
>>
>> > Worse yet, the 27th batter also strikes out, but the ball is dropped
>> > and as it is thrown to 1st it flies over the head of the 1st
>> > baseman, the runner scores. The tie is broken and the pitcher
>> > pitches a perfect game and loses.
>> > 27 up and 27 strikeouts, but 1 run.
>> >
>> Wouldn't it be the ump's decision, as in rule 7.05(g)? I would think
>> in this situation the runner would go to second, not home... Alice?
>
> Hmmm....the batter gets first by beating the throw on the dropped
> strike three. 7.05(g) says the batter (now the runner) is awarded two
> bases if the ball is thrown into the stands. From the examples at
> MLB.com, it would appear that whether the batter is awarded third if
> he'd actually reached first before the ball passed over the first
> baseman's head. The only circumstance I know for sure that could result
> in three bases being awarded would be if a fielder used equipment other
> than his glove to deflect the ball. I don't think we could work that
> into this particular scenario, though.
>
> Alice "highway numbers, anyone?" Faber
>
Where are you getting ANY base awarded to him? All it says is that it went
over the baseman's head. A throw from home to first that is simply missed
will leave the ball in play. If it doesn't then that catcher needs to be
somewhere else on the field with that much of a throwing arm. For it to go
out of play requires either throwing it over the wall or having such a
curve that any pitching coach out there would be helping to renegotiate the
newest pitcher's contract and could care less about the one loss that
allowed him to find the pitcher with the curve from hell.
My son is a senior league catcher that can throw to beat the runner to
second while still on his knees.[1] He simply laughed at the thought of
someone putting the ball out of play that way.
Robert "Sometimes he takes his time and stands up" Alston
[1] Ask a coach about a catcher that can throw accurately to second while
on the knees without a bounce when the runner is halfway there to start
with. This is on a full size diamond and NOT a minor league field.
Sara Moffat Lorimer
> Where are you getting ANY base awarded to him? All it says is that it went
> over the baseman's head.
You're right -- somehow I'd misread Song's situation as involving the
ball going into the stands.
--
Sara "error" Lorimer
Queens, New York
Bruce Tindall
>Alice "highway numbers, anyone?" Faber
This thread is getting dangerously close to running afoul of
Designated Godwin's Law.
--
Bruce Tindall :: tin...@panix.com
JoAnne Schmitz
wrote:
>jsch...@qis.net (JoAnne Schmitz) wrote:
>
><snip>
>
>> Now, I don't believe that all businesses
>> that use a K where you'd normally use
>> a C in a name are in league with the Klan.
>> I wonder if the practice of using K instead
>> of C started with the Klan and then became
>> more widespread, eventually including
>> establishments that know nothing of the
>> connection and would not be happy with it
>>. Otherwise what could we think of Krazy
>> Glue and Kozy Shack pudding and flan?
>
>It's also unlikely to have figured in the popularity (to the point of
>stereotype?) of "Kwality" in the names of Indian-owned businesses.
>Googling on "Indian ^ kwality" produces 1,860 hits involving businesses
>in a wide range of fields, on at least three continents. Searching on
>"kwality" alone gives 5,410 hits, most of which (at least judging by the
>first page) also appear to have some Indian connection.
Would these be the kind of Indians from whom the Aryans sprang, or the kind that
use swastikas?
JoAnne "hmm?" Schmitz
Rick Tyler
wrote:
>Alice Faber <afa...@panix.com> wrote:
>>Alice "highway numbers, anyone?" Faber
>
>This thread is getting dangerously close to running afoul of
>Designated Godwin's Law.
I think you meant Godwin's Infield Fly Rule. It can be invoked at any
time the ball is in the air, as long as the hitter's name is Ad*lf
H*tl*r.
-- Rick "No one understands the rule anyway" Tyler
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Most of the time, when someone presumes I'm a criminal,
I'm not inclined to give him or her a present." -- JoAnne Schmitz
Brian Yeoh
Uh. Both sets used both swastikas and sauvastikas.
Brian "and Brian no see no keywords..." Yeoh
--
"[...] your honor hath bene wrongfullie enformed, in sayinge he was cutt
in maney peeces, after his deathe -- for if he had bene cutt in many peces
, he could not a lived till the next morninge [...] -- which shewes he was
not cutt in verie many peeces!"
-- John Carey, defends himself from murder charges [The Steel Bonnets]
Simon Slavin
hgib...@x-remove-xaxs4u.net (Hugh Gibbons) wrote:
> > Kevin "co-holder of the patent for the Resc-You Winch" Wilson
>
> Still working on the Resc-You Wench?
I know a couple of Wreck-You Wenches. Does that help ?
Simon.
--
http://www.hearsay.demon.co.uk | [One] thing that worries me about Bush and
No junk email please. | Blair's "war on terrorism" is: how will they
| know when they've won it ? -- Terry Jones
THE FRENCH WAS THERE
Simon Slavin
Robert Alston <rom...@indy.rr.com> wrote:
> Where are you getting ANY base awarded to him? All it says is that it went
> over the baseman's head. A throw from home to first that is simply missed
> will leave the ball in play.
ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US
R H Draney
sla...@hearsay.demon.co.uk@localhost (Simon Slavin) wrote:
>In article <Xns91A21AF79D40...@65.24.2.12>,
>Robert Alston <rom...@indy.rr.com> wrote:
>
>> Where are you getting ANY base awarded to him? All it says is that it went
>> over the baseman's head. A throw from home to first that is simply missed
>> will leave the ball in play.
>
>ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US
For our records, how long have you been waiting for a chance to do
that?...
R H "and how much would you take to do it to guardbear?" Draney
Bruce Tindall
>sla...@hearsay.demon.co.uk@localhost (Simon Slavin) wrote:
>>
>>ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US
>
>For our records, how long have you been waiting for a chance to do
>that?...
Any hasn't anybody done it in Arabic yet?
B "Al Q. Public" T
--
Bruce Tindall :: tin...@panix.com
Kevin S. Wilson
<posted and mailed>
No. We sold the patent and distribution rights to a company called
Quiet Ridge (www.quietridge.com).
--
Kevin S. Wilson
R. A. Flournoy, Jr.
>
> Oops, I meant to say "retired in order, without making a hit." If a
> run is scored, that means at least four at bats for the half-inning
> and would not be "in order." Sorry 'bout that. Three consecutive
Well, IIRC, a run can score and an inning can end with only 3 at bats.
If a batter walks, he is credited with a plate appearance, but not an at
bat. He can then steal bases and score a run while everyone else has
struck out.
Come to think of it, can't a batter reach base if the third strike is
dropped, with the at bat recorded as a strikeout and an error accruing
to the catcher? If the pitcher then strikes out the next three batters,
wouldn't he then have 4 strikouts in one inning?
--
Robert "frozen rope" Flournoy
WC for '01: 15, 19, 21, 22, 26, 28, 66, 71, 90, 99
The best finally rests - RIP #3
Hail to the Redskins.
"You can run around with a chicken in your underwear, and maybe
everybody knows it, but it isn't until you pull it out in public and
start swinging it around that people are forced to do something about
it." deacon b. fowls one off in AFU.
Dr H
On Sun, 27 Jan 2002, Rick Tyler wrote:
}On 26 Jan 2002 11:21:57 -0500, tin...@panix.com ("Bruce Tindall")
}wrote:
}>
}>This thread is getting dangerously close to running afoul of
}>Designated Godwin's Law.
}
}I think you meant Godwin's Infield Fly Rule. It can be invoked at any
}time the ball is in the air, as long as the hitter's name is Ad*lf
}H*tl*r.
Who's Adolf Hotlor? Or did you mean Adolf Hitler?
Dr H