Origins of Corporate Names Trivia Quiz

Answer: Food Machinery Corporation

Among many products, FMC makes a high speed orange juice squeezer that is so fast a mere twelve machines can squeeze all the juice oranges in the United States. They also make a street sweeper having a hinge in the middle so it can make tight turns. It tends to fall over, but has a programmed sequence to wriggle itself upright.

Answer: National Cash Register

National Cash Register Company was founded by John H. Patterson in 1884. The name was shortened to NCR in 1974. They were purchased by AT&T in 1991, and bore the name AT&T GIS from 1994 to 1996. It was changed back to NCR when they were spun off as an independent company in 1996.

Answer: Three initials of the three founders plus the English word "sun."

Den, Aoyama and Takeuchi were the founders, who adopted the name in 1932. Reference was to the rising sun on the Japanese flag. In the present day, Japanese cars sold in Japan almost always have English names. The Datsun 300Z sports car was sold in Japan as the "Fair Lady." (All this is pathetically obscure, but now you have a trivia gem for your own use.)

Answer: An abbreviation for Stanford University Network

Stanford University is an incubator for many Silicon Valley high tech firms. The first Sun workstation was derived from a design developed at Stanford, so they were able to ship product the very first quarter they were in business.

Answer: It was picked from a list generated by computer

Exxon is the company that evolved from what was once John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil. The name was changed from Esso to Exxon in 1972 in the United States, with Esso retained in other parts of the world. Apparently the company could not resist keeping a hint of the ESSO derivation. A 1999 merger brought about the change to the current name, Exxon Mobil.

Answer: Thompson Products merged with Ramo-Woolridge Corporation

Thompson Products made engine valves and aircraft engine parts. Ramo-Woolridge played a key role in the development of the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). They merged in 1958.

Answer: The founder, Shozo Kawasaki

Kawasaki Heavy Industries started as Kawasaki Tsukiji Dockyard in 1878. It was established in Tsukiji, Tokyo by Shozo Kawasaki. There is a port, Kawasaki City, but that is not the origin of the name. Kawa means "river," which lets out valley and mountain derivations. Many Japanese family names have meanings related to nature.

Answer: It's an acronym

Fabbrica Italiana di Automobili - Torino is abbreviated to FIAT. The company was founded in 1899 to manufacture automobiles. They acquired Alfa Romeo in 1984. Enzo Ferrari is the famous car-related Enzo.

Answer: It's short for Kyoto Ceramics

The "kyo" in Kyoto and Tokyo means capitol -- ancient capitol and east capitol, respectively.

Answer: Computing- Tabulating- Recording Company (C-T-R)

A turning point for the company, founded in 1911, was in 1914 when the former number two executive at the National Cash Register Company, Thomas J. Watson, Sr. joined the company as general manager.

Answer: It's from the game of "Go" and means something like "check" in chess

The Atari game "Pong" launched the videogame industry. Bushnell sold the company to Warner Brothers in 1974. After a revival in the mid-80's, the company died as a home video game producer.

Answer: It implied treatment of dyspepsia

Dyspepsia is an ailments of the intestines, affecting an estimated 20% of persons in the US. In the 19th century the word seems to have been a good deal more popular and apparently was used to describe a variety of ailments.

Answer: From the main ingredients coca leaves and kola nuts

The soft drink is made from an extract of coca leaves and kola nuts. The product once contained a dash of cocaine, but that has long since been removed. The company has long been associated with Atlanta, Georgia.

Answer: Bank of Italy

The giant Bank of America, was founded in San Francisco in 1904 by the Gianninis, father and son. Amadeo Peter Giannini, the father, has been called the greatest innovator in modern banking for his development of a system of strong branch banks. Did you guess that Knott Vurry Lieklee or "not very likely" was a hint that Bank of Italy was the answer?

Answer: It means "I roll" in Latin

Volvo was founded by Assar Gabrielsson and Gustav Larson in 1924. Gabrielsson was the sales manager at a ball bearing company, so the "I roll" name may refer to the use of bearings in the car rather than to the car as a whole. Their first car, produced 1927, was called the "Jakob."