Growing up in Canada we did not refer to tissues as tissues. We called them Kleenex. It’s one of those weird Canadian-isms.

  • PetDinosaurs@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    It’s called a genericized trademark. There’s plenty, including aspirin and heroin.

    It’s also common to call these Kleenex in the US.

    Definitely seems like a strange decision.

      • bisq@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        What’s the generic for linoleum? I wasn’t aware that this was a brand name

        • cyanarchy@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          I had to look this up. The inventor never trademarked the name and it was used by a competitor almost immediately. He lost a lawsuit over linoleum becoming a generic term 14 years after it’s invention. There were other brand names but linoleum became a generic term almost as soon as the product was widespread.

    • ShakeThatYam@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I heard that in the South every carbonated beverage is a Coke. However, I don’t understand how this works practically. If you wanted a Sprite, would you order a Coke-Sprite?

      Also Heroin, but Bayer probably is fine with letting that trademark lapse. (Also Aspirin was a Bayer trademark).

      • SeaJ@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        It’s more like if someone asks if you want a soda, they would instead ask if you want a Coke. You would then ask what kind they have. If you want a specific type at a restaurant, you would just say the kind you wanted.

      • candybrie@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        No, you’d order a sprite. It’s not like people order Soda-Sprite or Pop-Sprite. It only might get confusing for coke. And even then, usually, you can infer it they mean the general idea or, specifically, cocacola.

    • bisq@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Is Teflon a genericized trademark? Not sure I’d there’s any diff between that and Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)?

  • Fredselfish@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Guess you will just have to use another type of Kleenex then.

    But speaking of that did you know Dumpster is a brand name? It one those things we call it that but that is a company brand.

  • mycatiskai@lemmy.one
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    1 year ago

    I really left to wonder whether the unique complexity is that they can’t produce it for cheap enough and would rather not produce it at all rather than not make as much money as they did the year before.

    Companies would probably prefer to lose business completely than not make as much money as they could.

    • Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      That’s a possibility but another is that they would have to operate at a loss, which I would understand shutting down since they wouldn’t make any profit at all.

  • Hyacathusarullistad@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Well shit. This is a problem for me, since the Kleenex brand is the only one with a lotioned variety that stores in my neck of the woods seem to carry. My seasonal allergies get so bad that normal/un-lotioned tissues leave my nose rubbed raw, even if I’m medicated.

    • blaine@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Thanks to the N7 logo next to your name, I read this comment in Commander Shepard’s voice. “Kleenex brand - now with LOTION! - is the only tissue on the Citadel that I’ll trust my nose to!”