Althouse: "There are three things in life that people like to stare at: a flowing stream, a crackling fire..."

January 16, 2013

"There are three things in life that people like to stare at: a flowing stream, a crackling fire..."

".... and a Zamboni clearing the ice."

23 comments:

Original Mike said...: I miss the UW beer garden. Now, all there's to do is watch the Zamboni.; 1/16/13, 11:58 AM
Brew Master said...: Breasts.; 1/16/13, 12:08 PM
edutcher said...: Brew had it partly right - any part of a good-looking woman.; 1/16/13, 12:10 PM
Wince said...: Zamboni is a good example of the risk of trademark "genericide".

Most would-be competitors have come and gone. But one, the Resurfice Corporation, of Elmira, Ontario, said it produces about the same number of machines as Zamboni. The companies are, in effect, the Boeing and Airbus of ice resurfacing.

Resurfice is owned and operated by the Schlupp family, with none of the name recognition of its competitor. Don Schlupp, the company’s sales and marketing director, says he is used to hearing people call its machines Zambonis.

“We refer to it as the Kleenex syndrome,” he said.

All the off-hand familiarity makes Zamboni a bit nervous. It has trademarked its name (and the block shape of its machines) but fears the name becoming a lowercase zamboni, suffering the same fate as Aspirin, Escalator, Zipper and other brand names that lost trademark protections.

The company also asks that Zamboni not be used as a noun (as it has been throughout this article) or a verb. The ice does not get Zambonied, then, and the vehicle is a Zamboni brand ice-resurfacing machine. Good luck with that.; 1/16/13, 12:11 PM
kjbe said...: A past life,OM...now, it's a malt cup and popcorn. What I miss are the old chants (Yea, that is a Schnitzelbank...who's the sieve...).

Good times.; 1/16/13, 12:12 PM
Known Unknown said...: All the off-hand familiarity makes Zamboni a bit nervous. It has trademarked its name (and the block shape of its machines) but fears the name becoming a lowercase zamboni, suffering the same fate as Aspirin, Escalator, Zipper and other brand names that lost trademark protections.

The company also asks that Zamboni not be used as a noun (as it has been throughout this article) or a verb. The ice does not get Zambonied, then, and the vehicle is a Zamboni brand ice-resurfacing machine. Good luck with that.

Horse. Barn door.; 1/16/13, 12:18 PM
Levi Starks said...: There are two kind of people in this world, those who like to think, and those who think it's entertaining to watch a black piece of hard rubber get smacked around for an hour.
The Zamboni is just a bonus.; 1/16/13, 12:25 PM
MadisonMan said...: Is this not the big scoreboard?

UW Hockey lost something when it left the Coliseum.; 1/16/13, 12:26 PM
Original Mike said...: "a Zamboni brand ice-resurfacing machine.

I'm going to have to use that Friday night.; 1/16/13, 12:27 PM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: The evolutionary explanation is that the Zamboni resembles a grazing mastodon.; 1/16/13, 12:28 PM
Original Mike said...: Yes, that is the big scoreboard!

Is that not the rumble rink?; 1/16/13, 12:29 PM
AllenS said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/16/13, 12:30 PM
AllenS said...: I like looking down the sights of my assault rifle.; 1/16/13, 12:35 PM
Original Mike said...: "UW Hockey lost something when it left the Coliseum."

The fans I know were not pleased with the move.; 1/16/13, 12:38 PM
ndspinelli said...: AllenS, At the Zamboni driver??; 1/16/13, 1:08 PM
ndspinelli said...: The Chicago Stadium was the BEST place to watch hockey. It waselectric. Even folks who hate the Blackhawks admit that fact. If you think the move from the Colliseum to Kohl was controversial, the move from The Stadium to the United Center was much more contentious.; 1/16/13, 1:11 PM
BaltoHvar said...: I grew up along a fence of a (still active) Military Air Base in So Ca. I begged my parents to buy the house so I could watch the AirOps. They did.

Ever since the sound of spooling engines will draw us out.

I also (pre-9-11) often went to local Commercial Airports and sat for hours watching Airliners land and take-off. Still stop and watch as any within eye-sigh approach.; 1/16/13, 1:26 PM
Baron Zemo said...: Hockey is one of those things that white people like.

But the rest of the world does not care.

Hockey sucks.

Nobody missed it.; 1/16/13, 1:31 PM
edutcher said...: BaltoHvar said...

I grew up along a fence of a (still active) Military Air Base in So Ca. I begged my parents to buy the house so I could watch the AirOps. They did.

Ever since the sound of spooling engines will draw us out.

I also (pre-9-11) often went to local Commercial Airports and sat for hours watching Airliners land and take-off. Still stop and watch as any within eye-sigh approach.

I'm still like that with trains.; 1/16/13, 2:08 PM
Methadras said...: Tits you fool. TITS!!!; 1/16/13, 3:45 PM
Anonymous said...: some of google's best work yet; 1/16/13, 5:21 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Glad at least one reader made it to the Google doodle.; 1/16/13, 5:27 PM
Mel said...: I've been staring at flowing streams all over town today, wishing they would recede back into their banks. Tomorrow the rain is supposed to turn to snow, but I'm not sure I believe it will. And I am sure that several friends have flood damage already.; 1/16/13, 7:39 PM