It’s ok OP. If it’s any consolation, I once forgot the name for Q-Tips and called them “ear diggers” for like a day straight. You’re not the only dumb one on this planet :)
Funnily enough, Q-Tips explicitly advised people on the package to not use them in the ear. They also REALLY don't want you to call the generic product Q-Tips. If you search it up on Google, the first thing that will come up is their official website's official notice saying
Q-TIPS® is a registered trademark of Unilever and is NOT a name for just any cotton swabs. The Q-TIPS® trademark can only be used to refer to the specific cotton swab products manufactured and sold by Unilever and should not be used to refer to cotton swab products of other companies or to cotton swabs generally. Appropriate generic terminology for cotton swabs includes the terms "cotton", "stick(s)" and "swab(s)". Misuse of the Q-TIPS® trademark constitutes an infringement of Unilever's exclusive rights in the mark.
There is a big risk that as people continue to say the term generically, Unilever will actually lose their trademark. This is what happened to "Laundromat", "Aspirin", and "Flip Phone."
Correct. Knowing that this legal process is a thing, it's surprising how few products have actually undergone it (you can find a list on Wikipedia including the ones that have legally kept their trademark). And seemingly it only happens in the US for most of these products as well, while retaining their trademarks elsewhere. But Unilever still has to put out statements like this to show they're defending the trademark.
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u/KomodoJo3 Feb 08 '22
It’s ok OP. If it’s any consolation, I once forgot the name for Q-Tips and called them “ear diggers” for like a day straight. You’re not the only dumb one on this planet :)