10 Things You May Not Know Are Named After Places
You’ve heard the name, but do you have any idea why these things are called what they are? Here are some familiar things that are actually named after places.
- Cheddar Cheese
Cheese lovers everywhere will know that this cheese is named after Cheddar in southwest England. Unlike other cheeses named after the city of their origin, like Parmesan, Cheddar isn’t included in the Protected Designation of Origin scheme, which means no matter where it is produced it can still legally be called Cheddar cheese.
- Duffel Bag
While the phrase now stands for a certain kind of bag, duffel bags were originally named after the fabric they are made from – Duffel, produced in the town of Duffel, Belgium.
- Lyme Disease
While the disease has been present for thousands of years, it wasn’t until the outbreak of cases in the of towns Lyme and Old Lyme, Connecticut, during the 1970s that the full syndrome was recognized.
- Chihuahua
These popular small dogs get their name from the state of Chihuahua in Mexico, where the excavation of pottery bearing their likeness was abundant in the area more than 1,400 years before the first Europeans arrived.
- Barcelona Chair
This iconic chair of the mid-20th century was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. It was originally designed for the International Exposition of 1929, hosted by Barcelona. Its style and comfort have remained hugely popular, standing the test of time right into the 21st century. Get your Barcelona Chair Replica today from https://www.pash-classics.com/van-der-rohe-barcelona-chair.html
- Rugby
As legend tells us, the sport was created when a student picked the ball up and sprinted off with it at the Rugby School in England whilst playing a football game. What is certain is that the first written rules for the game originated at the school in 1845.
- Turquoise
These semi-precious stones were first mined in Persia but were named after the French word for the merchants from Turkey who first sold them in Europe.
- Shetland Ponies
This is the original small horse from the Shetland Islands located off the northeast of the Scottish mainland. Their short and solid build them makes them ideal for the toughsubarctic conditions of the islands, where the ancestors of the ponies have been since the Bronze Age.
- The Tuxedo
We owe the popularity of this formal dinner jacket to King Edward VII, but the name is all American. A friend of the Prince of Wales at the time wore a new suit style to a club in New York named Tuxedo Park Club. The style was an instant hit among the members, and the jacket becomes synonymous with the club.
- Sherry
The name Sherry is an anglicized version of the town in Spain where this fortified wine was first made – Jerez or Xeres de la Frontera. As with champagne, sherry has a Protected Designation of Origin, meaning that only wines from the regions of Spain can be sold as real sherry in Europe.