| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Off topic: Sony cracks me up: Use your **** as a case Thread poster: Claudia Alvis
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Buzzy
Local time: 09:25
French to English
| The Germans must have a talent for naming toilet paper | Nov 8, 2007 |
Jack Doughty wrote:
There used to be a German brand of toilet paper called "BUM". Some friends visiting us in Germany bought several packs to give as presents to their friends.
On holiday in Northern Germany this summer we bought a packet of toilet paper and only when we got it back to the house did I see its name: "Happy End"... too late unfortunately to go back and buy more for friends!
I remember seeing some crisps (potato chips) called Bum somewhere (Italy? Spain?), supposedly to treflect the "boom" sound they made they were so crunchy.
| | | | Claudia Alvis 
Peru
Local time: 02:25
Member
Spanish
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TOPIC STARTER
Buzzy wrote:
On holiday in Northern Germany this summer we bought a packet of toilet paper and only when we got it back to the house did I see its name: "Happy End"... too late unfortunately to go back and buy more for friends!
The name is brilliant!!!
| | | | | On that same note... | Nov 8, 2007 |
Comparative LITerature
From the above capitalized letters you can see what the abbreviation of this class was in the course catalog at the University of Oregon in the mid-1990s!!! No joke!
PS I used to buy Happy End toilet paper in Germany, too. I liked the "Spurty" dog treats as well.
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Uldis Liepkalns
Latvia
Local time: 10:25
Member (2003)
English to Latvian
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No translation involved, but just heard on our local Latvian TV the advertising worth Guiness prize for worse possible ad for cofee: "Instant coffee xxx (local product)- no doping control problems whatever". Left me speechless...
(But at least this ad is true- and therefore I don't use this product).
Uldis
[Rediģēts plkst. 2007-11-09 22:12]
| | | | juvera
Local time: 08:25
English to Hungarian
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| From the UK.... | Nov 10, 2007 |
There is a well-known supermarket delivery service, attached to one of the UK's respected food store chains, called Ocado.
Their vans run around all over the place, with the word Ocado on their sides, and lately they advertise with a cheery jingle on the radio. The text of the jingle repeatedly refers to the "Ocado man" bringing your food - in a melodic, emphatic way.
Well, in Hungarian Ocado is an adjective for "throwing up", like “the throwing up man on the corne... See more There is a well-known supermarket delivery service, attached to one of the UK's respected food store chains, called Ocado.
Their vans run around all over the place, with the word Ocado on their sides, and lately they advertise with a cheery jingle on the radio. The text of the jingle repeatedly refers to the "Ocado man" bringing your food - in a melodic, emphatic way.
Well, in Hungarian Ocado is an adjective for "throwing up", like “the throwing up man on the corner needs an ambulance”. The pronunciation of the offending word in the jingle is perfect.
So far I didn't manage to bring myself to order my weekly food shopping from them. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | No translation involved in this Brazilian coffee either | Nov 11, 2007 |
Uldis Liepkalns wrote:
No translation involved, but just heard on our local Latvian TV the advertising worth Guiness prize for worse possible ad for cofee: "Instant coffee xxx (local product)- no doping control problems whatever".
This reminded me of one especially absent-minded day I when was shopping at a supermarket in Brazil.
We have a national hero nicknamed Tiradentes. You can get all the details on him at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiradentes . To give an idea on his importance, the day he was executed by hanging is still a national holiday.
Tiradentes in PT means tooth-puller, as one of his occupations was dentistry, with the prevailing 'technology' of the late 1700s.
So on that day "Café Tiradentes" on a shelf caught my eye. You may see it at http://www.cafetiradentes.com.br - and the idea that reached my mind was "tooth-pulling coffee". Quite practical! You brew it, drink it, and all your teeth will come loose so you can spit them out. No pain at all!
Btw, there is an international chain of fitness centers for women named "Curves" - http://www.curves.com . Its meaning in most Eastern European languages, usually written with a "K" instead of "C". is somewhat demeaning to all the ladies who work out in these facilitues.
[Edited at 2007-11-11 14:07]
[Edited at 2007-11-11 14:08]
[Edited at 2007-11-11 14:08]
| | | | | Another brilliant translation from Poland | Nov 19, 2007 |
There is a new hotel, just in the very Old Marketsquare in Krakow. The building used to belong to the Polish familly called Boner.
The owner wanted to attract foreign visitors (notably English, who tend to visit Poland recently), so he decided
the Polish name ('Palac Bonerowski') should be replaced with the English one.
Well, a week before official opening, the big logo was unveiled, reading 'Boner Palace'. As you can guess, it did attract a lot of tourists, who wanted... See more There is a new hotel, just in the very Old Marketsquare in Krakow. The building used to belong to the Polish familly called Boner.
The owner wanted to attract foreign visitors (notably English, who tend to visit Poland recently), so he decided
the Polish name ('Palac Bonerowski') should be replaced with the English one.
Well, a week before official opening, the big logo was unveiled, reading 'Boner Palace'. As you can guess, it did attract a lot of tourists, who wanted to have a picture with a magnificient hotel in the background.
After a few articles in Polish press, the owner has decided not to use the English version of the name at the facade. The official English name now is "Boner Pałac" - you can see the hotel logo in the link below, but they try not to use it.
However, the hotel restaurant still offers some really interesting main courses, like "Boner Steak" (Grilled beef sirloin (300g) with garlic bread, baked potato).
You can see the restaurant website here (please remove the space before '.pl' from the link below). Note the link to the hotel website.
http://www.en.podwinogronami .pl/
Raf ▲ Collapse
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Ben Gaia
New Zealand
Local time: 19:25
French to English
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| Best part of ProZ | Dec 6, 2007 |
I would just like to say this area is the best part of the whole ProZ website.
I'm sure I remember a French fizzy orange drink in the 80s called "Psschit!" Supposedly onomatopeic, it was quite refreshing!
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