SOLVING ALL THE WRONG PROBLEMS _ Every day innovative companies promise to make the world a better place. A New York Times writers compiled some of the products, apps and services that have tried…
• A service that sends someone to fill your car with gas.
• A service that sends a valet on a scooter to you, wherever you are, to park your car.
• A service that will pack your suitcase — virtually.
• An app that analyzes the quality of your French kissing.
• A “smart” button and zipper that alerts you if your fly is down.
• An app to locate rentable driveways for parking.
EXERCISING 10 MINUTES AT LEAST TWICE A WEEK HELPS PREVENT ALZHEIMER’S _ People with memory issues could prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease by exercising more than once a week — but not much more. Regular exercise is thought to boost molecules that support the growth and survival of neurons, or increase blood flow to the brain. Researchers in South Korea examined the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease in nearly 250,000 patients with mild cognitive impairment — patients with more memory and thinking struggles than is normal for someone their age. People with mild cognitive impairment are ten times more likely to develop the disease in comparison with the general population. The researchers found that those who carried out moderate physical activity for at least ten minutes more than once per week had an 18 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
WHERE COMPANY NAMES CAME FROM
• Before it was X, it was Twitter. Twitter’s working title was Status and for a short time they considered Twitch, which would eventually be used for the now-popular video live streaming service.
• 7-Eleven was changed from U-Tote’m in 1946 when new 7AM until 11PM hours went into effect.
• CVS originally stood for Consumer Value Stores, but was shortened in 1996.
• Jason Kilar, former CEO of Hulu, writes how the name “Hulu” was picked in a series of marathon naming sessions over the course of two months. At some point during these sessions the name Hulu was suggested. In Mandarin, Hulu has two interesting meanings: It literally translates to “gourd” and in ancient times the Hulu was hollowed out and used to hold precious things. The secondary meaning is “interactive recording.”
• According to Zillow, the Zillow name evolved from the desire to make zillions of data points for homes accessible to everyone. And, since a home is about more than just data — it is where you lay your head to rest at night, like a pillow — “Zillow” was born.
• Despite popular belief, the enunciation of Arby’s — R-B — doesn’t stand for roast beef. It actually stands for the initials of its founders, the Raffel Brothers.
• Taco Bell was named after founder Glen Bell.
