An old adage has it that the inventor of the wheel first gave his invention such an ineffable and mute name that he was unable to sell his product. Only with the adaptation of the self-promoting word “wheel” did the product take off and become the indispensable human helper of all later times.
It seems to me that the new scooter invention “Segway” falls into this category of things, for it is rather doubtful that this silent name is going to become an epithet for the much heralded futuristic function of this invention.
In similar manner are silent place-names, I mean, names that do not promote themselves, of which Everett and Marysville are good examples. Doomed, in my opinion, to eternal geographical obscurity. That is, they’ll hardly awaken any dreams and memories in potential tourists and people doing business in this region. An example may be to introduce the region to the world as Twin City West or similar associate, magnetic names. The belief that one can beneficially put any name on the map is to handicap the place in relation with others. My point is: It’s all in the name.
Everett
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