Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Quantifiable Quirky Quality Qtips Queued

Isn't "Q" everyone's favorite letter?

ABC Wednesday is a word meme with participants from around the world. This fabulous meme was created and hosted by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt who hails from Great Britain. Over time, others have joined in to help host this wonderful and informative meme. We are now in our NINTH round! Some of the participants have been with this from the very first round; others have joined in along the way. Each week we are taken across the globe to see the varied and exciting contributions people have taken the time to discover and capture. We start with the letter, "A" and each week we post something in regards to the next letter of the alphabet. This week's letter is, "Q".

Quality Qtips Queued


Gosh. Who knows why quality Qtips like these would be queued in the first place. Except for the sake of our letter for the day! And, for the sake of clarification, Qtips are also known as cotton swabs, cotton buds, ear buds, etc. When these were invented in 1920, they were originally named "Baby Gays". Hmmmmm....that wouldn't go over so well with some folks these days.
But, the "Q" in Qtips does stand for quality and although Qtips is a brand name, it has also become a generic name. You can quibble or quip all you want in regards to this, but the rest of us stand behind the name, Qtip.


Quirks Lane


Yes, as fortune would have it, driving home on a road I've driven down countless times for the past 17 years, I FINALLY noticed this street sign: Quirks Lane. Whoa! I turned my car around so that I could take a picture of it! What a fun street to live on-Quirks Lane! The folks in the village of Corrales that did the names for their streets had a sense of humor, it would seem.

In all fairness, I vaguely remember noticing this street name eons ago. Long before ABC Wed. was on my radar. So, noticing it again within the context of our meme, it was as though I was seeing it for the first time.

Living in Rio Rancho, we are next door to the city of Albuquerque. A word with not just one, but TWO 'q's' in it!! Both requiring 'u' and every time I have to type it out, I have to spell it in my head so that I can hear it. You can't exactly type that word out too fast since you always have to stop and think it through. No wonder why we all resort to "ABQ".

And, where would "Q's" be without "U's"? It's a shame that their appearance is dependent upon being paired with another letter. No other letter has that requirement. We all know how to say, "Q". I think we should free "Q" from the shackles of "U".  What say you?

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

hmmm. That last letter looks like an S not a Y. So wouldn't it be QUIRKS LN and not QuirkY Ln?

MaR said...

Great takes on the theme!! Free the letter U? mmmh, the Queen wouldn't be amused :)

Q is for quadruped

photowannabe said...

Ah, to free the Q from the shackles of U. Now that's priceless!
What a Quirky name for the street. Great catch Paula.

Roger Owen Green said...

Q-tips are what everyone calls them, even though it is a brand name that has become genericized.
ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Nanka said...

A very well thought out post for today!! Q is a quirky alphabet and I agree it is time it stood on its own :) Had a tough time with it myself!! No not quibbling about quantity but quality!!!!

Meryl said...

Quirks Lane is a lane I'd love to meander down...

??? said...

Quirks Lane is charming, I'd move there.
And baby gays...maybe not. Who came up with that name - it's strange for this product even without the added meaning of seriously underage homosexuals.

Leslie: said...

I'd fit right in living on Quirks Lane! lol Roger has a great post about Q and how it came about. Take a look & have a great week,

Leslie
abcw team

Karen said...

Wonder if you have to be quirky to live on Quirks Lane.

EG CameraGirl said...

Fascinating that the Q in Q-tips stands for quality!

Kay L. Davies said...

"What say U?"
"I say Y?"
Roger Green did a lengthy Latin explanation of the Q-U connection this week, and added a silly YouTube video. The comments under the video made me laugh.
I want a house on Quirky Lane. However, I have yet to visit Albuquerque. You're right, I can't type it very quickly. LOL

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie’s Guide to Adventurous Travel

Hildred said...

We have Coquihalla and Coquitlam but Albuquerque is one up on these names, and do you suppose you would have to be quackers to live on Quirky Lane.

Carver said...

I never knew all that about Q tips. Funny.

I would love to live on a street called Quirks Lane, it would fit my personality quite well.

Gigi Ann said...

Well I found one word where the Q stands alone without the U. "Qiviut" the meaning.."the wool of the undercoat of a musk ox." I'm sure there are one or two more. But, I say keep the U with the Q.

Tumblewords: said...

Quirks Lane - gotta love that. Q-tips. I can't imagine any others but there, the u's been freed. A fun post, as usual.

Reader Wil said...

You are so clever! Q is a very difficult letter for the Dutch, for in my language most words beginning with qu are replaced by words beginning with kw.
Quarter = kwart
Quality=kwaliteit
Only quiz is the same,! Tomorrow I post the amswers!

Chubskulit Rose said...

Quality is what we need, Qtips has that!

Find out what Quiet is for my kids.

Joy said...

Baby gays, now that is quirky. Love the photo of the sign, nice sky.

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