What Did You Expect When You Named It?: Difference between revisions
What Did You Expect When You Named It? (view source)
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{{trope}}
{{quote|"You know, when you name your son 'Jeeves', you've pretty much set up his life's path for him. What is he going to become... a hitman? 'Pardon me sir, but I'm afraid I must whack you.'"
|'''[[Seinfeld|Jerry Seinfeld]]'''}}
Some names, frequently taken from historical events, seem to be jinxed. No one wants to ride on a ship (or a [[Space Sailing]][[Starship Titanic|ship]]) named "Titanic" or "Hindenburg". Similarly, [[Icarus Allusion|anything named "Icarus" is begging for a wing-clipping]], and [[The Bible|the Goliath is going down hard, probably to a smaller opponent]] (bonus points if said [[David Versus Goliath|smaller opponent is named David.]]) Likewise, don't compare your defenses to the walls of Jericho - that'll just make 'em go splat like an ant beneath an elephant's foot (with said ant being you, and said elephant's foot being the wrath of [[God]].) It's probably not a good idea to name your vehicle the [[Doomy Dooms of Doom|Doom Buggy]], either, especially if you plan on driving your friends around in it. And if you're assigned to name a computer, let alone a supercomputer, [[Terminator (franchise)|"Skynet"]] is strictly off limits; after all, what good is a computer if all it wants to do is [[Take Over the World]]?
Note that it has to be the name of something that has ''already'' gone down: The original ''Hindenburg'' was not an example of this trope (but ''Titanic'' arguably was, see the [[Real Life]] section below).
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Compare [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast]], [[Prophetic Names]], [[I Don't Like the Sound of That Place]] and [[Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?]]. Related to [[Analogy Backfire]] and of course [[Tempting Fate]].
{{Unmarked Spoilers}}
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Meta ==
* Naming any form of flying contraption "Icarus". Who in his right mind calls something after the most famous story of a man killing himself by recklessly misusing a flying device that performs safely when used as intended? [[Icarus Allusion|We have a trope for this.]]
** On the other hand, this is probably a good reminder that reckless misuse is bad.
* There seems to be a minor trend in entertainment (particularly sci-fi) where any episode or chapter that is called or refers to "The Great Leap Forward" will involve a major, disasterous incident.
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* Most of the ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' cast are named after sunken [[World War II]] battleships (poor Asuka gets the dubious distinction of having ''both'' of her last names be associated with a terrible fate); is it any surprise that the place is a [[Dysfunction Junction]]?
== [[
* Ozymandias in ''[[Watchmen (comics)|Watchmen]]''. Apparently he wanted to reclaim the name from the elegant ignominy to which Shelley's poem had consigned it.
** Also, there's the [[Gordian Knot]] Lock Company.
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== [[Fan Works]] ==
* Averted in ''[[Kyon: Big Damn Hero]]'': Kyon [[Ha Ha Only Serious|jokes]] about his new PDA (made with alien technology) conquering the world, comparing it to [[Terminator (franchise)|SkyNet]]
== [[Film]] ==
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* To the humans in ''[[Avatar (film)|Avatar]]'' - you named the new moon [[Classical Mythology|Pandora]]? Really? I don't care if it means "All-Gifted," there's a reason you don't try to open things named after or belonging to Pandora!
** This is probably more a case of the creator invoking [[Meaningful Name]], which seems to be a theme of the movie. For crying out loud, they're going after a precious mineral literally called [[Unobtanium]]!
* [[The Asylum]] [[The Mockbuster|movie]] ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20131113011102/http://www.thefilmcatalogue.com/catalog/FilmDetail.php?id=9424 Titanic 2]'' features a shipping magnate not only building a second ''Titanic'' [[Tempting Fate|but also setting its maiden voyage in the 100th anniversary of the original disaster and having it traverse]] ''[[Tempting Fate|the exact same route of the original]]'' (though in the opposite direction). Somehow, things go even ''worse'' than in the original voyage: the ship is slammed by an iceberg ''carried by a tsunami'' and later is hit by a ''second'' "mega tsunami". It ends with the female lead as the sole survivor. And this is played ''100% straight''.
* In ''[[Cherrybomb]]'', the health centre where Malachy works is called "Titanic Leisureplex". And people are ''[[Genre Blindness|surprised]]'' when bad things start happening there.
* In the ''[[James Bond (film)|James Bond]]'' film ''[[Die Another Day]]'', the villain's superweapon is named "Icarus". At the end of the movie, the villain loses control of the weapon and accidentally burns the wings off his own plane, causing a spectacular crash.
** In his defense, the superweapon ''was'' intended to burn things through sunlight.<ref>The specific reckless usage that Icarus did was, most commonly, flying too close to the sun and having the warmth melt his wings</ref>
* In ''[[Mimic]]'', genetic engineers attempt to exterminate cockroaches with their own genetically altered cockroach. They call it the Judas Breed. Three guesses what the new species [[To Serve Man|prefers as prey]].
* In ''[[Rise of the Planet of the Apes]]'', the main primate is named [[Gaius Julius Caesar|Caesar]]. ([[Planet of the Apes|the original]] could fit too, even if the name was given to him by the circus owner who adopted
** Also, if you pay attention in to the TV in the background during one scene, you'll see news coverage of a NASA launch which is called ''Icarus'' (implied to be the ship that crash lands in the beginning of the original ''[[Planet of the Apes]]''). Sure enough, just a few scenes later, a newspaper headline can be seen proclaiming that the ship has mysteriously vanished, and we all know what happened to it after that.
* The original colonists' ship in ''[[Forbidden Planet]]'' is called the ''Bellerophon''. In [[Classical Mythology]], Bellerophon was a great hero, yes, and he did tame the Pegasus. However, he also fell victim to [[Pride|hubris]], and was punished by being sent crashing down to Earth from his mount, where he died a blinded cripple. Guess what happened to the ship?
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* In ''[[The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind]]'' there is an item found early in the game called Scroll of Icarian Flight. It gives you 1000 extra jump skill, which both allows you to jump very high and absorbs damage from long falls. The problem? This skill boost only lasts 7 seconds. You won't be able to reach the ground before the scroll wears off.
** To give you more of a hint...you get the scroll off the dead body of a mage, when he lands in front of you from out of nowhere.
* ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'' brings us Camp Forlorn
** Actually, it's even worse. "Forlorn Hope" is a military term coming from the Dutch "Verloren Hoop", "lost heap", referring to the first wave sent into attack who are pretty much doomed to die. Basically, it's 'Camp [[We Have Reserves]]'.
** [[All in The Manual|In fact]] it apparently used to be called [[Tempting Fate|Camp Hope]]. It got the name after things went to hell.
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* Used as part of [[The Spoony Experiment|Spoony's]] spoof of ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'', where the people of America [[President Evil|vote Dr. Insano into the White House]]. He even lampshades it himself by asking what the hell they expected, voting for a guy who calls himself "[[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Insano]]".
* ''[[SF Debris]]'' has a running gag about the naming of ship's Icarus that highlights this trope.
* From [[Nostalgia Critic]]'s review of [[James and the Giant Peach
{{quote|'''Nostalgia Critic''': So this is Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. You know, when you name your kids that, aren't you just begging for them to turn out like [[Abusive Parent|th]][[Complete Monster|is?]]}}
**Again in the review of [[Pound Puppies
{{quote|'''Nostalgia Critic''': (on the movie's villain) McNasty? Really? That's his name? You know, you're sort of leaning his future towards evil when you call somebody McNasty. I can't really see a daycare called "McNasty's" (He shows a picture of a McNasty's daycare center with a sign that says "Only 5 days since our last disappeared child"}}
**Once again [[Discussed Trope|Discussed]] in the review of [[Richie Rich (
{{quote|'''Nostalgia Critic''': So back in the ‘90s when we still had an economy, a young boy is born to a millionaire named Richard Rich. The boy’s name? Richie Rich. You know, you ever wonder if either the father or son would have a different life if their parents named them Poor E. Broke?
'''Chester A. Bum''':(excitedly) Hey! That's my legally born name!}}
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{{quote|'''Kif Kroker''': But that leads us straight through a comet field!
'''Zapp Brannigan''': Ah, yes. Comets, the icebergs of the sky. }}
* An episode of ''[[DuckTales (1987)]]'' went for the Double Dog-Dare with an airship named the ''Hindentanic''.
* In one episode of ''[[Family Guy]]'', Peter jumps up shouting "Quick, to the ''Petercopter!'', and immediately crashes a helicopter with his face on the front lawn of his neighbor Joe. A few scenes later, the situation repeats itself with Peter shouting "Quick, to the ''Hindenpeter''!" and all we get to see is a zeppelin with Peter's face [[Scream Discretion Shot|passing by through the window]] with exactly the results you would expect.
{{quote|''"Joe, I am '''sooo''' sorry!"''}}
* ''[[Rick and Morty]]'' had a bizarre version of this in one episode, where Beth and Jerry go to a party on a replica of ''The Titanic'', the theme being a reenactment of the voyage. As in, the ship is ''supposed'' to sink. Given Jerry's luck, it fails to do so. [[Attempted Rape| Although that is the least of Jerry's problems here.]]
* Notably averted in The '70s Sunday-Morning cartoon ''[[Davey and Goliath]]''. Goliath was Davey's [[Talking Animal|talking dog]] and was harmless. Of course, calling them "Samson and Delilah" would probably have worked too, because the two characters here didn't resemble the Biblical ones in the slightest.
== [[Real Life]] ==
* After the success of the movie ''[[Titanic]]'', someone tried to build a replica of the famous ship to cater to all the movie fans who wanted to have a romantic ocean cruise on a ship like that. They couldn't find enough investors willing to tempt fate that boldly.
** Then there's the "original" ''Titanic''. [[Classical Mythology|What are the original Titans most famous for?]] For being roundly defeated and sealed into Tartarus once Zeus and company came along, and if they weren't imprisoned they got lousy fates like holding up the sky for all eternity, or being chained to a rock with an eagle snacking on 'em for all eternity... [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|or being married to Pandora]].
** The ''Titanic'' sort of is an example in another way. In 1898, a merchant seaman wrote a story called "The Wreck of the Titan", about a giant cruiseliner called the ''Titan'' which is meant to be unsinkable, whose passengers include lots of famous and rich people, and on one of whose voyages in its first year of
** The ''Titanic'' was the second of three ships in the Olympic Class, all of which seem to be jinxed:
*** The first ship, the ''Olympic'', collided with the Royal Navy cruiser HMS ''Hawke'' eight months before the Titanic sank.
*** A few weeks after the ''Titanic'' sank, crewmen aboard the ''Olympic'' tested the collapsable lifeboats on the ship and found that they were all defective. The White Star Line refused to fix the problem, so 54 crewmen mutinied.
*** The third ship was supposed to be named the ''Gigantic''. However, after the sinking of the ship that (supposedly) even God Himself couldn't sink, the White Star Line reconsidered and named it the ''Britannic''. During [[World War I]], it did service as a hospital ship. It sank in 1916 when it hit a mine off the coast of Greece.
** [https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2018/10/28/titanic-ii-luxury-cruise-liner-scheduled-sail-2022/ Investors crazy enough have finally been found]. The replica is scheduled to launch in 2022. If it will follow the fate of the original remains to be seen.
* Throughout history, several people appeared to think that calling a car "Phaeton" is a good idea... (For those who don't know their Greek Mythology, Phaëton was the son of the Greek god Helios. He tried to drive his father's chariot, lost control, and was shot down by Zeus.)
* Icarus. It was a
** Contrary to what one might expect, they still manufacture them. Thankfully, they didn't tried their hands in [[Tempting Fate|building airplanes]].
* An-22 "Anteus". The Soviet transport ''plane'' named (in a fit of black humor?) after [[Classical Mythology|the giant]] who ''lost his strength when he was lifted from the ground''.
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*** The An-22 was the world's heaviest aircraft until the arrival of the C-5galaxy and the larger An-124. An aircraft carrier large enough to handle it would be more strictly termed "an island".
* Various world navies have named their ships after losing battles or even past ships that have been destroyed (possibly as a way to say [[Remember the Alamo!|"never forget"]]).
** During [[World War Two]], it was also a means of psychological
** The US Navy ships USS ''Bunker Hill'' were all named after a battle the US lost.
*** Almost as bad were the Kidd class destroyers, informally nicknamed the "Dead Admiral class". All four were named for USN admirals killed in action during [[World War II]], and three of them were killed in battles the USN lost too.
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**** The commander of the ''Invincible'' was Admiral Hood....
** The British Royal Navy has had four ships named "Icarus", starting in 1814, and all of them continuing through their careers without serious problems. The fourth Icarus was an I-class destroyer, launched in 1936 and which participated for the duration of the Second World War, sinking four German U-Boats. It was decommissioned in 1946 and torn up for scrap in Scotland.
** The pocket battleship ''Admiral Graf Spee'' was named after a German admiral killed in the South Atlantic during a battle in the first year of [[World War
** The Imperial German Navy and the Federal German Navy had a total of four ships called ''Vineta'', after a mythical coastal town that famously sank beneath the waves of the Baltic Sea. Almost as ominous as naming a [[wikipedia:German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis|ship]] or [[NASA|other kind of vessel]] ''Atlantis''...
** The current flagship of the Italian Navy is the [[wikipedia:Cavour (550)|aircraft carrier ''Cavour'']], named after [[wikipedia:Italian battleship Conte di Cavour|the first battleship sank by torpedo planes in history]], and while in a harbor with waters too shallow for torpedo planes to be effective to boot ([[Older Than They Think|her fate inspired the Japanese assault on Pearl Harbor]]).
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** Although according to Roman myth, the Trojan survivors became the first Romans. The same Romans who, in [[Real Life]], built one of the largest empires in history and, notably, conquered Greece. So it could be seen as defeat just makes them come back stronger...
* [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1394776/Mark-Wilkinsons-Titanic-II-sank-harbour-Dorset.html?ITO=1490 Man names boat Titanic II; sinks before leaving harbour.]
* There's a famous image around the net of the speedboat [http://web.archive.org/web/20160412223509if_/http://i12.tinypic.com/2ed0ew2.jpg "Temporary Insanity II"]. He should have known better after the first time.
* In 2002, VW launched the Phaeton, a high price luxury car. Even though the brand is mostly known for its very small family cars Beetle and Golf, and the company also owns the ''Audi'' brand, which is actually a well known brand for large luxury cars. Unsurprisingly, the whole thing bombed because nobody who could afford one wanted to be seen in a VW. The Greek legend of Phaeton is about Phaeton bugging his father Helios to be allowed to drive the sun chariot, immediately creates a huge accident, and gets killed by Zeus with a lightning bolt to prevent the destruction of the world when he crashes the sun into it. Whoever proposed the name for the car apparently knew exactly where the whole project was heading.
* Although the car achieved commercial success, the AMC ''[[Griping About Gremlins|Gremlin]]'' has got to be a [[Tempting Fate]] honorable mention.
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* The UK has [[wikipedia:Skynet (satellite)|a series of military satellites]] called [[The Terminator|Skynet]] of all things; however, they can be excused for starting the series ''and'' coming up with the name long before [[James Cameron]] started work on [[The Terminator]].
* The Tampa International Airport's parking garage has elevators named after various heroes of aviation... and [[Amelia Earhart]].
* [[Apollo 13]] (and since then NASA has ''never'' launched a vehicle with "13" in the
* There's an urban legend in the British Royal Navy that says the Admiralty decided to disprove one of the Navy's most cherished superstitions, namely that Friday is an unlucky day to set sail. Not only did they christen a ship HMS ''Friday'', but they had her keel laid on a Friday, and she was commanded by a Captain Friday. The myth continues that the ship disappeared without a trace during the shakedown cruise.
* There's a comforter set called the [[Othello]]. Did the designers of that not know what happens in that play?! For those that don't know {{spoiler|the climax involves Othello smothering his wife to death ''in their bed.''}}
** There's also [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1577236/Woolworths-stop-selling-Lolita-bed-for-girls.html a set of bedroom furniture] aimed
* Following a decade of managerial complications and enormous financial loss following its "[[Didn't Think This Through|merger of equals]]" with Chrysler, Daimler AG decided in 2007 to sell the company to a certain [[wikipedia:Cerberus Capital Management|Cerberus Capital Management, L.P.]]
** Cerberus would acquire infamy for acquiring several firearm companies in 2006-2008, then proceeding to gut all quality control (new products literally shipped with heavy rust), crashing market share. As a result of Cerberus none of the companies will ever escape the land of the dead.
* One would expect a Delilah's Barber Shop to be jinxed, after the [[Traumatic Haircut]] she gave to Samson in [[The Bible]], much like one couldn't open a Ford Theatre without invoking the ghost of Abe Lincoln... but businesses with this name (or a variant) exist.
* The first USS Roanoke disappeared (under the water) immediately upon its launch. Unexpectedly, at least five, less cursed, ships were subsequently given that name.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Naming Conventions]]
[[Category:What Did You Expect When You Named It?]]
[[Category:This Index Asked You a Question]]
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