Notes » March 2007

Tacky Toothpaste

From the "What the Hell were they thinking?" department comes a brand of toothpaste sold in Hong Kong that made me do a double-take when I saw its name.

No, I'm not talking about Darlie; I've been down that road.

But imagine my surprise when I saw bins full of toothpaste boxes emblazoned with Chinky in jaunty colours. Given the gross misuse of the word chink by cretins in North America, I couldn't help but see the potential for problems with this brand name.

I didn't have time to look at the box in detail to see where the toothpaste is made. I tried a search with Google but turned up nothing; perhaps it's a new brand. I did find it odd that the sole paid sponsorship advertisement on Google's results page was for toothpaste manufacturers in China.

That just ain't right.

Now I feel compelled to check into it further.

When I know, you'll know.

Update:

It turns out the tacky toothpaste is made right here in Hong Kong.

View large image Considering that chinky is an adjective meaning "full of chinks or fissures; gaping; opening in narrow clefts", the word isn't a great advertisement for a toothpaste.

They might as well call it ToothRot.

Further research turned up a definition of chinky only used in the United Kingdom, but I've never been there so I can't confirm its veracity. It's supposed to mean either a Chinese takeaway food restaurant, or the food itself. It's also alleged that some folks call it chinky chonky, which, excuse me for saying so, is both worse and asinine; it's a close cousin to ching chong, a term used by blockheads to describe the Chinese language.

But no matter how you slice it, chinky is a lousy name for a product.

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