Mondays with Mike: Pun names

No matter where I’ve lived, and no matter where I’ve traveled, I’ve noticed a commonality, and I’m not sure it’s heartening or not: It’s the love of so-good-they’re-bad punny names for certain businesses.

Not all businesses mind you, but for some reason, certain businesses just bring out the best/worst in their pun making owners.

There’s a Pepe Le Pew joke here for the taking.

Take the beauty business—hair salons, tanning joints, etc. I can riff off a dozen that I’ve seen just driving around over the years. (From Hair to Eternity is one of my favorites.) But I Googled and it’s really a thing. I mean really a thing. Take this Buzzfeed feature—there are 18 featured altogether, and if you have the nerve, by all means look at them all. Here’s a quick sampling:

Grateful Head

Combing Attractions

Scissors of Ahhhz

There’s something about grooming, because the same thing goes for pet groomers and boarders. Have any doubt? Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is go through this roll call of pun names at AtlasObscura titled A Round of Appaws for America’s Best Pet Care Plans. A few examples:

Noah’s Arf

LaundroMutt

Groomingdales

And of course, there is the porta potty business. Even the tag lines are ripe for exploit—Number 1 in the number 2 business for example. Chicago is well represented in this old but still good AdWeek piece on porta potty company names. Just a few:

LepreCAN

Wizards of Ooze

Doodie Calls

I’m thinking about opening a waxing business. I’m gonna call it Grin and Bare It.