A friend asked me why hamburgers are called hamburgers if they don't have any ham. Well, being the curious soul that I am, I had to confirm whether the meat patty is in fact named after a region in Germany. So I consulted my favorite dictionary and no, hamburgers do not contain ham. The word hamburger is actually short for hamburger steak, which is a meat dish that did originate Hamburg, Germany. Hotdogs, on the other hand, apparently did get named due to customers suspicion that some unscrupulous street vendors snuck a little Fido into their frankfurters.
This all made me think about the horse meat scandal in Europe, and there was this hilariously titled article about it that I found on CNN.com. "Neigh it ain't so: Burger King finds horse meat at European supplier." The article also has a subheading that reads: "Mare's the beef" which is a throwback to Wendy's "Where's the beef?" ad campaign. I love this strategy for writing titles, and I share it with my students every semester.
First you start with a common saying or song lyric, and you modify it to make it relevant to your topic. In other words:
Funny/Quirky Title: Informative subtitle
So the horsemeat article works because "say it ain't so" rhymes with "neigh it ain't so," but the extra subtitle gives you a better idea about what it's about. I usually have to spend about five minutes explaining the funny part, and I usually don't get a laugh, unfortunately, but the fact is, most teachers would rather read an interesting title than a boring one. It puts them in a good mood, and when someone is grading your paper, you need them to be in a good mood!
Do you have any titles out there you are particularly proud of writing? I'd love to hear about them.
Well, have a good one and good luck out there, and may the meat you eat be the meat you think you're eating!
-Bill
This all made me think about the horse meat scandal in Europe, and there was this hilariously titled article about it that I found on CNN.com. "Neigh it ain't so: Burger King finds horse meat at European supplier." The article also has a subheading that reads: "Mare's the beef" which is a throwback to Wendy's "Where's the beef?" ad campaign. I love this strategy for writing titles, and I share it with my students every semester.
First you start with a common saying or song lyric, and you modify it to make it relevant to your topic. In other words:
Funny/Quirky Title: Informative subtitle
So the horsemeat article works because "say it ain't so" rhymes with "neigh it ain't so," but the extra subtitle gives you a better idea about what it's about. I usually have to spend about five minutes explaining the funny part, and I usually don't get a laugh, unfortunately, but the fact is, most teachers would rather read an interesting title than a boring one. It puts them in a good mood, and when someone is grading your paper, you need them to be in a good mood!
Do you have any titles out there you are particularly proud of writing? I'd love to hear about them.
Well, have a good one and good luck out there, and may the meat you eat be the meat you think you're eating!
-Bill
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