This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Defictionalized launched as DefictionalizationDiscussion: From YKTTW
Working Title: Defictionalized: From YKTTW
Looney Toons: Just for amusement, the Word Spy's entry on Defictionalization; the word's apparently been in use for at least four years now.
Doug S. Machina: Somewhere there's a website that sells t-shirts of fictional logos, from Weyland-Yutani, Tyrell Corporation or Cyberdyne Systems to the Bates Motel, but I can't remember the name. It would fit nicely on here, so does anyone else know?
LATER: Here are are: http://www.lastexittonowhere.com Worth mentioning, or unwanted promotion on the main page?
Daibhid C: I'm not sure, but I think Thud was a real DW game first, and then got added to the books because it fitted so well.
- Actually, the movie was made to sell the chocolates, so it's kind of the other way round.
"Actually", the Wonka name was licensed as a tie-in, not the other way around (if The Other Wiki is to be believed, anyway); and even if it had been, the candy names and descriptions came from the book, so it would count as this anyway.
Later:
- The girls' names "Wendy" and "Madison" were pretty much invented for Peter Pan and Splash, respectively. Now we have a burger chain and the third most popular girls' name to thank them for.
On Wendy: http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mpeterpanwendy.html
Looney Toons: Removed
- In a similar vein, the name "Wendy" wasn't seen or heard anywhere before Peter Pan.
because "Wendy" is already covered under Literature. the link above notwithstanding.
Prfnoff: Removed the Wendy example.
Looney Toons: Removed Art $avage's addition
- Automatic doors, used in almost every grocery store and hospital, are a direct result of a generation of TV viewers watching Kirk walk through such doors.
because, well, I don't know how old you are, Art, but I was a kid before Star Trek reached the air, and I can confirm for you that automatic doors existed well before it did. The only effect of Star Trek had on automatic door technology (that I know of) was it made people want them to open faster.
Daibhid C: I've reworked this:
- A few things in Discworld had since been turned into actual products. These include the Thud board game and the Where's My Cow? children's book, not to mention the Anorankh.
The Pocket: How is this trope distinct from The Red Stapler, exactly? It seems to mostly contain examples where the creators/owners of the original work personally created or licensed the real-life item in question, whereas The Red Stapler mostly contained examples where they weren't, but when I tried to edit the descriptions to that effect, they were reverted. So what is the verdict?
