And not just ships

Naming a vehicle? Trickier than you might think!

The timeless tradition of naming vehicles is not reserved only for ships but, as it turns out, for anything else as well. Americans in particular tend to name machines as if they were people. When a car, boat, plane, or any other means of transport becomes familiar enough, through daily use or popular culture, it probably ends up earning a nickname. Which of the following 11 is your favorite?

This cheerful Volkswagen Beetle from a long-running Disney film series wasn’t just transportation: it had emotions, opinions, and a somewhat stubborn streak. The friendly name "Herbie" helped audiences accept the idea of a car with a personality.

By pairing a humble compact car with a human nickname, the films transformed an everyday vehicle into a charismatic character that many people embraced.

The Ghostbusters’ iconic Cadillac hearse became famous under this strange, technical-sounding name. "Ecto-1" felt halfway between scientific equipment and a comic-book invention.

The nickname balanced spooky imagery with lighthearted absurdity, turning a creepy old vehicle into a lovable symbol of heroism and DIY aesthetic.

In the Transformers films, Bumblebee stood out for his loyalty, friendliness, and expressive nature. The nickname suggested warmth and charm rather than mechanical power.

By choosing such a gentle name, the films helped audiences emotionally connect with a robot, proving that personality can play a huge role even in a car.

The Plymouth Fury in the Stephen King horror story carried a sweet, ordinary human name that sharply contrasted with its violent nature.

Calling a murderous car "Christin" made it look as if it were disturbingly alive, showing how innocent-sounding names can heighten unease rather than soften it.

This infamous station wagon from National Lampoon’s Vacation had a name that sounded proudly practical and painfully dull. That was entirely the joke.

The nickname perfectly captured the car’s role as a symbol of family optimism gone wrong.

Short for "Knight Industries Two Thousand," KITT was a talking car with intelligence, sarcasm, and moral judgment. The acronym softened its advanced technology.

Rather than sounding cold or futuristic, the shortened name suggested companionship, helping viewers accept a machine as a trusted partner rather than a tool.

Howard Hughes’s massive experimental aircraft officially had a technical name, but the public preferred this quirky name. "Spruce Goose" stuck like glue once it was known.

The playful label softened the plane’s ambition and controversy, making an engineering oddity easier to remember and talk about.

Charles Lindbergh’s historic airplane carried a name that sounded poetic and hopeful. It emphasized civic pride rather than machinery.

That lyrical nickname helped turn a technical achievement into a national story of bravery and ambition.

In the Peanuts comic strip, Snoopy’s doghouse doubles as this imaginary World War I fighter plane. The nickname blends history with childhood fantasy.

The vessel’s name gently parodied heroism while marking the imagination of the leading character.

This tour boat from Gilligan’s Island earned a name that highlighted its size. The irony was a trademark of the comedy series.

Calling it the Minnow made its outsized impact funnier, reinforcing the show’s theme that small mistakes can have huge consequences.

Han Solo’s famously unreliable spaceship carried a name suggesting speed and nobility. The contrast was intentional and memorable.

Calling it the Millennium Falcon elevated a beat-up vessel into legend, proving names can create mythology.

Popular, but untrue

It didn’t happen: 10 history myths that are regarded as true

A big part of history is dependent on who’s telling it, but some facts are indisputable. However, some stories have become so widespread —be it because of popular legend or by honest mistake— that most would assure them to be true. Some have even been transmitted for generations, but they happened in a different way or not at all. Let’s revise 10 historic "facts" that are just myths.

The idea that Viking helmets had horns is consistent with their fame as frightening warriors, but it is simply not true. This misconception is a result of 19th-century artists, such as Richard Wagner, and their interest in the Middle Ages, which, in many cases, involved inventing facts when reliable information was lacking. We now know that Vikings wore cap-like helmets with nose guards, and without any protruding elements.

The French Revolution and its rejection of the monarchy led to Marie Antoinette having a tarnished reputation, with many accusing her of not caring about her subjects and living an extravagant life while the French people suffered. The phrase ‘let them eat cake’, attributed to her, is a big part of this, but no matter how she actually behaved, we know as a fact that she never said it. This phrase was attributed to an unnamed princess by philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau, but at that time, Marie Antoinette was 9 years old and still lived in Austria.

While the father of the nation did wear dentures, the widespread belief that these were made out of wood is not true. Historians have confirmed that his dentures were made from a mix of different materials, including ivory, human teeth, animal teeth, and metallic pieces. The idea that these were wooden is most likely a result of the brownish appearance of stained ivory.

Roman emperor Nero has a well-deserved reputation as a tyrant. He habitually murdered opponents, persecuted thousands of Christians, and was known to enjoy animal cruelty. However, there is no solid proof that he intentionally started the fire of Rome, although we know that he did nothing to stop it, and played music as he watched the city burn. The fire was most likely an accident, and Nero took advantage of it to rebuild Rome in grandeur.

Scholars have known the Earth is a sphere since classical antiquity, and medievals inherited that knowledge from the ancient Greeks. Why did they not travel to the West then? Is not that they thought they would reach the end of the world, but that they were unsure of the dangers of such a travel. The idea of medieval people as flat-earthers is a result of 19th-century writers' concept of the Middle Ages as a ‘dark time’ of ignorance.

To the surprise of many, the Continental Congress declared independence from Great Britain on July 2nd. But why is Independence Day not celebrated on that date? Founding Father John Adams asked the same question. While the voting was done on the 2nd, the document was finalized and distributed on the 4th, and most delegates adopted that date. John Adams wrote extensively about the importance of July 2nd, and he reportedly declined invitations to 4th of July celebrations in protest.

The Salem witch trials were undoubtedly outrageous, and modern historians believe that the result was mass hysteria. However, the idea that convicted individuals were burned at the stake is just a popular myth. 19 people were executed by hanging, and one other died during interrogation due to torture. In the years after, it was proven that evidence of witchery was fabricated, and the trials were declared unlawful.

While historians and chroniclers have several theories about Julius Caesar’s dying words, we know for a fact that he never said ‘_Et tu, Brute?’ (You too, Brutus?) to his adoptive son. This phrase was coined by Elizabethan playwright Richard Edes and later popularized by William Shakespeare. What did Caesar say instead? We don’t know, but the prevailing theories are that he remained silent or that he spoke in Greek and said ‘_καὶ σύ, τέκνον?" (‘You too, child?’).

When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, she knew she was making a political statement. However, contrary to what many believe, she was sitting on a part of the bus that African Americans were allowed to use. Why was she asked to give up the seat, then? She was sitting in a section that was for everyone, but where white people had priority. When the white section became full, she was asked to give up her spot. She refused, and the rest is history.

The story of Galileo Galilei’s trial is one of the most widespread historical myths, and most people are certain that he was tortured because of his beliefs and then executed. Galileo was indeed tried by the Church, but it was not the simplistic case of science vs. faith most believe it to be. In reality, it was a scientific debate and, while Galileo was ultimately right in defending Heliocentrism, he failed to prove it. After the trial, he received house arrest in a villa, where he died of natural causes.