WHAT IS A LED ZEPPELIN?

You won't believe how these iconic bands got their names!

Image: Graydon Driver

Due to constant repetition, the names of successful bands become household names. But, when we stop to think about them, some of those names are downright strange or, at the very least, curious. What is an Aerosmith? Or a Supertramp? Find the answers to these and a few other existential questions by scrolling through the following stories.

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In case anyone wondered, The Ramones were not a band of brothers named Ramone. The name of the band was first suggested by Dee Dee, after learning that Paul McCartney would check into hotels under the fake name 'Paul Ramon'. He convinced the other members to adopt the last name, and The Ramones came to be.

Image: Desi Mendoza

There are two versions of the origin of Alice Cooper’s name. In the early days, the story was that Alice Cooper was a spirit the band contacted via an Ouija board.

But in later years, the frontman himself has said that they came up with a name that could be someone’s grandmother – which made it a perfectly unorthodox match for a bunch of cross-dressing shock rockers.

Image: The National Library of Norway

If the rumors are correct, Jimmy Page (guitarist and frontman for what would become Led Zeppelin), Jeff Beck (guitarist for The Yardbirds, a band Page had been part of), Keith Moon (drummer for The Who), and John Entwistle (bass player for The Who) came up with the idea of forming a supergroup, but Moon suggested this would "go over like a lead balloon".

Sometime later, Page remembered this expression and, after swapping "balloon" for "zeppelin", decided to drop the "a" in "lead" to make it clear how the word should be pronounced: Led Zeppelin.

Image: Adrian Ordonez

Billy Gibbons, the guitar player for ZZ Top came up with the band’s name thanks to his obsession with blues music. He thought of combining the names of two bluesmen: Z.Z. Hill and B.B. King. But when ZZ King didn’t sound all that great, Gibbons made the slight shift to ZZ Top.

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There are many bands whose names are literary references to authors and their works. Uriah Heep got their name from a character in Charles Dickens’ 'David Copperfield.' Uriah Heep was a man untrustworthy and unlikable in the extreme.

As guitarist Mick Box said "We were formed on the 100th anniversary of Charles Dickens. There was publicity all over London to celebrate his birthday."

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Being the American answer to The Beatles, the Monkees needed a moniker similar to that of the Fab Four. Accordingly, they mispronounced the name of a creature from the natural world just as the Beatles had done in the first place.

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Another legendary group that got its name from a book is Supertramp. The British art-rockers got their name from W. H. Davies’ 1908 memoir 'The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp,' in which the Welsh writer details his wandering early days.

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The fact that the Grateful Dead came up with their band name while under the influence surprises no one. Perusing a folklore dictionary, Jerry Garcia discovered the term, which related to the soul of an unburied dead person expressing karmic gratitude to someone who arranged for their eventual burial.

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Not many bands are named after the drummer and the bass player. But Fleetwood Mac is. The outfit was christened after the names of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. This was a ploy devised by guitarist Peter Green to keep them in the band. And it worked; 5 decades and countless lineups later, the pair is the only remaining members from the ‘60s.

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The curious name of this legendary hard rock outfit originated, according to drummer Joey Kramer, while he and his girlfriend were listening to Harry Nilsson’s "Aerial Ballet" and the couple began toying with cool band names that had the word "aero" in them.

He liked how "Aerosmith" sounded, but the band he was in at the time didn’t. So it was shelved until Kramer joined Joe Perry and Steven Tyler’s group. The convincing was done and the rest is history.

The truth about your brain

You won’t believe what happens in your brain while you sleep

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Your brain is one of the most powerful and mysterious organs in your body. It controls everything from your thoughts to your emotions and even processes information at lightning speed. But how much do you really know about it? Some long-believed myths about the brain have been debunked, while other surprising facts reveal just how incredible this organ truly is. Get ready to be amazed by these fascinating brain facts!

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You’ve probably heard this one before, but it’s completely false! While it’s true that not all parts of the brain fire at the same time, imaging studies show that most regions are active throughout the day, even when we sleep.

Your brain is constantly working, controlling bodily functions and emotions, and processing information. So next time someone says you’re only using 10% of your brain, you can confidently tell them that’s just a myth!

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Here’s a weird fact: While your brain processes pain signals from the rest of your body, it has no pain receptors of its own. This is why surgeons can perform brain surgery on conscious patients without causing them pain.

However, the membranes and tissues surrounding the brain do have pain receptors, which is why headaches and brain injuries can be so excruciating.

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How come we have headaches if the brain has no pain receptors? Well, that’s because headaches are triggered by chemical activity in the brain, changes in nerves and blood vessels, and even fluctuating serotonin levels.

In some cases, hormones like estrogen can also play a role, which explains why migraines are more common in women.

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Dreams are proof that your brain never rests! (Warning: this fact can make you feel exhausted.) While you sleep, your limbic system, that is, the part of the brain that deals with emotions, becomes especially active, which is why dreams often feel so intense.

On average, humans experience four to seven dreams per night, even if we don’t always remember them. And what about that scary nightmare about falling? Well, you can thank your amygdala, the brain’s fear center, for that one.

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Have you ever walked into a room and instantly forgotten what you were after? That’s because short-term memory only lasts about 20-30 seconds! That’s not enough!

Your brain holds a limited amount of information in its active state before deciding whether to store it or discard it. Ironically, we can’t really choose what makes the cut, but we do hope these facts stay with you!

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That sharp, icy pain when you eat something too cold? It’s your brain’s way of telling you to slow down! Officially called sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia, a brain freeze happens when cold food or drinks rapidly chill the blood vessels in your throat, causing them to constrict and then rapidly expand. This sends pain signals to your brain, warning you of the sudden temperature shift. It’s annoying, but it’s actually your body trying to protect itself!

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You didn’t need us to tell you, but let’s look at the details: The average person has between 12,000 and 60,000 thoughts per day. What’s even more interesting? 95% of those thoughts are the same ones you had yesterday. Is that not surprising enough? Hear this out: 80% of them tend to be negative. That’s because our brains are wired for survival, constantly analyzing risks and potential dangers.

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Even though it only makes up about 2% of your body weight, your brain employs a major quantity of energy! It consumes 20% of your oxygen and blood supply, making it one of the most demanding organs in your body.

If your brain goes without oxygen for just five minutes, brain cells start dying, leading to irreversible damage. This is why deep breathing and cardiovascular exercise are great for brain health!

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Do you know that feeling when you hit the back of your head and see stars? That’s because your occipital lobe, which controls vision, is located at the back of your brain. If you get hit there, your brain momentarily misfires, causing flashes of light.

Interestingly, your brain processes vision on the opposite side; while your right brain controls your left eye, your left brain controls your right eye. It’s one of the many ways the brain operates in a complex way.

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Believe it or not, your brain generates between 12 and 25 watts of electricity when you’re awake. If you can’t really grasp how powerful that is, check this out: It’s enough to power a small light bulb! Your brain’s electrical activity is what allows neurons to send signals at speeds of up to 260 miles per hour.

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Your brain may be the fattiest organ in your body, consisting of at least 60% fat! This is why consuming healthy fats, like omega-3s and omega-6s present in fish, for example, is essential for brain health.

Healthy fats stabilize brain cell walls, reduce inflammation, and support cognitive function. So go ahead and enjoy that avocado toast, it’s food for your brain!

Image: Robina Weermeijer

It’s not just your memory that fades over time; the brain itself physically shrinks as one gets older. It continues developing until your late 40s, but after that, it slowly decreases in size.

Now, size doesn’t equal intelligence, so a smaller brain doesn’t necessarily mean a less capable one. Staying mentally active, exercising, and eating brain-boosting foods can help keep it in top shape!

Image: Lisa Yount

We often think of cholesterol as bad, but your brain actually depends on it! In fact, 25% of your body’s cholesterol is stored in your brain, where it helps with learning and memory. However, unlike other organs, the brain can’t absorb cholesterol from the blood, it has to produce its own. So, while too much cholesterol in the body can be harmful, the right amount is vital for brain function. At least you can use that as an excuse to get that burger!