Tales behind goodies

What does "Doritos" mean? The naming of our favourite snacks

Image: Nelly Antoniadou

Doritos, Kit Kats, Oreos… We don’t think twice about the names of these products when we pick them up. It feels like those words have been in our vocabulary forever –and, indeed, the history of some of these brands exceeds our lifetimes! Today, we want to look into the motives and creative associations that gave birth to the names of the world’s favourite snacks.

Image: DENİZ ÇAĞLUSU

The name Doritos is thought to come from the Spanish doradito, meaning "little golden thing". A fitting description for the bright, fried tortilla chips, don’t you think?

Their story begins in the 1960s at Disneyland, where a restaurant run by Frito-Lay began repurposing leftover tortillas by cutting and frying them instead of tossing them.

Image: Obi

Launched by Nabisco in 1934, Ritz crackers were named to conjure an image of luxury in the middle of the Great Depression.

"Ritz" evoked the glamour of the Ritz hotels, offering people a small "bite of the good life" during hard times.

Image: Justin

Kit Kat snacks were born as "Rowntree’s Chocolate Crisp" in the UK. Not very catchy.

However, they were eventually rebranded with a name inspired by London’s 18th-century "Kit-Cat Club," a gathering spot for political and literary figures. And "Kit Kat" was certainly easier to market globally!

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Nabisco trademarked Oreo in 1912, but they never explained the true meaning of their cookie’s name. Theories abound: some say it comes from the French or ("gold"), others suggest the Greek oreo ("mountain"), or that it was simply a short, punchy word chosen to be memorable.

Image: Shyam Mishra

When Mars introduced this nougat, caramel, and peanut bar, they named it after the family’s favorite horse, Snickers.

The bar went on to become one of the best-selling candies in the world, though in the UK it was marketed for decades as "Marathon" before aligning with the global name.

Image: Midas Hofstra

Another favourite treat launched in the UK! Twix got its name as a clever contraction of "twin sticks," referring to the two cookie-and-caramel bars packaged side by side.

It was important for the name to indicate the bar’s unique double format, which would set it apart from single-stick competitors like Mars or Milky Way.

Image: Oksana Zub

The two "Ms" derive from Forrest Mars and Bruce Murrie, the unlikely business partners who brought the candy.

Mars had the recipe for chocolate coated in a hard shell (inspired by similar treats eaten by Spanish soldiers), while Murrie, son of Hershey’s president, secured access to wartime chocolate supplies.

Image: Giorgio Trovato

Originally styled as "Chee-tos," the name was meant to be playful, quirky, and easy for kids to say. And, of course, to remind them of cheese!

The brand took off nationally after partnering with Frito-Lay, and later introduced the mascot Chester Cheetah, which became a snack-world cultural icon.

Image: Zoshua Colah

Lay’s logo and bright colors are a signature aesthetic, but the origin of their name is quite straightforward: The brand was founded by Herman W. Lay.

This chip company was one of the first to successfully market packaged potato chips nationwide in the US.

Image: Michelle Riach

The bite-sized chocolate drops earned the name "Kisses" from their smooch-like shape and possibly the gentle kissing sound made by early machines. Today, Kisses remain one of the company’s signature products.

Image: Zoshua Colah

The name of Kellogg’s toaster pastry was a pun on the trendy Pop Art movement of the era, the 60s. Funnily enough, nowadays, some people might struggle to define pop art, but they can certainly describe the snack!

Image: Nikolaos Kofidis

Did you know that Ferrero’s famous spread began as a wartime improvisation? Scarce cocoa was mixed with hazelnuts, and it soon became the crowd’s favourite.

It first appeared as Giandujot, then Supercrema, before Michele Ferrero rebranded it, combining the English word "nut" with the friendly Italian-sounding suffix "-ella."

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Created in Switzerland by Theodor Tobler, the bar fused his family name with torrone, the Italian word for nougat. Its triangular shape was a nod to Alpine peaks that are also a trademark of their packaging. It remains one of the most iconic Swiss exports.

10 weird historical events that no one has been able to explain (yet)

Image: Walters Art Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Who doesn't like a good mystery? And if the mystery isn’t a work of fiction but the result of a true story, even better! The great unsolved enigmas of history are absolutely fascinating. Some have been solved over time, but there are still many old secrets for which neither scientists nor historians have found an explanation—yet. Time-travel with us as we uncover 10 of the biggest historical mysteries that will probably never be cracked!

Image: Tanner, Henry S., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Bermeja Island is mentioned in navigation texts written by European travelers and appears in cartography from the 16th to 19th centuries. Old maps place it off the north coast of the Yucatán Peninsula; however, multiple searches over the years have yielded no concrete evidence of its existence.

So, what happened to Isla Bermeja? Was it a cartographic error? Did it sink due to a tidal wave? Because of its geopolitical significance, some have even suggested that it was blown up by the CIA! A 2009 study by the Autonomous University of Mexico concluded that Isla Bermeja does not exist today, nor were any traces found at its supposed coordinates. Yet, it will forever remain a mystery that will surely keep many entertained.

Image: Credit: Big Ear Radio Observatory and North American AstroPhysical Observatory (NAAPO)., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In 1977, Ohio State University’s Big Ear radio telescope, used in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, detected a signal now known as the Wow! signal. While reviewing the data, astronomer Jerry R. Ehman noticed a sequence represented as "6EQUJ5." Baffled by the anomaly, he circled it and wrote "Wow!" in the margins.

The signal lasted 72 seconds and, unfortunately, has never been repeated. To this day, no one can fully explain the phenomenon, although some suggest it may have come from a man-made source. Still, the Wow! signal remains one of the strongest candidates for potential extraterrestrial contact ever detected.

Image: Edward S. Curtis, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

How is it possible for an entire village to vanish without a trace? Believe it or not, this is said to have happened nearly a century ago. According to lore, a small Inuit village in Canada was well known among fur trappers who visited regularly to trade. But in 1930, something very strange supposedly occurred.

A hunter named Joe Labelle claimed he visited the village one day and couldn’t find a single person. Reports said there were guns and food left behind, and even claims that the graves in the cemetery were empty. A thorough investigation, however, found no conclusive evidence of what happened to the villagers. Some witnesses from nearby towns even reported seeing a huge green light. Theories ranged from mass migration to extraterrestrial abductions. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has since dismissed the case as an urban legend. Some still believe the story to be true.

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We know thousands of shipwreck stories, but this one is quite unique. The MV Joyita, designed to be nearly unsinkable, was found adrift in the South Pacific, practically unharmed, but the crew had disappeared completely.

In October 1955, the American merchant vessel left the port of Apia in Samoa with 16 crew members and 9 passengers bound for the Tokelau Islands. After days without news, a rescue mission was launched. Five weeks later, the Joyita was spotted more than 600 miles west of its intended route. The vessel was partially submerged, and there was no sign of the passengers or crew. Four tons of cargo and all three life rafts were missing. They were never seen again.

Image: Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Do you know where one of the best-preserved mummies was found? Hint: not in Egypt. Xin Zhui, the Marquise of Dai during the Western Han Dynasty in China, was discovered in her tomb at Mawangdui 2,000 years after her death, along with hundreds of valuable documents and artifacts.

What makes this mummy so extraordinary is how well-preserved her body is. Her organs and veins remain intact, and she still has hair and even eyelashes. Scientists analyzed the fluid present in the coffin and discovered it was acidic and contained salt and magnesium. They believe this mysterious liquid may have been responsible for preserving Xin Zhui so well. What they don’t know is whether it was intentionally poured into the coffin or came from the body itself.

Image: Yoichi Okamoto, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The United States has its fair share of presidents who died while in office, but none of our 45 presidents have ever disappeared without a trace. Did you know that this actually happened in The Land Down Under?

Harold Edward Holt was the Prime Minister of Australia from 1966 until his presumed death in 1967. He loved the ocean and spearfishing. During a weekend trip with friends, Holt visited the remote Cheviot Beach to take a swim. Rough sea conditions that day caused him to be swept away by the waves, and he never reappeared. Despite an intensive search, his body was never found, which has given rise to numerous conspiracy theories. Ironically, Australians built the Harold Holt Memorial Swimming Centre in Melbourne in his honor.

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Many famous criminals have managed to remain unidentified for decades, but the D.B. Cooper case is something else entirely. In 1971, Cooper boarded a flight from Portland to Seattle. Shortly after takeoff, he showed a flight attendant a device he claimed was a bomb and demanded four parachutes and $200,000 in cash.

The crew landed to meet Cooper’s demands in exchange for the passengers and then took off again. As the plane flew over southwestern Washington, Cooper jumped into the cold, rainy night carrying his haul. His whereabouts and true identity were never discovered, although it is likely he didn’t survive the jump. In 1980, some of the ransom money was found near the Columbia River. Although the FBI officially closed the case in 2016, amateur sleuths continue to try to crack it.

Image: Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Can you imagine an epidemic where the main symptom is uncontrollable dancing? Sounds like science fiction, doesn’t it? Yet this really happened during the Middle Ages. In 1518, a dancing plague struck Strasbourg, Alsace, in what is now France. This strange condition affected up to 400 people, making them dance frantically for weeks. It is said that some even died of heart attacks, exhaustion, or strokes.

Doctors and authorities tried all kinds of measures to stop the spread. They even banned music for a while! To this day, scientists are not certain what caused this bizarre condition: it may have been food poisoning from toxins in the ergot fungus, or perhaps a case of stress-induced mass hysteria.

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The Voynich manuscript is a codex written roughly 500 years ago in an unknown language and writing system by an anonymous author. Known as Voynichese, the manuscript was named after Wilfrid Voynich, a Polish bibliophile and antiquarian who purchased it in 1912.

Radiocarbon testing has shown that it dates to the early 15th century. Many cryptographers and codebreakers have attempted to decipher its roughly 240 pages without success. The manuscript contains diagrams and illustrations of unknown plants and astrological symbols. Some believe it may be a made-up language, a secret code, a work of fiction, or even a hoax. If you think you can solve this mystery, the Voynich manuscript is available for viewing at Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Image: Bernhard

Similar to the Voynich manuscript, the Phaistos Disc is a fired clay disc believed to have been created during the Bronze Age. It was discovered by an Italian archaeologist in the basement of a palace in Crete, Greece, in 1908.

What makes this disc fascinating is that it contains a mysterious message. Stamped into the clay is a set of signs, forming a text that many scientists have tried to decipher—without success. It is considered an early attempt at printing, a technological innovation that would not become widespread for several centuries. While enthusiasts still hope the enigma can be solved, this is unlikely unless other documents are discovered to provide context.