Selections from List of Common False Etymologies of English Words:
Emoji: These pictographic characters are often mistakenly believed to be a simplified form of the word emoticon, itself a portmanteau of "emotional icon". However, emoji is a Japanese term composed from "e" (image) and "moji" (character).[47]
💩
Shit: The word "shit" did not originate as an acronym for "Ship High in Transit", a label falsely said to have been used on shipments of manure to prevent them from becoming waterlogged and releasing explosive methane gas.[8][12] The word comes from Old English scitte, and is of Proto-Germanic origin.[13][14]
Crap: The word "crap" did not originate as a back-formation of British plumber Thomas Crapper's surname, nor does his name originate from the word "crap", although the surname may have helped popularize the word.[1][2] The surname "Crapper" is a variant of "Cropper", which originally referred to someone who harvested crops.[3][4] The word "crap" ultimately comes from Medieval Latin crappa, meaning "chaff".[5]
"420" did not originate as the Los Angeles police or penal code for marijuana use.[35] Police Code 420 is "juvenile disturbance",[36] and Penal Code 420 defines the prevention, hindrance, or obstruction of legal "entry, settlement, or residence" on "any tract of public land" as a misdemeanor.[37] Some LA police codes that do relate to illegal drugs include 10-50 ("under influence of drugs"), 966 ("drug deal"), 11300 ("narcotics"), and 23105 ("driver under narcotics").[38][39]
Mashed Potato! Popcorn!
Or, my new favorite song by James Brown
I picked up was James Brown’s Soul Syndrome on tape, and the second song on the first side caught me off guard. I was driving when it came on, and thought maybe someone overdubbed the tape with some sort of of comedy James Brown. I double checked the tape, and, yep, the song was really called “Mashed Potatoes”. You can hear it for yourself: https://youtu.be/7JMQWDc38RY?t=14m6s
So, why did he make a song about a food so dear to my heart? Well, Mashed Potato is the name of one of his signature dance moves. From Wikipedia -
The dance move begins by stepping backward with one foot with that heel tilted inward. The foot is positioned slightly behind the other (stationary) foot. With the weight on the ball of the starting foot, the heel is then swiveled outward. The same process is repeated with the other foot: step back and behind with heel inward, pivot heel out, and so on.
https://www.iheart.com/content/2018-02-23-5-james-brown-dance-moves-to-make-you-get-up-offa-that-thing/ - for more moves.
This clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdz88MBWomo - is a video of him doing the Mashed Potato. It also has James Brown doing the dance move “The James Brown” - which is deliciously recursive...
This wasn’t a one off thing for James Brown, there were a whole series, including “Mashed Potatoes U.S.A.” and “Do The Mashed Potatoes.” I was also turned on to James Brown’s “Popcorn” by R.H., which is when I ran across “Mashed Potatoes Popcorn (part 1) (part 2).”
Also of note: James Brown opened a chain of restaurants called “The Gold Platter” in 1969. “Brown’s Gold Platter menu featured fried chicken, French fries, coleslaw, cornbread, catfish with hush puppies, and hamburgers all served on a gold platter, of course.” No mention of serving mashed potatoes.
