What A Pile Of Crock

(My wife’s 80-year-old mother lives with us. She is going to visit other relatives for the holidays so we decide to open gifts early. The gift I receive is a new Crock Pot.)

Mom: *craning her neck to try to see the box* “What brand is the Crock Pot?”

Me: “Crock Pot.”

Mom: “I know it’s a Crock Pot, but what brand is it?”

Me: “Crooock, Poooootttt.”

Mom: *looks confused*

Me: “The brand name is Crock Pot. It’s the original makers of slow cookers.”

Mom: *still looks confused*

Me: “It’s like Kleenex. There are many brands of tissue but a lot of times people just call any of them Kleenex. While a lot of people call slow cookers Crock Pots, technically it’s only a Crock Pot if it’s made by Crock Pot. Hamilton Beach makes slow cookers, but they aren’t Crock Pots.”

Mom: *still looks confused*

Wife: “THE BRAND NAME IS CROCK POT!”

(My wife then tries to explain other words that are used generically, like Xerox, and Band-Aid.)

Me: “Crock Pot is the brand of the original maker of slow cookers. Other brands usually will just say ‘slow cooker’ on them because Crock Pot is a brand.”

Mom: “Well, a lot of recipes say Crock Pot, not slow cooker.”

(At this point I decide not to continue the conversation, although inside my head I’m screaming. Later on I see her again looking at the box to figure out what brand it is.)