Things That Make You Go “No Duh”

Sorry for the long silence, but my day to day has changed and my bloggy time has been cut short (i.e., I can’t blog at work anymore).

Today I looked at two papers and found stories that stated the obvious — which, of course, made me say “No duh” as I was reading them.

Story #1: An AP story about the signatures of Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama.  They consulted “graphologists” who analyze signatures and handwriting to discern the personality of a particular individual. So, what do the signatures say about the three candidates running for President?

Hillary: Her balanced signature show great intelligence; that she thinks things through intellectually and not emotionally.  She’s ambitious and a perfectionist, but cares for people.

John: He’s idealistic, impulsive, and proud.  He’s got a big ego, and a “short fuse.” (By the way, as I was writing this, I kept thinking I was writing the lyrics to Rush’s “New World Man.”)

Barack: Has a big ego, is smart, but values his privacy.  And the bisected “O” in his last name?  One view is that he’s crossing out his family name because, well, Barack’s father left him when he was a boy.  But wait!  There’s another view: the bisected “O” means he’s bi-racial.

Story #2:  The Mechanics Bank (a local, Bay Area bank) has modified their name.  They are now “Mechanics Bank.” The loss of “The” was a, um, bold move for this 103 year old institution.  Why did they change the name?  According to a news story in the East Bay Business Times:  “The bank found in its brand research that the “The” in the name made people think it was a specifically a bank for mechanics or union tradespeople.”  I wonder why people thought that? Hmm…

There’s more to this story.  Okay, the bank was marketed to mechanics and people who worked in the trades, but it seemed there was a little brand confusion 103 years ago, too.  In 1905, the bank was known as The Bank of Pinole.