Name the New Eatery: Names that never made the cut

RELEASED: April 3, 2008

DANVILLE, KY—The "Final Four" names in the "Name the New Eatery" contest continue to tally votes on the road to immortality and Netflix. Voting will continue for an additional week and the polls will close on Wednesday, April 9 at midnight. The "Final Four" in alphabetical order are Chowan, Colonel Commons, Epicentre and The Tracks. The winner will be announced on Friday, April 11 during the Campus Center Groundbreaking Ceremony at 12:45 p.m. on the Cowan Dining Commons lawn.

And now for a peek at some of the names that never broke from obscurity and into the Sensational 64:

"Precious Metal's Muckamuck" perplexed even the brightest of minds, generating no convincing speculation as to what the name implied or referenced. Another entry, "3473|2¥" was easier to decipher after a crash course in Leetspeak, Internet slang which uses numbers and symbols to replace Latinate letters. The English translation of "3473|2¥" is "EATERY."

Drawing on their fields of expertise, a molecular biology professor and a sociology professor submitted "Carbophillic Centre" and "Solidarity Enhancement Third Place," respectively, but couldn't draw wide-enough appeal to break into the contest.

Some entries invoked the celebrity of individuals who, despite having no immediate connection to Centre, were submitted anyway. Among these names were: "The Stephen Colbert Great American Dining Complex" and "The Chuck Norris Dining Hall."

Approaching the thin line of copyright infringement (and possibly treading on it) were "Centre's KFC (Kentucky Fed Colonels)," "Hard Rock Centre" and "The Outback."

Many names played on the homonyms "colonel" and "kernel," only one of which broke into the Sensational 64--"The Kernel." But the farthest stretch of these same-sounding words was " The Pop Corn Colonel Buffet."

More than 14 submissions contained some form of President Roush's moniker. As honored as he was, he modestly declined to have his name on the new building. The standouts from this list of dedications include "The John Roush Steakhouse," "House of Roush," "Chez Roush" and "Roush's Raucous Roadside Grill."

Some names were simply so long that it would require a bond issue to produce in brass letters across the side of the building. Submissions such as "The Mystery Meat and Greet," "Susie Roush Dining and Student Center," "Thomas A. Spragens One Stop Shop," "Billy Breeze's Backyard BBQ" and "The Cow Jumped Over the Moon Eatery" contained an average of 27 characters.

Finally, calling upon the age-old adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," "Cowan" was given a second chance at life, but the chance was slim indeed.

For the original story on the "Name the New Eatery" contest, click here.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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