Today's quiz: Former names of famous brands

[Vicarious Thrillseeker]

Identify the famous brands by their former names.

1 Quantum Computer Services (AOL, 3CR)
2 BackRub (Google, gjt)
3 Brad’s Drink (Pepsi, DR)
4 Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo (Sony, Ursus)
5 Blue Ribbon Sports (Nike, Rogin)
6 AuctionWeb (eBay, Snake)
7 Marafuku Company (Nintendo, 3CR)
8 Confinity (PayPal, 3CR)
9 Pete’s Super Submarines (Subway, Rogin)
10 Research in Motion (BlackBerry, Guy)

[Gangster Octopus]

4. Toyota

[Guy Profumo]

RIM is Blackberry, isn't it?

Quantum - SMERSH

(Will Science of Cambridge get a look in?

Or onDigital?)...

[Snake Plissken]

AuctionWeb became eBay, I think.

Blue Ribbon Sports rings a bell.

Edit: Yes, it was the one I was thinking of.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

9 - Subway

[gjt]

2. Google

[Third rate Leszno]

7 sounds like something confrontational from Whitehaven.

[Diable Rouge]

3. Brad's Drink is Pepsi.

[Diable Rouge]

Presumably 1 is CompuServe?

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

I'm going to guess Blue Ribbon Sports is Nike, because I'm fairly certain it's not Adidas which was from the name of its founder, wasn't it?

[ursus arctos]

Correct

TTK is Sony

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

I don’t have a clue who “Confinity’ are but if they started out with a name like that they already sound like a right bunch of wankers.

[Wouter D]

1. Apple?

[Guy Profumo]

I don’t have a clue who “Confinity’ are but if they started out with a name like that they already sound like a right bunch of wankers.

Über, then...

[Patrick Thistle]

1 Quantum Computer Services - Pixar

3 Brad’s Drink - Sunny Delight
4 Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo - Sanrio
5 Blue Ribbon Sports - ESPN

7 Marafuku Company - Mazda
8 Confinity - Yodel

[3 Colours Red]

I don’t have a clue who “Confinity’ are but if they started out with a name like that they already sound like a right bunch of wankers.

I believe Confinity became PayPal, so depending what you think of Elon Musk...

And Quantum Computer Services was/is AOL. I learnt that from an LGR YouTube video.

Finally... being a retro gaming spod, I know that Marufuku Company was briefly a trading name for Nintendo while they still only made Harafuda cards.

[Diable Rouge]

I believe Confinity became PayPal, so depending what you think of Elon Musk...

And Quantum Computer Services was/is AOL. I learnt that from an LGR YouTube video.

Finally... being a retro gaming spod, I know that Marufuku Company was briefly a trading name for Nintendo while they still only made Harafuda cards.

Leave luck to heaven.

[3 Colours Red]

Indeed.

And while I corrected one spelling mistake with Marufuku (isn't marafuku a type of ramen? In which case I'd have guessed at Nissin or even Ajinomoto), I make my own with harafuda. Hanafuda, FFS.

[Big Boobs and FIRE!]

5. Nike

[Big Boobs and FIRE!]

7 sounds like something confrontational from Whitehaven.

Very good!

[Furtho]

4. Toyota

As a sub-quiz, there’s something unusual about the name Toyota when compared with two other Japanese corporate giants, Hitachi and Kawasaki. What is it?

[ursus arctos]

Proper name as opposed to a geographic location

[Vicarious Thrillseeker]

Identify the famous brands by their former names.

1 Quantum Computer Services (AOL, 3CR)
2 BackRub (Google, gjt)
3 Brad’s Drink (Pepsi, DR)
4 Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo (Sony, Ursus)
5 Blue Ribbon Sports (Nike, Rogin)
6 AuctionWeb (eBay, Snake)
7 Marafuku Company (Nintendo, 3CR)
8 Confinity (PayPal, 3CR)
9 Pete’s Super Submarines (Subway, Rogin)
10 Research in Motion (BlackBerry, Guy)

[Furtho]

Proper name as opposed to a geographic location

That’s not it, although the puzzle is connected to geography.

[ursus arctos]

Kansai vs Kantō?

Or that Toyota City was named after the company, whereas the Hitachi and Kawasaki firms were named after their home towns?