What's In a Name? Part 2

I think the Egyptian god Ammon would have been surprised to know that his name would one day inspire the name of the chemical element ammonia! The 18th-century Swedish chemist Torbern Bergman coined the word for the gas obtained from salt deposits containing ammonium chloride found near the temple of Ammon in Libya. (The Greek word ammoniakos actually means 'belonging to Ammon'.)

If, like me, you are a fan of apple pie, you might be surprised to learn that the Bramley apple was named after a butcher. The first Bramley tree grew from pips planted by a young girl, Mary Ann Brailsford, in Nottinghamshire in 1809. Local butcher Matthew Bramley bought the cottage and garden. It was while he lived in the cottage that a local nurseryman, Henry Merryweather, asked if he could take cuttings from the tree and start to sell the apple. Bramley agreed, but insisted the apple should bear his name – hence 'Bramley's Seedling'.

And we have the American feminist reformer Amelia Jenks Bloomer to thank for the unique item of clothing she promoted in the 19th century – bloomers!