Someting to ponder from the plucky Brits!

I looked up the history of flashlights on Wikipedia.
The term was originally coined to describe the behaviour of the early devices, which had carbon filament bulbs and zinc batteries. They would only run for short periods, or flashes - they stopped to rest the battery or change the bulb.
So I suggest the term e-torch for the new breed of long runtime LED-powered devices. It also anticipates the time when they will all be USB- charged and programmed.
Pip pip!

there have been attempts to change the name in normal usage, but they've failed.
it's just so common to call them flashlights now.

from the national geographic show on flashlights, eveready once tried to rename flashlights as "sky low" but that failed to catch up as quickly as it was created

Illum_the_nation said:

from the national geographic show on flashlights, eveready once tried to rename flashlights as "sky low" but that failed to catch up as quickly as it was created

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Hmm... not surprising really!

Most people in the UK call them torches.

Hand light. - Not fancy but generic and descriptive.

Pocket Light. - for 1 cell and small 2-cell size lights.

barkingmad said:

Hmm... not surprising really!

Most people in the UK call them torches.

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Yeah...I always the though flashlight was an american thing.

I say Torch like most brits.

Stu

It's shaming for me when I talk about flashlights to people in the rest of the World because flashlight is such an american term but I've mostly given up calling them torches online unless I want to highlight my non-american-ness.

In Australia and New Zealand we say Torch too.

Flashlight is definitely just the US.

We say flashlight in Canada too...but don't label us Canucks as the same as them Yankees. :nana: Just kidding.

It seems like we are stuck with the term flashlight here in the U.S.I believe the name Eveready tried to coin was Day-Lo not Sky-Lo.I personally would be happier with "torches" as they are called in England and elsewhere, it just sounds better when you say it.If you say torches in this country you just get a confused look. :shrug:

From the start of this thread you can see where 'flash' light comes from - but it's not really relevant these days (i.e. flash) unless you overdrive your bulb with NiMH batteries hot off the charger!

I am biased (being from the UK) but I think 'torch' is better than 'flashlight' :twothumbs

I always thought "Flashlight" to be an American term.
As already said most in the UK call them torches.

I don't think the "Flashlight Bug" has caught on over here in the UK yet, well not that I've noticed anyway.
Unless it's an underground type thing :naughty: secret handshakes and all that

Coining the name of these little illumination devices is just another form of neo-imperialism!

That makes sense, I remember seeing an article about that before

portable photon throwing device.

Re: SometHing to ponder from the plucky Brits!

Mike V said:

In Australia and New Zealand we say Torch too.

Flashlight is definitely just the US.

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What he said.

Passing through LAX a few years ago I mentioned a little black box in my hand luggage was an LED torch and the security guy suddenly got quite excited. "Torch?!?" "Flashlight! I mean flashlight." So I had to show him how it worked. It's easier to just keep away from the place (meaning the States). Pity we can't all do that, eh. :thumbsup:

fluke said:

I don't think the "Flashlight Bug" has caught on over here in the UK yet,

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You're not kidding!!!

The other night I was playing poker with some friends and some people I hadn't met before.This chap notices my ORBRAW red lux III on my neck lanyard and enquires what it is. Pause for whole table being dazzled by the high power 'red-eye' effect - predictably most of them go 'wow'. This chap smiles and says with enthusiasm, 'Gosh, are you a photographer or something?' as if he'd been looking for a gadget like this his whole life and was about to get out his wallet and make me an offer...

I told him that I just liked torches...

I have never seen a smile vanish off someone's face so quickly and be replaced with a scowl of incomprehension and distaste. Why?

At least I won loads of money off them ;-)

Back on topic - surely 'Torchaholic' would be better than 'Flashlightoholic'?

And it would appeal to the pyromaniacs among us.

All in all, I love the fact that everybody calls them something different all over the world - why shouldn't it be so?

Torches,Flashlights,Taschenlampen,Lampara de mano,lampe de poche,pila tascabile,Ficklampa,etc - they all make the dark a little brighter, and why not?


Be lucky...

So, what do people in the UK, NZ, and Australia call those flame-emitting devices used by plumbers to solder copper pipe?

soffiler said:

So, what do people in the UK, NZ, and Australia call those flame-emitting devices used by plumbers to solder copper pipe?

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In The UK.
Blow Lamp, Blow Torch, Butane Torch, Brazing Torch.
Gas Axe (Oxy-ceteline).
All I cant think of at the moment.

Illum_the_nation said:

from the national geographic show on flashlights, eveready once tried to rename flashlights as "sky low" but that failed to catch up as quickly as it was created

Click to expand...

It was actually Daylo.

I also dislike the term "Torch" since my flashlights aren't burning. On a good day anyway.