From Arabia to Pluto

« A page from a book so filled with errors that I'm sure it was filed under comedy in the bookshops. »

I don't remember where I found this picture nor could I find it again, but I straightened it up a bit as I think it's worth a good chuckle. I'd love to know the title and publisher of the book. You have to wonder who made the shit up about Arabia and Iittala:

...when the Finns started marketing their dinnerware outside Scandinavia, they named it after other countries--such as Arabia, or Ittala[sic]--in hopes that exotic locations would impart a mystique to their efforts. The ploy worked so well that today people all over the world own beautifully designed crystal which they think came from an OPEC country.

I nearly spilled my coffee laughing at that. Even the smallest amount of research might have prevented such a glaring error. I suppose I should thank the publishers as even though I didn't know how Arabia got the name I could spot that as a steaming pile of misinformation pretty quickly and went to look it up on the net. The model's name is spelled incorrectly and the address doesn't exist [I don't think street numbers pass 60 in downtown actually]. And Finnska? Don't they mean Finland-Swedish?

Judging by the width of the tie [isn't it fun how ties are almost as reliable as carbon dating? :)], the 1971 Marimekko "Mansikkavuoret" print and the 1960's Ultima Thule glassware, I'd put the photo/book somewhere firmly in the 1980s or later and, judging by the English, I'd almost bet good money that it was written by an American. The whole thing is one giant, glaring error that's both funny and rather sad. [I am sad to say that I have been informed that the page was taken from a book filed under humor. Can anyone confirm or deny that it is from Scandinavian Humor and Other Myths by John Louis Anderson published in 1986 in Minnesota? At least the tie and the English didn't steer me too far from wrong. Still....would people living outside of Finland get most of the jokes? :) ] So, here's today's completely useless factoid in both Finnish and English; How did the Arabia brand ceramics get their name?

October 1874, the factory is seen to completion on a plot called Arabia. Arabia, the name of the plot, was taken as the name for the factory and afterwards, it became the name for the entire city district. Arabia's next-door neighbours include Intiankatu [India Street], Koreankatu [Korea Street], and Kaanaan katu [Canaan Street]: when the plots and streets in the then summer villa area were named, it was felt they were very far from the centre of Helsinki - that is how they got their exotic, romanticized names.

Lokakuussa 1874 tehdas valmistuu Arabia-nimiselle huvilatontille Helsingin Vanhankaupungin lahdelle. Arabian tehtaan valikoima laajeni nopeasti astioista uuneihin ja saniteettiposliiniin.

Tontin nimi Arabia otettiin tehtaan nimeksi, ja sittemmin se on tullut koko kaupunginosan nimeksi. Arabian naapurissa sijaitsevat mm. Intiankatu, Koreankatu ja Kaanaan niityt. Kun silloisen huvila-alueen tontteja ja katuja nimettiin, tuntuivat ne sijaitsevan kovin kaukana Helsingin keskustasta. Siksi ne myös saivat eksoottisia, romantisoituja nimiä.

So, instead of Timbuktu, Finns named the boonies, now thought of as the suburbs, Arabia. Surely, this must mean we have to rename Vantaa as Pluto. :)