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Mon
25
Aug '08

Contest: What do these things have in common?

Heh. I’d totally forgotten that I’d done this. In my new short at Apex all of the names,1 except Cody,2 have something in common.

First person to correctly identify the commonality gets an unpublished short story direct to their inbox.

Edited to add: Through a joint effort, Mike F and Nathaniel Payne correctly identified the names as coming from subway stops. I often write on the train. I’ve sent them both a copy of “Home Safety” which is a spin on Hansel and Gretel.

  1. Just to clarify Martian soil and Zeta Epsilon longgrass are not names. []
  2. Cody is named after a real dog. I did try to use the same naming convention with her, but Cody was a better name []
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9 Comments

  1. Julia Julia on 25.08.2008 at 13:02 (Reply)

    I see a couple of founding fathers’ last names, myself.

    1. Mary Robinette Kowal Mary Robinette Kowal on 25.08.2008 at 13:16 (Reply)

      Nope.

      Don’t forget to include Mosholu in your reckoning.

  2. Nathaniel Nathaniel on 25.08.2008 at 13:25 (Reply)

    Penn, Madison, Moshulu? Sounds like New York, to me.

  3. Mike F Mike F on 25.08.2008 at 13:28 (Reply)

    There’s a Penn station near Madison Square park. At least on the map I could find. Is Lenox one of the names too? I’m thinking they are stops on the subway. I’m totally guessing though…

    1. Nathaniel Nathaniel on 25.08.2008 at 13:46 (Reply)

      I was actually thinking streets, but I believe you’re right - I think they’re all subway terminals.

      1. Mary Robinette Kowal Mary Robinette Kowal on 25.08.2008 at 14:07 (Reply)

        We’ll call that a team effort.

        Yes, all of the names came from NYC subway stops. For the record, I have a drafts in which Cody was called Myrtle and Delancey. Neither worked.

        I write on the subway and was passing through Penn station when I named him. The rest I named that way for sheer fun.

        1. Mike F Mike F on 25.08.2008 at 14:12 (Reply)

          Hmmm. “Come, Myrtle!” “Come, Delancy!” Yeah, those don’t work too well. :)

          To be honest, when I first read the story, Penn, of Penn and Teller, came to my mind.

          Thanks for letting us play!

          1. Mary Robinette Kowal Mary Robinette Kowal on 25.08.2008 at 14:14 (Reply)

            Thanks for playing!

        2. Jo Rhett Jo Rhett on 25.08.2008 at 18:47 (Reply)

          They are also both Universities.

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