Nigel is a quintessentially British name. Though it might not be at the top of the current baby name lists it was popular some years back meaning that the UK now has the largest share of Nigel’s on the face of the planet.
However it now seems that as nice as they all are, computer giant Apple no longer likes the Nigels. News has emerged from The Register tech news website, that anyone wishing to use the companies website to have their new iPod engraved will find that Apple deem the word Nigel to be “Inappropriate.” Some Americans might even go so far as to label the Nigel word “objectionable.”
Strange censorship standards are nothing new at Apple though. The geek-chic Californian nerds grouped Miles Davis in with gangsta rappers on their iTunes music store by preventing browsers from seeing the full title of his 70s classic “Bitches Brew.” “Jesus Christ” would also seem to be a ‘bad word’ if you’re from Cupertino, California, where one can only assume Christian churches are not in abundance.
It’s not entirely clear what is so objectionable about Nigel, perhaps in California calling someone a “Nigel” is just something you never ever do. Thank goodness we have Apple to look after us and keep us from seeing things that might upset us.
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Apple iPods
War on the Nigels
Unnofficial Apple blog
Wrote the following comment on Sep 20, 2005 at 11:14 am
Nigel…that brings back memories from the year I spent at the University of Aberdeen during college.
Are all Nigels nose-picking nerds with the social grace and sexual sophistication of a jackhammer?
Wrote the following comment on Sep 20, 2005 at 3:13 pm
LOL! So tell me, is it true that Americans don’t get English humor? :-)
As for Sony Ericson blowing the iPod out of the water. Yeah, that’ll happen. Just like Firefox will blow Internet Explorer out of the water.I’m still laughing at Americans wondering why Nigel is a bad word :-D
Wrote the following comment on Sep 20, 2005 at 8:13 am
I’m American and I have no problem with Nigel. I do draw the line at Eugeine though. Gotta have limits.
Wrote the following comment on Sep 20, 2005 at 10:28 am
I think they’re comparing it to the other N word… Nigel, as in Niggel maybe.. who knows.
America can be quite retarded some days.
Wrote the following comment on Sep 20, 2005 at 10:39 am
What does it mean to be called a Nigel? I’ll ask my college aged compadres to see if they know.I see that you, too, think Candy is Dandy. I would have never guessed that about you Simon (*insert winker here*).
Wrote the following comment on Sep 20, 2005 at 11:19 am
good thing i never plan on buying one of those evil contraptions. i heard sony-ericsson was creating something that will blow the ipod out of the water. i’d rather get one of those.
Wrote the following comment on Sep 20, 2005 at 12:10 pm
I asked my daughter if Nigel was a bad word for something and she that Nigel is a hot guy in her Journalism class. So i dunno.
Wrote the following comment on Sep 20, 2005 at 2:51 pm
I live in California. I’ve never heard Nigel used inappropriately, but then again I live in the suburbs and I am blonde. Could be I just missed something……
Wrote the following comment on Sep 21, 2005 at 2:24 am
Patti, it would seem that Apple have deemed the letter combination ‘Nige’ to be bad presumably because if one added an R it would be a ‘bad word.’ I wonder though, why would anyone buy an iPod and have abuse engraved on the back? You also can’t use the word “Gay” according to another website.
Wookit, Do all of us Brits think Americans are slow? Na, I’m sure we don’t. But Americans don’t get irony very well. Your humor is different, but that’s just a cultural thing isn’t it. Alhough I think it’s fair to say that a lot of English people feel that Americans are very inwardly looking insular people. But I blame your media for that more than anything else really.
Wrote the following comment on Sep 21, 2005 at 3:28 am
I see a certain amount of irony here… but, I’ll shut up because I don’t think you know me well enough to get my American humor :)
Wrote the following comment on Sep 20, 2005 at 6:32 pm
You mock us…but we are wondering in earnest. What the hell does it all mean? Help us, Nigel.
Wrote the following comment on Sep 20, 2005 at 7:23 pm
I accuse my boyfriend, who is Welsh of being English all the time. Now THAT’S funny.
Is it true that English people think that all Americans are slow?
Wrote the following comment on Sep 21, 2005 at 7:58 am
Humour is very much a cultural thing. Have you ever watched Japanese TV!
Wrote the following comment on Sep 21, 2005 at 4:57 am
ooh, what about “liam” ? is that english or what? no american can get away with naming their kid that.
Wrote the following comment on Sep 21, 2005 at 5:39 am
Ok, got it, but to add an R to “nige” would make it a country, not a deragatory word. And it is debatable whether or not Americans get irony very well. I think that our society as a whole tends to prefer physical humor, over irony. And I wish I had something cleverly ironic to add, but I just returned from my run and all the blood has drained from my brain. Next time….