Capitalize those brand names

Some products have become so entrenched in our lives that their brand names have turned into household words. For example, Google, the tech giant known for Internet search and other related products, gave us the verb “to google,” which simply means to search for something on the Internet regardless of whose search engine you are using.

Here is a list of products you should capitalize in your writing because they are indeed brand names. But should you even use the word Dumpster if you’re not throwing your trash bag in a Dumpster brand trash bin? In parentheses is a suggested workaround, but sometimes the brand name just works better:

•    Dumpster (trash bin)

•    Crock-pot (slow cooker)

•    Q-tip (cotton safety swab)

•    Xerox (copy)

•    Kleenex (tissue)

•    Jacuzzi (whirlpool bath)

•    ChapStick (lip balm)

•    Popsicle (flavored ice on a stick)

•    Bundt pan (fluted cake pan)

•    Saran wrap (plastic film wrap)

•    Laundromat (coin-operated laundry)

•    Thermos (insulated bottle)

•    Frisbee (plastic saucer for tossing back and forth)

•    Jell-O  (gelatin desert)

•    Band-Aid (plastic shear strip)

•    Styrofoam cup (plastic foam cup)