[turbidum]

Hey, just kind of a question to all of the teams out there: How did you decide on your team names (and/or robot names)? Are they school mascots? allusions to literature or culture? Not really an important question, just trying to understand the rest of you out there, lol.

To answer my question, we have had two team names. Last year it was "The Titans." We spent (surprisingly) about a week on our name, finally deciding on something that sounded strong (Titans were figures in Greek mythology who were predecessors of the Olympian Gods, i.e. Mercury, Venus, etc.). Also, our robot's name was Vulcan (the Greek name for the Roman god Hephaestus, god of forges who pretty much created the first robots).

This year, since we wanted to change not only our appearance but be memorable (there were about 4 teams with the name "The Titans" last year), we decided in only about 2 or 3 days. We voted and came out with "The Apes of Wrath." Since our teacher is an English teacher and since we are from California, we thought it fitting to make some reference to Californian literature (John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath). Also, our robot's name this year is "Furious George," named after everyone's favorite childhood primate, Curious George.

So, if you feel like sharing, please tell the story of YOUR team or robot's name (and, if you would, respond to our team name, I would like some feedback).