16 Names of Things You Never Knew had Names

Kick or Punt




The indentation at the bottom of some wine bottles. It gives added strength to the bottle but lessens its holding capacity


Keeper




The loop on a belt that keeps the end in place after it has passed through the buckle.


Harp




The small metal hoop that supports a lampshade.

Ferrule




The metal band on a pencil that holds the eraser in place.


Feat




A dangling curl of hair.

Peen



The end of a hammer head opposite the striking face.

Obdormition



The numbness caused by pressure on a nerve; when a limb is ‘asleep’

Octothorpe



The symbol ‘#’ on a telephone handset. Bell Labs’ engineer Don Macpherson created the word in the 1960s by combining octo, as in eight, with the name of one of his favourite athletes, 1912 Olympic decathlon champion Jim Thorpe.


Ophryon



The space between the eyebrows on a line with the top of the eye sockets.


Liripipe



The long tail on a graduate’s academic hood.

Zarf



A holder for a handleless coffee cup.


Snorkel box



A mailbox with a protruding receiver to allow people to deposit mail without leaving their cars.


Purlicue



The space between the thumb and extended forefinger.


Rowel



The revolving star on the back of a cowboy’s spurs.

Phosphenes



The lights you see when you close your eyes hard. Technically the luminous impressions are due to the excitation of the retina caused by pressure on the eyeball.

Wamble



Stomach rumbling.