[For Seniors] That phrase too! A fun 3-choice abbreviation quiz

World Exposition

Many older adults may be familiar with the Osaka Expo, the first World Expo held in Japan. Some of them may even have visited it. “Expo” is short for “World Exposition,” an event that showcases the progress made toward realizing what is necessary for human activity and presents prospects for the future. Incidentally, the total number of visitors to the Osaka Expo held in 1970 was reportedly over 64 million.

compact disc

A CD is a shiny, circular storage medium. It was jointly developed by Sony and Philips as a replacement for vinyl records as a medium for recording music. The maximum playing time of a CD is 74 minutes, and it’s said this was decided with the remark, “Since it’s a music recording medium, it has to be long enough to fit the Ninth.”

ballpoint pen

In Japan, “ball pen” is the common term, but in the UK and the United States it’s called a “ballpoint pen.” “Ballpoint” refers to the ball-shaped tip of the pen, which is the origin of the name. Around 1947, the year World War II ended in the Pacific, ballpoint pens were brought to Japan by the U.S. military. Production and development then progressed in Japan. The gel-ink ballpoint pens that have been increasing in popularity recently are spreading from Japan to the rest of the world.

soft-serve ice cream

“Soft cream” is an abbreviation of “soft serve ice cream,” which literally means ice cream that’s served soft. When it became popular in Japan, the name was shortened to “soft cream” because “soft serve ice cream” was considered too long. By the way, July 3—the day the U.S. military first sold soft serve in Japan—is celebrated as Soft Cream Day.

military gloves

Work gloves, which protect your hands from cuts during tasks, are an indispensable item in daily life. It’s said that work gloves originated in Japan and were first used by the Choshu Domain at the end of the Edo period. They were reportedly used during firearms training to prevent handling guns with bare hands, which could cause rust. Nowadays, there are many types of work gloves, including ones with conductive threads at the fingertips that allow you to operate touchscreens.

white shirt

The abbreviation “waishatsu” comes from “white shirt,” which sounds English but is actually Japanese-made English. In the Meiji era, the word “shirt” came to Japan from overseas, and in Japan, shirts made of white fabric came to be called “white shirts.” This was further shortened to “waishatsu.” Some people also say “cutter shirt” or, more recently, “dress shirt,” but it seems the product itself is essentially the same.

office lady

OL is an abbreviation for “office lady.” It is said that in 1963, the magazine Josei Jishin publicly solicited the term to represent “working women of a new era.” Some elderly people may still remember that time. November 25 is “OL Day,” named after the date when the term OL first appeared in Josei Jishin.