TUESDAY TRIVIA: What Is the Dab of Toothpaste That Sits on Top of a Toothbrush Called?

It seems there’s a name for everything.

If you look up the meaning of the word “nurdle,” you’ll find that it is a small pellet of plastic used to make plastic products.

Apparently, it is also what toothpaste manufacturers call the dab of toothpaste that sits on top of toothbrushes in their ads.

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In 2010, Colgate and GlaxoSMithKline, which makes Aquafresh toothpaste, were involved in a legal battle over the use of nurdles in their advertising. According to Reuters, Colgate sought a court order allowing it to use toothpaste packaging that superimposes the words “Triple Action” on a blue, white and green nurdle—which the article says is “a wave-shaped toothpaste blob that sits atop a toothbrush head.”

Glaxo, which used the “Triple Protection” phrase for its Aquafresh toothpaste, countersued, accusing Colgate of trying to “trade off the commercial magnetism” of its own packaging, which included a red, white and blue nurdle.

The two companies reached a settlement in 2011.

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