I never really thought about the significance my initials play in my life, but apparently a group of researchers has.
A new study says we tend to gravitate – often unconsciously – toward things both good and bad that begin with one of our initials.
That's why, the study suggests, baseball player Ken Griffey Jr. had a higher-than-average strikeout rate. Ken begins with a "K," which is baseball's shorthand for strikeouts.
The study in the journal Psychological Science and reported in Newsweek says "name-letter preference" makes us more likely to buy brands that begin with our initial. They also say it influences the grades we make, where we live and what we do for a living.
So in other words, if your name is Jill, you should like Jell-O, you should drive a Jeep and you should vacation in Jamaica. Someone named Sam, I suppose, should like Snickers bars, play Santa at Christmas and aspire to be a senator.
The pattern holds true for grades, too, the study says. Using 15 years of grade-point averages, the study found that students whose names begin with a C or D made slightly lower grades than students whose names begin with an A or B. The study didn't say – but I suppose we can safely assume – what happened to the students named Frank.
I have no reason to doubt the researchers' data. But it still seems fishy to me. It's like a lot of studies that show up in the newspaper these days. A lot are legitimate. They study issues that need to be studied, and it's probably money well spent.
Then there are the studies that make you ask these questions:
-- Who in the world decided this subject needed to be studied?
-- How much money did someone give them to complete this study?
-- And why didn't I think of it first?
The reason I'm so skeptical is because I can't think of many ways I fit into these findings.
Yes, I love my mother's meatloaf. I enjoy drinking Manhattans. I'm a Methodist. One of my favorite candies is M&Ms.
On the other hand, I’ve been eating a lot of salads lately. I drink more water than anything else. And there is nothing wrong with a Hershey's bar. With almonds.
I drive a Nissan, not a Mazda. Although I did live part of my life in Macon and Milledgeville, I now live in Gainesville. I've never had to use Metamucil. There's nothing you can do to make me eat a mushroom. I don't intend to run for mayor or get a job as a mailman. Besides, they call them letter carriers now, anyway.
I'm proud to live south of the Mason-Dixon Line, although I usually just call myself a Southerner. I've been known to be a Monday morning quarterback, but Muzak on an elevator drives me insane.
I never had the measles or the mumps. I'm a big fan of the Muppets, but the Munchkins scared me a little, to be honest.
My last name starts with a "C', but I made mostly A's and B's in school.
I feel like such a failure. I suppose I need to be more conscious about the things I buy and the things I do. I may have to move to Murrayville, drink more Maxwell House coffee, and vacation in Montana so I can go moose hunting.
And I may just have to give us this job and join the Mafia.
