You've likely heard of polka dots. But have you heard of Poca Dots?
There's a huge difference. One has mostly to do with fashion, and the other is just a fashionable school-mascot name combo from West Virginia.
The Poca Dots have what may be the nation's most recognizable "fun" combination, a play on the town's name and a name that at one time was recognized by ESPN as the best No. 1 sports nickname.
Photo courtesy of Spydersden
is a small town in the western part of the state, featuring around 1,000 residents. The story goes that in 1928, a writer from the Charleston Gazette suggested the name and just like that, it stuck. That is according to
Marc's Distinctive High School Mascot Collection.
Polka dots must have been a pretty popular thing even back in 1928. After some digging in the dictionary, it's obvious that it was indeed popular. The polka dance (and style of music) comes from central Europe and was a big part of the growing United States in the early 20th century.
Polka dots, in the Oxford English Dictionary, just added the dance style to dots to describe "a pattern consisting of dots of uniform size and arrangement."
It's a funny name that makes people smile. But what do you do for a logo? Adding muscles and growl seems to work with just about anything.
But oh man did they add some serious arms - and a ferocious scowl - to what is otherwise a banal dot.
After hearing about the Poca Dots, it's hard to ever look at a polka-dotted shirt the same way again.
