How long have PCs been around in the mainstream? 15 years or so? Like around that time, every library threw out their cards and got computers, and every school had a teacher who didn’t know jack about computers trying to teach typing. Still, I get this variation at least twice a week:

“Can you tell me what kind of computer you’re on?”
“…umm, it says Planar on it”
“No, that’s the monitor, the computer is the other box, can you tell me what it says on it?”
“All I have is this computer, I don’t have another one”
“OK, can you follow the cord coming out of the back of the ‘computer’ and tell me what it plugs into?”
“…the wall?”
“OK, that’s the power cord, follow the other cord and tell me what it plugs into”
“….the [insert incorrect word here]?”

Here are words that I’ve had the tower called:

the hard drive (close, at least they know that a computer has one)
the CD holder (not so close)
the engine (I guess because it makes it go?)
the hub (not so much)
“where it all goes” (I kid you not)
the Dell (it was not a Dell)
footrest (to be fair, it was said jokingly)

Honestly, I think the reason this list is so short is that a lot of people don’t even realize there is another piece to their computer, and therefore it has no name.

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