Toilet paper brand "Confort."
For the longest time, I thought the Spanish word for toilet paper was "Confort," as that's what everyone here always calls it. Then I learned, that this is simply one more of those idiosyncrasies that makes a Chilean, Chilean.
You see, "confort" is a brand of "papel higiénico," toilet paper. Not for all things, but there are many in which Chileans don't refer to their actual name, rather a brand. And this isn't because the brand "Confort" has a toilet paper monopoly, in fact there are several brands out there, however, for some reason, "Confort" stuck. You could actually be using "Elite" or "Favorita" brands, but it would still be "Confort."
"Nova," is a brand of paper towels. If you use a razor, you're using a "Gillete." As it is for toilet paper, it is for paper towels and razors as well; there are many brands out there, but one for some reason, gets to name them all.
A friend pointed out that US folk are guilty of this in some ways by the majority referring to tissues as "Kleenex." We could not however think of any more. So, Chilean, Gringo or any other nationality, we'd love to get some more examples of when a brand name takes over a product name.
In your country, what product do you call by one of its brands, hence confusing foreigners?
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