By Roger, age 11
Do you have a fob? Do you even know what a fob is? Let me tell you.
If you or your parents have a new car with a push button start or if you own a pair of blue jeans, there is a good chance you either own a fob or at last have seen one.
These days, a fob is an electronic device that locks and unlocks car doors and starts the car engine. But long ago, a fob was a small pocket in either a vest or a pair of blue jeans. The pockets usually came in pairs – one was to hold your pocket watch, the other was for the chain.
Somewhere around 1900, fob referred to the end of the pocket watch chain which now had an ornament or business logo attached to it. As pocket watches disappear, the fob jumped off the chain to become the ornament on key rings. By 1980, the fobs became electrifies – okay, battery operated – and are now used to open or secure cars.
But how did the word fob come to be? Some say it really is an acronym (meaning the first letter of several words) for Freight On Board. It can also mean Free On Board. It is a law term defining the point when the responsibility of the seller transfers to the buyer as when a shipment of goods is lost or damaged. In the early days of trains, scheduling was important.
Not to be out done, the military came up with their own acronym – FOB to a soldier means Forward Operating Base. These were the small areas where pockets of solders would be staged ready to move into combat when needed. So next time you see an electronic key ring or a small pocket in your jeans, you know it is a fob.
