The ##

(via Today’s Big Thing.)

What is a gypsy cab? Is it a real company (in New York City or anywhere)?

As a hypothesis I will take the standard definition (lowercase ‘g,’ lowercase ‘c’) to be:

-noun
a taxicab that is licensed only to pick up passengers on call by telephone, but that often illegally seeks passengers on the street.
Dictionary.com

Now, let’s look at other places the phrase, lowercase or capitalized, appears in recent pop culture to ‘test our hypothesis’ (#scientific method):

blogs.lexpress.fr

Of the manifestations that I care to discuss today, the first to appear chronologically (both culturally and personally) is Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums (2001). As per Anderson’s distaste for any sort of product placement, he will create fictional brands to feature in his movies. Gypsy Cab Co. is apparently one of them. As you may guess from the name and definition, the company’s cars in the film are almost comically beaten-up - any iconic yellow paint faded and rusted to a metallic beige or silver. Could Royal be taking a legit, or even better-painted cab to and from the mansion he once owned? At least in the beginning of the movie - yes. But there’s something hobo-authentic (a future ## post) here.

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