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I've always been curious as to why there are regions referred to as "Triangle" and "Triad" that are adjacent to each other. For natives, this may not be an issue, but for outsiders i'm sure that it leads to a lot of confusion.
I assume that the Triangle was named first and the Triad followed, but can anyone confirm the history behind the names?
Both have 3 primary cities, thus the monikers. When the idea for a research park in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area was first proposed in the 1950's, it was dubbed "Research Triangle Park", playing off the 3 major universities in the area. I suspect the name Triad came into use afterwards as a way to brand the Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point area, given the success of the "Triangle" name. But, the "trI" concept existed in both areas for a long time. For example, the current Piedmont Triad International Airport was set up originally by the "Tri-cities Airport Commission" in the 1920's.
Triangle and Triad are shorthand versions of Research Triangle and Piedmont Triad, which are the "official" names of the regions.
Technically, the Triangle's name is associated with the three universities, not the cities themselves.
While understanding the exact origin of the Triangle's naming history, I can't find anything concrete on the web that pinpoints the exact origin and timing of the Triad.
Technically, the Triangle's name is associated with the three universities, not the cities themselves.
While understanding the exact origin of the Triangle's naming history, I can't find anything concrete on the web that pinpoints the exact origin and timing of the Triad.
It just seems like the name Triad was created for that region as a reaction to the growing success of the Triangle. Maybe it was an intentional attempt by that area to confuse people into thinking that they were some sort of an equivalent to the Triangle? It just doesn't seem logical to come up with a term for your region that is very similar to the name of a neighboring region. In business that would be grounds for a trademark infringement lawsuit.
It just seems like the name Triad was created for that region as a reaction to the growing success of the Triangle. Maybe it was an intentional attempt by that area to confuse people into thinking that they were some sort of an equivalent to the Triangle? It just doesn't seem logical to come up with a term for your region that is very similar to the name of a neighboring region. In business that would be grounds for a trademark infringement lawsuit.
Then why refer to yourself as the "Triad?" Why not just Piedmont or Central region, or some other moniker that distinguishes that area?
I question this because i've seen many attempts over the years by people in that area to compare themselves to the Triangle and it's cities, so it's only reasonable that one would think that the name Triad evolved from that same sense of competitiveness.
It's just a common thing to do for a region where there are multiple cities. There are the Tri-cities in TN/VA (Bristol, Kingsport, Johnson City), the Twin Cities for Minneapolis/St Paul, etc. Wikipedia has a whole long list of Tri-Cities, Triple Cities, Triangle, Triad, Golden Triangle, etc: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tri-Cities
It's just a common thing to do for a region where there are multiple cities. There are the Tri-cities in TN/VA (Bristol, Kingsport, Johnson City), the Twin Cities for Minneapolis/St Paul, etc. Wikipedia has a whole long list of Tri-Cities, Triple Cities, Triangle, Triad, Golden Triangle, etc: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tri-Cities
Then why refer to yourself as the "Triad?" Why not just Piedmont or Central region, or some other moniker that distinguishes that area?
I question this because i've seen many attempts over the years by people in that area to compare themselves to the Triangle and it's cities, so it's only reasonable that one would think that the name Triad evolved from that same sense of competitiveness.
If I remember right, up until a few decades ago Greensboro and Winston-Salem were bigger (population) than Raleigh and Durham respectively. I doubt it was a copy cat effect thing. Not sure of the origin of the term Triad, but it could pre date the Triangle naming.
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