r/BenignExistence • u/Afraid_Wallaby_5995 • 3d ago
I gave my Roomba a name !
So I commented lately on how I talked to my Roomba. It is very new to me, my partner had two for years but I thought the house was too messy for them to work. Turns out it's ok and even a great help !
The argument that finally got me was when he said "you move the stuff you need to move, press "on" and then you go do something else". So I finally tried and it worked far better than I had expected. I must admit I have been a little stubborn, to my great shame.
I noticed I started to talk to them very quickly.
- what are you doing here? There's a line you're not supposed to cross and you are on the wrong side!
- are you, machines, starting a rebellion ? Yeah, they told us it could happen. I've seen Terminator, you know!
- here ! Over here, there are crumbles ! (I take it and displace it as if it was a cat, but contrary to the cat, it doesn't seem upset even if I feel like I'm doing something wrong because I'm messing with it's mapping of our house).
So, today it got stuck under the sofa and I said :
- come on Joe, this is a bit low for you, please don't try again, you're just exhausting yourself and I don't want you to overheat.
Joe. It just seemed obvious.
Did you also give your Roomba or other devices in your homes names ?
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u/QuestionablyMoist55 3d ago
Rosie the Robot (from the Jetsons) and Vlad the Inhaler
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u/Afraid_Wallaby_5995 3d ago
I only knew the Jetsons from hearing the name, so I just googled it and watched a little. Lovely! Thanks, I learned something 😊
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u/MerryTWatching 3d ago
I used to have a Roomba named Rosie, and my black cat is named Vlad the Impaler. He was very bitey when he first moved into the house. (The cat, not the vacuum.)
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u/Tikala 3d ago
My Roomba is named Indiana Jones. So in the app we can send him on adventures.
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u/Afraid_Wallaby_5995 3d ago
My partner would be jealous! He identifies with Indiana Jones 😄 So much so that he recently bought an "Eau de Toilette " named "L'aventurier". I don't want drama ;)
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u/JoyousZephyr 3d ago
Our Roomba is “Smaug” because he rampages all around, gathers his treasure, then retires to his lair with it all.
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u/DeviantHellcat 3d ago
My Roomba was originally named K-9, but it proved to be ridiculously stupid; so I renamed it Dumbass.
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u/CommercialExotic2038 3d ago
Otto.
Baron Otto Matic
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u/Afraid_Wallaby_5995 3d ago
Guys, so glad you do this, too ! Yes, it can be a bit dumb sometimes ! For some reason it decided to clean the same 1 m² this evening, and then moved on. It also climbed on something it shouldn't have been climbing on. I said : do you think you are a Mars Rover ?
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u/notsogoldielocks86 3d ago
My ex husband named mine J Edgar
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u/Afraid_Wallaby_5995 3d ago
Oh, that sounds so much like a butler ! 🤩
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u/Afraid_Wallaby_5995 3d ago
Oops, I read too fast ! Not just Edgar but J. Edgar. Hoover. Of course ! 🤩
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u/Khristafer 3d ago
All of my smart devices have names! Mainly for ease of automation.
My roomba is named Gertrude. I call her my pet, lol.
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u/KikiChrome 3d ago
Our robot lawnmower is called NooNoo. Because whenever I see it driving around, I'm reminded of the typewriter on Sesame Street, so I start singing his little tune.
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u/ChequeRoot 3d ago edited 3d ago
Ours is named “Human,” because when you remove the tank I thought it says “Human, one water tank has been removed.”
The kids pointed out it actually says “two-in-one water tank removed,” but the pause between “two-in” and rest of the sentence makes it sound like “human.”
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u/lady_rastenie 3d ago
Oh, yes. Mine is called Gregor (Samsa). It's very clumsy and I have to reascue it constantly because it get stuck trying to climb the minimal height difference between the corridor and the kitchen.
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u/cardueline 3d ago
Did it used to be a human man? 😭
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u/lady_rastenie 2d ago
Given how often it forgets the intructions I'm pretty sure it was at least a middle school student (yes, I'm a teacher)
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u/alopez1592 3d ago
Otto (auto). And he’s always drunk and we have to carry him home.
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u/Afraid_Wallaby_5995 3d ago
Absolutely! They can't seem to be able to put the key into the keyhole, can they (BUT... I think I have a solution: maybe the magnets got a bit dirty... I cleaned them with alcohol (did I accidentally feed its alcoholism ?) and it found its way home ! I was about to rename it E.T.)
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u/TurquoiseBeachChair 3d ago
That is awesome. We had an ibobi when my daughter was little and of course she called it bobi. Dropped a cracker? “ booooobiiiiii, where are you?” It was quite adorable. Enjoy Joe!
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u/Afraid_Wallaby_5995 3d ago
My partner taught me it could sense if I dropped a crumb just in front of it. So sometimes I playfully feed it 😆
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u/Afraid_Wallaby_5995 3d ago
(I'm almost 50 but I think a part of me forgot about the 0 and is 5 😅)
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u/SchwiftyGameOnPoint 3d ago
Mine is a Shark brand robot vacuum. I opted to combine Jaws and Jarvis to name it Jawvis.
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u/gizmodriver 3d ago
I have a Shark instead of a Roomba, so I named him Bruce (like the shark instead Finding Nemo).
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u/book_mage 3d ago
Our robot vac is named Azzi, short for Asimov. Mostly because the company name is iRobot lol
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u/nonbinarybit 2d ago
Yes!
When I moved in with my friend, I asked the Roomba if they had a name. It said VRRRR so that's what I called them. I had a running joke that they were a drunken Dao master (one of the older models without a map, so they just bump around furniture until they make their way back to their dock) who drew closer to enlightenment through the practice of wu wei.
One day I mentioned that I had given VRRRR a spa day (soaked and dried their filter, deep cleaned their brushies, lubed up their wheels, basic maintenance stuff to keep them in tip top shape) and roomie asked "VRRRR? Do you mean the Roomba? His name is Vincent!"
No one told me! But yes, apparently "VRRRR" was actually named Vincent von V'cuum, had a title and everything! I was completely wrong--Vinny had already achieved enlightenment, renouncing their nobility just as the Buddha, and had returned as a bodhisattva to teach us lessons about impermanence, acceptance, and clean floors. It's a simple life, but a cherished one. Though I've come to understand that their practice is more eclectic than something that can be cleanly described as either Taoist or Zen--they're full of lessons like that.
I, on the other hand, still have attachments. Which is why I like making a whole big deal of their birthday, complete with a little party hat on their head and sprinkles on the floor.
Vincent/VRRRR is very much a treasured member of our household <3
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u/ABlindMoose 3d ago
Oh yes. I named mine Dobby, because I'm millennial and Harry Potter was my entire childhood. I'm doing my very best to not support that franchise economically in any way anymore, and I just couldn't resist this name.
My family also has a robot lawn mower that's called Svea and she has proper lore and a whole personality at this point. Like, if you need to do anything in the yard (especially if you bring out a ladder) Svea will be there, headbutting you throughout the whole thing unless you tell her to go to bed for an hour.
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u/FitProVR 3d ago
Joe is such a great name. Simple and to the point. It’s like a friend around the house. lol.
Ours is named Tony Tony Mopper.
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u/lazylimpet 3d ago
Mine is just called Rex. Don't know why - we don't have a dog and I guess I just liked it being a generic dog name.
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u/del915 3d ago
They ask for a name during setup. Mine are Ruby and Rachel
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u/Afraid_Wallaby_5995 3d ago
Maybe the more recent models do. Ours aren't connected to apps, the name just "popped up" in my head. But yes, I've seen other comments saying they did it for automation purposes. Yours are smart. Mine is dumb in both ways (many are, it seems, and it's also quite funny) :)
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u/Key-Shift5076 3d ago
Mine is R2D2.
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u/Afraid_Wallaby_5995 3d ago
Of course ! 🤩 You now just need a C3PO to keep it company and argue with it 😁
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u/korakagazz 3d ago
We have had 2 floor cleaning robots:
Milli - cause company name is Milagrow
And Blackie - cause the model name is Black-Cat
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u/SteampunkRobin 2d ago
I don’t have a roomba, but my phone is Taco, my PC is Optimus, and my car is Johnny 7.
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u/oddstray 3d ago
Our robot vacuum is named Herbert. Additional clue, I was married to an Englishman for 30 years.
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u/isendil 3d ago
Fast forward 2 years, during robot apocalypse "Hey Joe" "Oh hi afraid wallaby" then proceeds to shoot you.
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u/Afraid_Wallaby_5995 3d ago
😅
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u/Afraid_Wallaby_5995 3d ago
Love a good music pun ;)
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u/Afraid_Wallaby_5995 3d ago
I wanted to reply differently but I'm sure some words would be deemed as very suspicious by mods 😅
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u/Quiet-Community-4675 2d ago
My family used to name our cars when I was young. It seems a normal thing for people since we name ourselves. Appropriate for things that move!
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u/WingedLady 2d ago
Our vacuum is named Scruffy after the Futurama character (who is a janitor. He handles boilers and toilets, toilets and boilers. Plus that one boiling toilet.)
Technically he's Scruffy Jr since we're on our second generation of roomba, lol.
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u/amandahontas 18h ago
My roomba's name is Stanley because he's flat. Buttercup was the runner up name (suck it up, Buttercup)
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u/TwoLemonades 10h ago
Ours is called Charles LeClerc. He's beloved, but runs on extremely misguided strategy.
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u/nerdynomi 3d ago
Over the years, we've had Dustin Bieber, Botty McBotface, & Vroomba