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IHOP Is Changing Its Name To ‘IHOb’ And The Internet Is Trying To Figure Out What It Means

IHOP on Twitter

The International House of Pancakes is rebranding, but no one is quite sure what it means just yet. The breakfast destination is changing the last letter of its familiar acronym, and many are speculating that a new menu item is a reason for the switch.

On Monday, the flapjack emporium’s Twitter account announced it would be “flipping” its name to IHOb, complete with a graphic doing just that and teasing more information about the change on June 11.

But a lack of explanation begat speculation: what’s the B stand for? “Breakfast” seems a bit too obvious, and also would make the company lose the identity it gets associated with its iconic menu item. And anyway, it’s not like anyone goes to an IHOP assuming you can only order pancakes. That’s not a sound business model at all!

IHOP tried to stir some speculation by hosting its own poll on the subject, but it seems unlikely any of these are the correct answer to the mystery.

Soon, speculation focused on some insider information found on Reddit: the ‘B’ stands for burgers, which IHOP is gearing up to release soon. As Mashable notes, some comments on a Reddit forum indicate an IHOP employee is spilling the beans about the burger marketing maneuver. Similar speculation was also found on Twitter.

Burgers do make sense, as the account very clearly made a point to say the P in the company’s name would be ‘flipped,’ just like a pancake or, say, a burger. And it would be a clever bit of marketing wordplay. Others on the social network said similar things, though little proof was made available.

https://twitter.com/_verydisco/status/1004456736600682496

Asked directly if the company was changing its name, the Twitter account played coy. But the @IHOb Twitter account is already verified and is styled just like it is in IHOP’s initial tweet, so it’s a good assumption to make that it will launch to life on the 11th when the announcement is official. There’s also this very astute point.

https://twitter.com/cansuyilmazxo/status/1004170793889206272

Meanwhile, others unconvinced that burgers will appear on the menu continued to speculate about an ode to history.

https://twitter.com/Schmieg__/status/1004456586163580928

IHOP outright denied, however, that it was burritos. Which a real shame considering how good breakfast burritos are.

The Good Place even managed to make this about, of course, Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles.

A New Jersey state senator even tried to make the name change about himself.

This one feels like there’s some aggression coming from a place outside of the breakfast table, but it’s also funny enough.

This was also funny, though strangely IHOP’s official account did not reply to it.

https://twitter.com/TPE_MFTA/status/1003980552872054788

What’s most important, though, is that their commitment to pancakes remains strong.

(Via Mashable / Twitter)