Presumably you can buy nine inch nails at the Home Depot

On Saturday I was at the Home Depot in north Fontana, California, and I happened to look up at the ceiling. There, in big letters, was the word "REZNOR."

Specifically, I was presumably looking at the Reznor Unit Heater:

Suspended from the ceiling of a Factory, Box Store or Warehouse, unit heaters provide an excellent solution for Doorway Heating, Freeze Protection, Space Heating, and summer time air circulation.

Low First Cost
Easy to Install & Maintain
Excellent Redundancy

Let's go back to the nineteenth century, when a man named George Reznor was being awfully inventive.

George Reznor, manufacturer, inventor & Civil War veteran of Mercer [Pennsylvania] ... was born November 9, 1835 in Lancaster County. His parents, John and Mary Reznor in 1842 settled on a farm at Leech's Corners, this county.

After attending the county school of his neighborhood, Mr. Reznor took service with the Cleveland Engineering Co....

Mr. Reznor later ... entered the drug firm of Reznor and Williams and later that of Reznor and Garber. Mr. Reznor perfected a machine for the manufacturing of illuminating and fuel gas from gasoline and later a gas stove. For the making of the later device, the Reznor Manufacturing Company was organized. Its plant is said to be one of the largest of its kind in the world.

Or at least it was in 1915, when George Reznor died. The company was subsequently managed by his descendants - George Foster Reznor, George Watson Reznor, David Reznor Webster - before the family sold the business.

In November of 1961 Reznor Manufacturing Company became a subsidiary of Bell & Gossett Company of Morton Grove, Illinois. In 1962 it became a division of that company. In September of 1963, Bell & Gossett became a subsidiary of International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation. Today Reznor is owned by Thomas Betts, Incorporated.

Now you may have noticed that I posted this in my Empoprise-MU music blog, not my Empoprise-BI business blog. This raises the obvious question. And the answer is yes:

Is Trent Reznor, the lead singer for the band Nine Inch Nails, associated with Reznor HVAC Equipment?

Trent Reznor is a direct descendant of George Reznor, who founded the Reznor Company in 1888. The Reznor Family sold the business in the 1960's. Reznor heaters are still manufactured in Mercer, Pennsylvania - Trent's home town.

Now did the name of Trent's band possibly bubble up subliminally from the family's industrial background? I guess it's possible. Here's what Trent has said about the band name:

I don't know if you've ever tried to think of band names, but usually you think you have a great one and you look at it the next day and it's stupid. I had about 200 of those. Nine Inch Nails lasted the two week test, looked great in print, and could be abbreviated easily. It really doesn't have any literal meaning. It seemed kind of frightening. [In his best he-man voice] Tough and manly! It's a curse trying to come up with band names.

Of course, if you're familiar with the av1611.org website, you know that there are other accounts:

DC Talk's video "Jesus Freak" is one of the most popular Christian video's ever recorded.

But, how "Christian" is it?

"Jesus Freak" was directed by an Englishman named Simon Maxwell. And who is Simon Maxwell? Simon Maxwell is video director for the satanic and blasphemous Nine Inch Nails!

DC Talk openly admits to watching one of Nine Inch Nails videos, and liked Maxwell's style. "We had seen some of Simon's work with Nine Inch Nails", says DC Talk vocalist Toby McKeehan. "HIS STYLE APPEALED TO US." (Billboard, November 11, 1995)

Have you seen the "ultra-blasphemous" video "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails? It shows a monkey crucified on a cross!

And those who are familiar with contemporary Christian music can probably deduce that the av1611.org folks think that it's as bad as Nine Inch Nails and former Trent discovery Marilyn Manson. Read this for av1611.org's views on Michael W. Smith and Steve Taylor. (Here's one of my previous posts on Taylor, and here's another one.)

Now of course Trent Reznor isn't the only musician connected to the business world. Bette Nesmith Graham's son received an inheritance in 1980 that not only ensured that he could keep well-stocked with knit caps, but also that if the son ever made a mistake on a typewriter, he could afford to buy something to correct it. For example, perhaps the song might leave the G off of the word Cruising.