The Meanings Behind Lesser-Known Acronyms and Initials, Like TASER, PATRIOT Act and Michael J. Fox

The website MentalFloss.com just put up a list of the meanings behind different acronyms and initials. Most of them are pretty well known, but a few caught my eye...I didn't even know some of these were acronyms at all.

Check 'em out...

--TASER.  It stands for "Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle."

--SMART CAR. It was a collaboration between Swatch and Mercedes-Benz, so "SMART" stands for "Swatch-Mercedes ART."

--U.S.A. PATRIOT ACT. It stands for the "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism" Act of 2001.  Rolls right off the tongue.

--MICHAEL J. FOX. His middle name is actually Andrew.  When he was registering with the Screen Actors Guild, there was already an actor named Michael Fox and he didn't like the sound of Michael A. Fox.  So he went with the "J."

--CHUCK E. CHEESE. The "E" stands for "entertainment."

(Mental Floss)

Take a look at all of the acronyms and initials here.