An American designer and manufacturer of cutting-edge wheelchairs, ColoursWheelChair.com, recently came up with the wheelchair pictured here as one of their 'hot' new products - the headline announcement on their website and associated advertising features a blond female model dressed in black PVC accompanied by the words "you know you want it" ..oh, and a picture of the wheelchair too.

Sure, the wheelchair looks pretty groovy as far as wheelchairs go - I'm a long long way from being an expert in the field - however their marketing department made a slight faux pas in the naming of this particular model. Actually that's an understatement. They farked it up big time. Guess what they called it? Go on, guess.

This particular little gem is called ..wait for it ..'The Spazz' ..I kid you not.

Colours 'N Motion "Spazz" offers you the style, versatility and adjustability you need in your first wheelchair. With its simple design and clean lines not only will you look good in your "Spazz" but your maneuverability will be unsurpassed.

I honestly didn't know whether to laugh or just feel bad for them when I read this. For those of you who for some reason don't know wtf I'm talking about, the word 'spazz' or 'spaz' is a derogatory term originally derived from the word 'spastic', and is used as a somewhat dated insult in many countries, including England, Australia and New Zealand, and I would think at least in parts of America. The urban dictionary defines the word spaz as meaning; "a person who acts insane or mentally retarded", and even uses the word in a sentence for clarification: "Dave ran around screaming with his tongue hanging out like a spaz." Obviously spasticity (in the medical sense) does not equate to mental retardation, but that's another issue altogether.

Now hell, if I saw some dude shoot pass me on his wheelchair with the word 'Spazz' splashed across the back in big bold lettering, I'd probably be a little surprised at first, but most likely I'd end up laughing - not at him, but with him at what I'd presume to be his humorous way of dealing with his disability. Just imagine now that the same guy in the wheelchair is totally oblivious of that derogatory use of the word spaz ..he's going to be harboring some pretty major resentment when he finally realizes what's going on and why people keep laughing at him.

There's a moral there somewhere. All I can say is, somebody from that marketing department must be looking for a new job right about now, that's for sure.