I've never thought about what a fender does on a car, and until today I could not distinguish it from the "bumper" of a car, despite the common term "fender bender" for a minor crash between two cars. I would have known its general function, though, if I had just typed it into Chinese translator- it means "board that blocks mud," which is exactly what it is called in "British English," a mudboard, because it forms the frame of a wheel well and keeps mud out of the other areas of the car. An important thing to note especially in the Washington, DC area recently, as carjackers are purposely causing fender benders so they can hop in the drivers' seat and take off with the car. Not a genius plan, but people are desperate I guess.
A bumper, in contrast, is the part in the front and back of a car that soaks up the impact of a collision, which I guess is why I thought a bumper was the fender. The other car part that comes up all the time (other than horn, steering wheel, brakes, and other obvious parts of a car) are the catalytic converters, often made out of platinum, palladium, or rhodium. These are actually huge targets of car thieves because they go for a big price in the black market. Another reason to not park outside on the streets of urban areas at night, only in garage. (Suburbs are less of a target). Oh yea, and one other part to know: "Sunroof," now famous as the title of a hit song of 2021 by Nicky Youre and "Dazy." These musicians' names are getting harder and harder to remember nowadays. What happened to good ol' classic names like "Bob Dylan" and "Woody Guthrie?" Now it's people like Swae Lee, Deezy, Bad Bunny, and the best of them all.... Ty $DollaSign.
Fender's also the name of a famous guitar brand, creator of the even more famous "Stratocaster" guitar. When I went to the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame, more than the actual artists, it was the guitars that were on display and the stars of the show. I never got into rock and roll and the whole "coolness" of guitars, but I do understand their significance and how kids can get drawn into the genre by the feel of a guitar. When MJ and I visited Dublin, we were allowed to try on a guitar in the "U2 recording room" as a photo opportunity, and I kind of embarrassed myself by not knowing how to wear the guitar, probably the one thing all rockers know how to do: apparently you have to put the strap over your head so as to "wear" the guitar first, then fit your hands around it to get into the playing position. There is definitely something cool about strumming a guitar and turning it upwards to create the effect of rocking hard, something impossible to do with the nerdy-looking violin/viola/cello with the bow-pulling action. Guitars are in the same family of instruments (strings) but just a completely different vibe.
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