Rarely do any of us think twice about the names associated with the various components on a car. From bumpers to wipers, every part of a car has a name, and most of the time this name explains what the piece does for the driving experience. Kick panels get kicked, hood deflectors deflect debris, and splash guards keep your tires from blinding the driver behind you.

So Cheatsheet.com came up with a handful of obscure titles that are not very self-explanatory and enlightens us on the reason why these components have their respective titles...

1. Glove box

Years ago, before steering wheels were wrapped in heated suede, they were typically made from hard materials like metal and wood. These crude apparatuses became incredibly hot in summer and freezing in winter, and prior to windscreens, one’s hands would get quite cold while driving, so drivers would often done gloves to protect their hands. But driving gloves served little purpose once the driver arrived at their destination, so they would often be left on the seat. Automakers eventually began installing locking compartments in their vehicles, and the BBC says that pioneering racing driver, Dorothy Levitt may have been the first one to use the term glove compartment in reference to these pockets.

2. Jerry can

According to the dictionary, this slang term for a gas can originated back in the second World War, when American GIs started using a German-designed fluid canister to transport water and gas from place to place. The German version was far superior to that being used by the Allies, and after a few failed designs of our own, America reverse-engineered the German version and sent thousands of these things overseas to aid in the war. Soldiers recognized this design as being German in origin, and since a slang word for a German was a 'Jerry,' it was only befitting to name the canister such.

3. Dashboard

Here’s another automotive component that draws its name from the days when we were drawn around by horse and buggy. Back when cobbled roads were reserved for urban sprawls, and the majority of people had to rely on rutted roads that turned into mud troughs when a downpour occurred, there was an issue with horses kicking mud into the faces of the people riding behind them. To combat this issue, carriage builders began installing horizontal boards across the front of buggies to catch whatever was kicked-up when at a full dash. The name 'dashboard' seemed to stick, and a century later we still use this term without fully knowing its origin.