By Bob Levi [boblevi@mindspring.com] who says, “The following is an original contribution by your humble scrivener.”

As national governments worldwide continue to downsize and privatize many functions, the Dutch government decided that it no longer wanted to operate the national prison system. Several newly organized firms were asked to bid on taking over the jails and penitentiaries in Holland. A contract was awarded to one of the bidders. As with many European firms, the new company had been given a very unwieldy and awkward name — Organisatie om de Bestraffing van Crimineelen Naamloze Vennootschap (Organization for the Punishment of Criminals Ltd.) (It should be noted that in Holland, publicly traded, limited liability companies use the N.V. (for Naamloze Vennootschap) designation, which is similar to the U.S. abbreviations of Corp., Co. or Inc.] Because the company’s name was so cumbersome, the Dutch citizenry started calling this firm — the Penal N.V.