PricewaterhouseCoopers Looking Forward to... Monday (!?)

PricewaterhouseCoopers' consulting biz has made one of the more bizarre choices of all time for a new name: Monday.

Monday has been a despised day for centuries, suggesting laziness, second-guessing, bad luck and ill-will.

A company statement said Monday suggests "a fresh start, a positive attitude, a part of everyone's life."

While Monday is something everyone's familiar with, most cultures around the world consider it a dreary workday, evoking woe, suffering and even short-term commitment.

"Most business people don't think fondly of Mondays," said brand expert Seth Seigel, co-chairman of the Beanstalk Group.

At the gala licensing show opening here today, the news of the odd name change was the butt of jokes among the hundreds of image-makers and brand gurus in town last night for the event.

"Why not ‘Tuesday?' I hate Mondays," said a puzzled Jeff Lotman, CEO of Global Icons. "Does the name ‘Monday' connote confidence? I don't think so."

Others might agree. The former Soviet space agency had officially banned Monday for any launches because four space ships blew up in Monday launches.

Detroit automobile lore warns against buying new cars made on Monday's assembly line, supposedly for too many hangovers among workers.

Personnel offices lament that malingering employees call in sick with "Monday flu." And the term "Monday morning quarterback" is a testament to hindsight, not careful planning.

Literature, movies, songs, folklore and superstitions regularly kick Monday as a bum day. The 19th century poet Charlotte Brontë wrote that bores were "as unromantic as Monday morning."

The lyrics of hit song, "Monday, Monday" by the Mamas and Papas question the lack of commitment:

"Monday, Monday so good to me . . . You couldn't guarantee that Monday evening you would still be here with me. . ."

In Burma, getting a haircut on Monday brings bad luck.

And then there's the old wives' tale, "Marry on Monday, always poor."