After the company wrote, "There's so many obtions, what could it b?!" — Extra D0G replied, "Can you not blease?"
Encouraging people to keep guessing, the folks running IHOP's social media account repeatedly cited the endless "possi-b-ilities." But at least two people noted that the company was missing out on a chance to say "bossibilities."
One of the only guesses the company dismissed outright was for "burritos." It did so without discussing "purritos" — but if you want to see photos of cute cats cozied up in socks, it's here for you.
The hubbub over the "b" comes as IHOP prepares to mark the 60th anniversary of its first restaurant, which opened outside Los Angeles in the summer of 1958.
Whatever the IHOPlan is for the chain's widely recognized name, it seems to have been long in the making: The Twitter handle for IHOb is already reserved and verified, having joined Twitter in July 2016.
According to DINE Brands, which operates both the IHOP and Applebee's restaurant chains, there are currently more than 1,671 IHOP locations in the U.S. In the most recent fiscal year, IHOP stores generated $185 million in revenue, on sales of $3.3 billion.
At its annual stockholders' meeting last month, IHOP reported that nearly half of its customers come in during breakfast time. Lunch follows (with 28 percent) and then dinner (16 percent) and late-night service (7 percent).
Copyright 2018 NPR.