Once you've experienced it, you'll never doubt it again: Owning a Jeep gains you entry into a special club with a deep history and appreciation for the brand that got its start as the Willys-Overland Motors military transportation vehicle during World War II.

In celebration of Meadowland of Carmel's upcoming Jeep Fest, here are five things you need to know if you're going to stay up with the officially unofficial club:

1) It's pronounced "Willis." According to Thrillist, the original Jeep was designed in just two days by a financially struggling company trying to fulfill the government's need to replace its aging Model T's. The designs were handed to Ford and Willys-Overland Motors, and many started calling them "Willies," from World War II GI's to Jeep workers themselves. It's prevelant but it's just not right, as the Toledo Blade concludes here.

2) The Jeep wave is real but complicated. There are regional variations, and depending on who you talk to, points.

Don't be one of those people who weaken this long-standing, heralded tradition!

3) There are a few theories on how the Jeep was named. According to Thrillist:

While it’s commonly thought that “jeep” is a truncation of General Purpose vehicle, or GP, that’s likely wrong. Ford’s version was officially named GPW, where G means Government, P refers to the distance between the wheels (80 inches), and W stands for Willys, since the vehicles Ford produced were technically under license from Willys. Alternately, some say it was common lingo to refer to all military prototypes as “jeeps."

4) Square vs. round headlights. The Jeep Wrangler is most often seen with round headlights, but it was manufactured with square headlights between the 1985 and 1995 model years, according to Newsday.

5) Jeeps have made their mark on popular culture. Jeep was a magical dog in the Popeye comic strip, which some suggest is the inspiration for the vehicle's name. The title characters in "Mork & Mindy," the ABC show that aired from 1978 to 1982, had blue Jeep, prompting a plastic model kit so fans could build their own, according to Newsday. Similarly, kits and die-cast models of the version of the Jeep CJ that Daisy Duke drove in the CBS show "Dukes of Hazzard" from 1979 to 1985 emerged based on that show's popularity, the Newsday article states.

Love the Jeep culture and lore? Don't miss Meadowland of Carmel's Jeep Fest from noon to 4 p.m. Aug. 5. There will be BBQ, raffles, judging categories and KICKS 105.5 broadcasting live. To participate in judging, please have your Jeep there and registered by 2 p.m. (Here's the Facebook event, if you want to add it to your social media calendar.)

The Jeep Handshake (Meadowland of Carmel via Facebook)
The Jeep Handshake (Meadowland of Carmel via Facebook)
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