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IHOP reveals what IHOb stands for ... and it isn't what we guessed

The internet is abuzz about what's up the sleeves of the International House of Pancakes after IHOP tweeted that it was changing its name to IHOb.

Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout now that we know what the "b" in IHOb stands for.

Hmm. International House of Biscuits? International House of Bacon? International House of Gravy? Wait, that starts with a G.

The internet was abuzz last week about what's up the sleeves of the International House of Pancakes after IHOP tweeted that it was changing its name to IHOb.

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Or with:

Now we know: It's burgers.

"We knew we had to be bold in order to shift perceptions that IHOP can only do a great breakfast," said Stephanie Peterson, brand spokeswoman for IHOP, er. IHOb.

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"The tongue-in-cheek name change speaks to the fact that we're just as serious about our burgers as we are about our pancakes. At the end of the day we'll always be IHOP, and we'll always have pancakes ... now you can just get a side of pancake with your burger."

Consider IHOb's wacky social media campaign a success, as Twitter and Facebook lit up with suggested B names last week.

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Is the name permanent? Language in the news release hints maybe not.

"To show the brand is as serious about burgers as it is about its world-famous pancakes, it's flipped the 'p' to a 'b' in their iconic name for the time being, including its Twitter handle," the release stated.

"For the time being": That likely means it'll flip back to "pancakes" someday. If the name was permanent, the Glendale, Calif.-based breakfast food chain would be escaping the identity it has established for six decades -- not to mention changing the signage at its nearly 1,800 restaurants, including dozens in Dallas-Fort Worth. That costs a lot of flapjacks.

San Antonio-based Whataburger took notice in a tweet: "As much as we love our pancakes, we'd never change our name to Whatapancake".

We're OK with burgers. But we were holding out hope that it would stand for International House of Brunch. Naw, who likes brunch anyway?

Guess what IHOb is putting an emphasis on? It's not brunch. Thanks to its social-media...
Guess what IHOb is putting an emphasis on? It's not brunch. Thanks to its social-media marketing campaign, we all know.(IHOb)