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Thursday, May 8, 2008; Page A04

"Platypus" is the brand name for an astonishing array of products and businesses, affirming the popularity of this oddball animal -- and in a few cases playing on its assembled-by-committee characteristics. Platypus is, among other things:

· A maker of flexible, modular water bottles.

· A computer program, made of disparate parts, that allows a Web page to be modified from a browser.

· A mascot (named "Syd") of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

· A New Jersey-based home furnishings store.

· A hotel in Bogota, Colombia.

· A Claymation computer game.

· A publishing house that supports breast-feeding.

· The debut recording of the Flobots, a Denver-based band.

· The stuffed animal being chewed by a dog to the tune of Britney Spears's "Gimme More" on a popular YouTube clip.