I know this question has been beat to death, but I don't remember (I'm old) if it's been asked in this way before.

I could have worded the question a little different, but I figured this would get peoples attention. Your here reading it right?

What I'm wondering is why it's termed "Hot Rod" ? I get the Hot part meaning it's been hopped up a little, but where did "rod" come from? Or did somebody just come up with the term with no real meaning behind it other than it sounded cool?

I guess the work I'm doing today is sorta' mind numbing & there's nothing to think about but useless trivia.