ihop is not 'I Hop', but rather an acronym for 'International House of Pancakes'. I began using this handle about 7 years ago on a Finnish mud named 'Batmud'.
I was trying to think of a new character name, but didn't want to use a. typical pseudo-fantasy name. Reminiscing about I.H.O.P., which had long ago vanished from the Twin Cities area, I decided 'why not' and began using it as my character's name.
It worked out really well. Almost everyone I met has a strange ha.happy nostalgia about the place and thought it was rather silly that I was using it as a character name. This worked out rather well, because I'm a rather silly and strange person. People's first reaction to the name was exactly what I wanted. .