Documents Hopelessly Lost or Drivers Hopelessly Lost (DHL Express backronymic nickname)

DHL Express is an international express mail service. “DHL” stands for the initials of its original partners Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn.
 
DHL has been given the backronymic (back acronym) nickname of “Documents Hopelessly Lost” since at least 1997 and “Drivers Hopelessly Lost” since at least 2004.
 
DHL Express has also been nicknamed “Dewey, Huey and Louie.”
   
 
Wikipedia: DHL Express
DHL Express is a division of the German logistics company Deutsche Post DHL providing international express mail services. Deutsche Post is the world’s largest logistics company operating around the world. DHL is a world market leader in sea and air mail.
 
Originally founded in 1969 to deliver documents between San Francisco and Honolulu, the company expanded its service throughout the world by the late 1970s. The company was primarily interested in offshore and inter-continental deliveries, but the success of FedEx prompted their own intra-U.S. expansion starting in 1983. DHL aggressively expanded to countries that could not be served by any other delivery service, including the Soviet Union, Eastern Bloc, Iraq, Iran, China, Vietnam and North Korea.
 
In 1998, Deutsche Post began to acquire shares in DHL. It finally reached majority ownership in 2001, and completed the purchase in 2002. Deutsche Post then effectively absorbed DHL into its Express division, while expanding the use of the DHL brand to other Deutsche Post divisions, business units and subsidiaries. Today, DHL Express shares its well-known DHL brand with other Deutsche Post business units, such as DHL Global Forwarding and DHL Supply Chain.
 
The DHL Express Service has ceased domestic operations in the United States of America, as of February 2009.
 
Uncyclopedia (Wikipedia parody—ed.): DHL Express
What DHL stands for

. Delivers Here Late
. Documents Hopelessly Lost
. Drug Handling & Logistics
. Driving Half Loaded
. Drop-it Hide-it Lose-it
. Ditch Hundreds of Letters
. Dewey, Huey, & Louie
. Day-and-a-Half Late
   
Google Groups: rec.humor
UPS & FedX Merge
David Bridges
8/15/97
(...)
UPS - You pay for shit
DHL - Documents hopelessly lost
   
Google Groups: aus.aviation
Fun airline names
James Matthew Weber
7/10/99
(...)
BOAC Better On A Camel
EL AL   Every Landing Always Late
Alitalia Always Late In Takeoff and Late In Arrivals
SAS   Such Awful Service
DHL   Documents Hopelessly Lost, or Don’t Have it, Left it…
   
Cruise Critic Message Board Forums
pzerba
October 23rd, 2004, 11:58 AM
Oh no!! Tell me they don’t use DHL… (Drivers Hopelessly Lost)
     
CandlePowerForums
AndyTiedye
08-06-2007, 08:43 PM
Re: GatLight V3 - Carbon Fiber / Titanium with Cree XR-E
DHL = “Delivered Hella Late”, “Driver Hopelessly Lost”
 
Democratic Underground
“Documents Hopelessly Lost”????
Edited on Wed Oct-31-07 11:57 AM by jojo54
I found this website: http://www.abbreviations.com/DHL
Don’t quote me because I’m not sure. It IS the only one that makes sense, but I’m going to keep looking ‘cause now ya got me curious.
     
Pirate4x4.com
atvobsession
04-16-2008, 07:57 AM
DHL was a great company. Good to their employees. It was started BEFORE FedEx, in 1969 by Larry Hillbloom. He had made $6000 in the stock market and ran into friend, Adrian Dalsey at the Co-Op market in San Francisco. He pitched Adrian an idea for a company, that would allow them to get free tickets to Hawaii. By taking checks by hand from Hawaii and delivering them same day to the Federal Reserve in San Francisco, banks would earn millions in extra interest, since they previously took days to reach by boat. The idea was…they would gladly pay for their free tickets to Hawaii. Robert Lynn, an attorney was added…and DHL, for Dalsey, Hillbloom and Lynn was created.
(...)
So…now that you know what DHL stands for….here’s some infamous alternatives:
 
Documents, Hopelessly Lost
Dummies, Handling Letters <--- very appropriate now

Duey, Huey and Louie
Dykes, Homos and Lesbians Redundant, but always popular
   
Urban Dictionary
DHL
Drivers Hopelessly Lost
Person A: Did you get that package yet?
Person B: No, I used DHL.

by jbkurz Dec 14, 2010