(2NI) Where does the red carpet come from? Who was Oscar?

The origin of the phrase ‘red carpet treatment’  is thought to derive from the start of the 20th Century, when the red carpet was co-opted by the railroads. An exclusive, express passenger train run by the New York Central Railroad from 1902 welcomed its passengers aboard with a red carpet, which also helped guide them onto the train

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160222-where-does-the-red-carpet-come-from

Officially, the statuette is called the Academy Award of Merit, but everyone in Hollywood has known it as Oscar since at least 1934. The Academy itself adopted the nickname in 1939. The most likely story is that when the Academy’s librarian, Margaret Herrick, first saw the statuette, she said it looked like her Uncle Oscar. There were other claims to the name at the time – including the rumour that Bette Davis had named it after her first husband, Harmon Oscar Nelson – but whatever its uncertain provenance, it was to stick as firmly as superglue.

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160219-who-was-oscar-a-history-of-the-academy-awards-statuette