As soon as Apple announced the iPad, Twitter and the electronics review sites went crazy with all of the double -entendre jokes about feminine hygiene; as Larry the Cable guy would say, “I don’t care who you are, that’s funny.”

Someone even actually remembered that there was an eerily prescient MadTV sketch from 2006 that uses an iPad as it’s punch-line:

And now, while it hasn’t exactly become an internet meme like Rick-Rolls or Pants On The Ground, the iPad has become fodder for some high jinx. Here’s the latest Mash-up showing Steve Jobs reaction to making an unfortunate choice of video’s to play during the iPad unveiling:

And of course, there is the inevitable Hitler Finds Out… meme video:

Chiming in on the obvious sophomoric humor, Susan Kim, at The Huffington Post says chuckling:

“And now consider these phrases from apple.com’s promotional video:

“It’s hard to see how something so simple, so thin and so light, could possibly be so capable.” “it’s going to change the way we do the things we do every day.” “I don’t have to change myself to fit the product … it fits me.”

If you ask me, we’ve been sold that line about pads before. So is it any wonder we’re laughing?”

But, she also says:

“Like many, I can’t get over the stunningly corporate/male cluelessness of it all.”

And maybe that’s the toughest thing to swallow. Apple is supposed to be an enlightened company, and nobody picked up on the fact that the name iPad was a double-entendre?  It’s not like they didn’t have a clear warning shot across their bow, as even the most casual observer had the chance to spot the cruel joke warships cresting the horizon in the blogosphere weeks ago when the name iPad was still swirling around the rumor mill with the names iSlate and iTablet.

Or maybe a few at Apple did pick up on the dicey-ness of the name and for Job’s security reasons, chose to keep their mouth shut. Maybe that naming meeting went the way of the Oprah magazine cover shot editorial meetings where good ideas are tossed around, but ultimately, in the end, Oprah just announces once again, that for this month, she’ll grace the cover.

But the other concerning issue is that name iPad has already been trademarked in the U.S. by Fujitsu, which uses the name for a $2,000 hand-held device for shop clerks, and the Swiss semiconductor company, STMicroelectronics, has the name trademarked in Europe.

So at what point did Apple realize this? Wasn’t that the time to say your, “Aw, Shit!’s”, call the emergency meeting, huddle up and do some damage control? Or was it just too inevitable that it was going to be Oprah on the cover again?

But, ironically, there is a bright side to all of this. All of the wind created by the iPad name has lifted up a little known charity and brought it to light. Dennis Whittle, of GlobalGiving, tells us that:

“Well, it turns out that this [iPad name]  issue does relate to aid.  The likelihood that girls in developing countries will stay in school once they hit puberty is directly affected by their access to sanitary pads.  If they don’t have them (along with private bathroom facilities at school), they tend to drop out.”

Makes sense. Who wants to be embarrased at school?

And he goes on:

“The silver lining of the controversy is that it raised consciousness about this problem on Twitter and Facebook. As a result of tweets and Facebook posts, 28 donors gave $1,300 to that provides affordable sanitary pads for girls in Uganda.  A total of over 1,200 donors has now given $56,000 to this project.  Keep in mind that $30 is enough to help keep a girl in school for an entire year!”

So maybe there’s just the damage control Apple needs staring them right in the face. Their way to make lemonade. How about this Apple: For every iPad sold you’ll donate $30 through GlobalGiving to help the Kasiisi Project keep these young girls in school.

Sounds whacky, but embracing the problem and making it your own might just be the solution.