[math-fun] "exponential" considered harmful

If I hear another TV pundit talk about "exponential" increase in something, when the vast majority of these examples are *polynomial* (usually only quadratic), I'm going to scream. Today, I heard the following nonsequitur: "Do the math. This {whatever] is increasing exponentially ...". Well, I did the math, and it was increasing quadratically, at best. Can we hook an electrode to some lower extremity of each news person/politician to Pavlov them into understanding the true meaning of "exponential" ?