They call them that, because it's a "mystery" as to which gear you're in
The factory Muncie shifters in the Novas and probably the other cars, were notorious for jamming and for being sloppy...the shifter partially mounts to the crossmember, so there is a natural tug of war with the tranny when the engine torques
these shifters were the first thing that went back in the day....we use Hurst bodies with Muncie handles on some our cars....best of both worlds. There are some guys who rebuild the Muncie units and can make them work reasonably well...still can't match the Hurst for reliability
wilma