The problem with having a conversation with my father is that he is so curious about everything that you always walk away with several minor research projects. Take for example, a simple conversation about bluetooth and wireless technology – the next thing I know, I have been roped into finding out the origin of the name “bluetooth.”
Of course it turns out that it is actually a commonly asked question (i.e. it was just me not asking.) Here is the scoop straight from bluetooth.com:
“The name “Bluetooth” is taken from the 10th century Danish King Harald Blatand – or Harold Bluetooth in English. During the formative stage of the trade association a code name was needed to name the effort. Over an evening discussing European history and the future of wireless technology several felt it was appropriate to name the technology after King Blatand. He had been instrumental in uniting warring factions in parts of what is now Norway, Sweden, and Denmark – just as the technology is designed to allow collaboration between differing industries such as the computing, mobile phone, and automotive markets. The code name stuck.”
When we were young, my father constantly gave penny quizzes in the car. That is, he would throw out a question and whomever could answer it correctly first earned a penny. That’s how I learned the meaning of alma mater. I wonder if I can get anything for the bluetooth question?
I also learned the background of the bluetooth icon:
“A Scandinavian firm originally designed the logo at the time the trade association was announced to the public. Keeping with the traditions of the name, the logo combines the runic alphabetic characters “H” which looks similar to an asterisk and “B”. Look carefully – you can see both represented in the logo.”
And if you want to know more, here is a link to an article called, “Bluetooth – Why All the Hype?”