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Bluetooth is one of the most common technologies used in household tech these days. Used to connect tech such as headphones, keyboards, modern cars, to your phone.
But, only now are people starting to discover where the technology got its name from, and it's not what they expected.
Usually finding out the reason technology got its name leads to a disappointingly boring story, but thankfully Bluetooth has a much more surprising and interesting origins story than most other tech.
The name isn't directly named after the technology itself, instead it's named after the Viking king Harald, who was also known as Bluetooth due to a discolored tooth.
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Before you ask, no, it's not named after a Viking king because it slowly took over every household in England.
Instead, it's named after King Harald due to him being credited for unifying Denmark under the religion of Christianity.
Previously Denmark had been ruled several tribes, but under his rule, he was able to successfully bring the country together under one banner, creating unity in the country.
Considering Bluetooth as a technology was designed to pair technology together, letting them communicate and work together, it's actually a smart choice of name which makes sense. It's not just the name that's taken from King Harald, the Bluetooth logo comes from Younger Futhark bind rune for Harald Bluetooth's initials; H (ᚼ) and B (ᛒ), once combined you get the Bluetooth symbol as we know it today.
Engineer Jim Kardach who worked for Intel was working on a way to use short-wave radio communications to unify devices so they could communicate and essential work together.
In 1996 Kardach pitched the name Bluetooth to industry leaders Intel, Ericsson, and Nokia, who were looking to plan the standardization of Bluetooth technology.
While the name was only meant to be a codename for internal use, it stuck, and became the household technology that we all use today.
Although, for a short while the technology was known by an less-inspiring and frankly boring name, Personal Area Networking (PAN).
Thankfully just a mere few months before the technology was due to launch, the company realized the name was too generic and boring, without enough time to find a new and less generic name, the company was forced to revert back to the code name Bluetooth before it hit the general public.
Let's face it, it's a better name with an impressive story, all wrapped in history based on unity, making it the better choice.
