As we mentioned a while back, the naming of products and companies isn’t always a successful enterprise right out of the gate. On the other hand, some catch on so fast that provisional names get adopted due to sheer buzz and momentum, which is what happened with the Blackberry (only after the alternative LeapFrog was rejected though).

Scrolling through mental_floss’s listicle chronicling The Origins of 8 High-Tech Names, we especially like the origin story behind that most obnoxious of mobile technologies, Bluetooth. Because its creators wanted to emphasize how the technology unites several platforms (vehicles, computers, cell phones), they chose to translate the name of King Harald Blatand of Denmark, who in the 10th century managed to unite his nation, Sweden and Norway under one state. Cute story, but we still find people who walk down the sidewalk bleating into their Blatands really annoying.