The amazing story of how ‘Bluetooth’ got its name – and it goes back centuries
The technology invented in the 90s cleverly takes its name from much further in the past
BLUETOOTH is used by pretty much everyone with a mobile phone and it's been around for 24 years.
But even though we all use it and know the technology product as a household name, where does the name 'Bluetooth' come from?
It turns out the term actually comes from centuries ago - from King Harald Bluetooth who united Denmark and Norway in the 10th century.
His nickname 'Bluetooth' was deemed appropriate for the new piece of technology back in the 90s due to King Harald having brought two nations together - as the technology was designed to do with electronic devices.
Bluetooth enables information and data to be passed from one electronic device to another at short range without a physical connection.
The reason for King Harald's unusual nickname was that he had a dead tooth which was a dark blue/grey colour.
Initially Bluetooth was intended to be an internal code name while the technology was being fully developed, but when the other options pitched by the marketing team were either too unoriginal or couldn't be be patented in time for the release date, they settled with what they had.
The Bluetooth logo is a combination of King Harald's initials in 'rune': ᚼ (Hagall) and ᛒ (Bjarkan).
Susie Dent, Countdown's woman in Dictionary Corner, tweeted this fact earlier today and excited fans with the revelation.
She writes: "This will be familiar to many, but I love the fact that Bluetooth technology owes its name to a 10th century ruler - one King Harald Bluetooth, who united Denmark and Norway. His nickname was thought appropriate for technology that brings devices together."
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Others contributed their own knowledge about the subject, one writing: "Harald Gormsson, or 'Harald Bluetooth,' lived in the 10th century and introduced Christianity to Denmark and ruled over what is now Denmark, northern Germany, southern Sweden and parts of Norway. His nickname came from the fact he had a dead tooth that looked bluish."
Others joked about the reliability of Bluetooth: "Did King Harald also have pairing problems: unable to pair when too far and pairing with random devices when too close".
While one Twitter user joked about an alternative name for Brexit: "And one day, through back construction, the Shambles York will be rembered as being named to commemorate Brexit."
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