Symbols are designed to express ideas but, even though we all know what these symbols mean, few people know their origin. So without further ado, here they are, 5 everyday symbols you had no idea about their origins.
5. Bluetooth
Bluetooth was named after the Danish Viking King Harald “Bluetooth” Gormsson, who apparently had a… blue tooth and was famous for uniting Norway and Denmark. Bluetooth wireless developers felt that the name fit since the technology unites the PC and the cellular industries.
The symbol is a combination of the King’s initials in Danish Runes:
4. Apple Command Key
Known as the Gorgon loop, this symbol comes from the Nordic countries. It is used mainly in Swedish road signs to highlight places of interest and this was the reason it was chosen by Apple as the command key:
3. Power button
The binary system has been used in things like switches and toggles since World War 2. 1 means “ON” and 0 means “OFF”, and the power button is a combination of the two:
2. USB symbol
The USB symbol is based on the Poseidon’s trident. The different signs at the edges (circle, triangle, square) signify that many different devices can be connected using USB ports:
1. Peace sign
It began as a symbol for the campaign for NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT in Britain. It uses the flag-signalling system, superimposing N over D:
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Photos: Intel Malaysia, youthvoices.net
Photoshop: I’m A Useless Info Junkie
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