8. The Bluetooth Symbol
At first glance, there isn’t any conceivable connection between this wireless technology and an actual blue tooth; nor with the symbol itself. But believe it or not, they are all connected – pun intended. This technology was invented back in 1994 by the Swedish telecom company Ericsson. And in accordance with Sweden’s Viking past, the symbol is made out of two runes pushed together. Firstly there’s the H rune, also known as Hagall, and then there’s the B rune known as Bjarkan. These two put together make the Bluetooth symbol. But what do H and B have to do with Bluetooth, you may ask? Well, they are the initials of Denmark’s first Viking King, Harald Blåtand. And the Swedish word Blåtand means Bluetooth in English.
Harald Blåtand lived from around 910 to 987 AD, and during his lifetime managed to unite (connect) all of the Danish tribes and later take over Norway, ruling over them as king until his death. He is also credited for Christianizing the Danes. He had done it more for political and economic reasons than anything else, so as to avoid invasion by the Holy Roman Empire to the south, as well as to keep their trading relations going. His byname, Bluetooth, is a mystery. Some presume that he may have had a fondness for blackberries that gave his teeth a bluish tone. A more plausible explanation is that Bluetooth was actually a misinterpretation medieval historians and his byname was actually something like “dark chieftain.”
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