Interesting origin of Bluetooth terminology

Bluetooth understands the meaning in English meaning "blue teeth". But in fact, the function of this popular wireless technology has nothing to do with green or human teeth. It is precisely named after a historical figure.

Harald Bluetooth is the Danish Viking king from 958-970. King Harald is famous for his ability to bind people. He was a great success in the reunification of Denmark and Norway, and was also a Protestant in Denmark. Therefore, King Harald is considered a symbol of unity.

Portrait of King Harald Bluetooth

In the mid-1990s, wireless communication required unity. At that time, many companies developed their own connection standards, but there was no match between them. Many people find that this fragmentation is clearly an obstacle to the widespread development of wireless technology.

One of those thinking is Jim Kardach, Intel's wireless technology engineer. Kardach has acted as an intermediary, helping to unify the standards of different companies to develop a industry-wide standard for short-range, low-power radio connectivity.

At that time, Kardach read a book about Vikings that featured the reign of King Harald - whom he saw as an ideal symbol to reconcile competition. He explained: "The term Bluetooth was borrowed from the 10th century, according to the second Danish king Harald Bluetooth. He is famous for Scandinavian unification, as well as we want to unify the industry. and mobile industries in the field of short-range wireless connectivity ".

Bluetooth logo

Organizations and individuals who agree with Kardach's view eventually joined together to form the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, which develops the Bluetooth standard agreements we are using today. Initially, the name Bluetooth was only used temporarily, but the press mentioned it so widely that it became an official name and maintained until today.

Another interesting thing is that the Bluetooth logo with the "mysterious" symbol in a blue oval is Harald Bluetooth's acronym for rune - an ancient script of northern European peoples.