Google's name was created by accident. The founders wante... | funfact.wiki | funfact.wiki
Google's name was created by accident. The founders wanted to use "Googol," meaning 10 to the 100th power, but an investor misspelled it on a check — and "Google" stuck.
The Chinese character '羊,' read as 'yang' (meaning "sheep"), likely depicts a goat instead. When it was created, goats were far more common in East Asia. The "Year of the Sheep" in the Chinese zodiac was originally closer to the Year of the Goat.
The word 'ketchup' comes from '膎汁' (kôe-chiap) in the Chinese Min Nan dialect, meaning 'fish sauce.' It was originally a fermented fish and shellfish sauce—tomato ketchup was not invented until 1812.
The Korean word '그녀' (geunyeo, meaning 'she') didn't originally exist. It was coined in the early 20th century to translate the English pronoun 'She,' eventually winning out over competitors like '그미,' '궐녀,' and '그히.'
'Goodbye' originated in the mid-16th century as a contraction of "God be with ye." It was gradually shortened to forms like 'Godbwye,' and under the influence of greetings like 'Good morning,' 'God' shifted to 'Good,' giving us today's word.