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Is the name of your startup the one? When ‘Google’ was called ‘Backrub’ and other 7 things that were going to have another name

Can you imagine that instead of the epic group of Queen would have been called Smile? Or that instead of ‘Friends’ we called the series ‘Six Of One’? It sounds impossible, but the truth is that these eight things were going to have other names that now completely repel us.

Backrub – Google

According to the website of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the creators of the search engine, decided in 1996 to baptize it with the name of ‘Backrub’ to refer to the links that a search engine could offer (in English they are called ‘back links’). ).

However, it seems that this name did not convince them when it started in 1997. According to Business Insider account, After a ‘brainstorming’, they decided to register the new invention as we know it today: the great Google.

Smile – Queen

Not that they thought of the name of Smile before Queen, is that originally the English rock band had that name. This was named in 1968 Brian May (guitar), Tim Staffell (voice and bass) and Roger Taylor (drums). Until Freddie Mercury arrived in 1970, of course. It was then when they decided to put ‘Queen’ to the band that would be one of the most influential in the history of music. He is still active under that name.

Six Of One – Friends

We do not know if we find it weirder that the series was born as ‘Six Of One’ or that in Spain, during the first season, it was called ‘Colleagues’. Thank heavens that they retumed soon.

Penny, Lenny and Kenny – The Big Bang Theory

We recognize that the rhyme of the leading names had its grace, but finally the sitcom decided to replace it with the Big Bang theory. It is not the first time that a series, as we have seen in ‘Friends’, changes its title at the last moment.

Blue Ribbon Sports – Nike

The American multinational was founded in 1964 under the name of Blue Ribbon Sports and it was not until 1971 when it became Nike (which of course sounds more commercial).

Mortimer – Mickey Mouse

Legend has it that the famous mouse was created by Walt Disney during a train trip under the name of Mickey. However, after a request from his wife, Walt eventually called him Mickey. Little should his wife like the name of Mortimer, since later that name happened to be the highest enemy of Mickey: Mortimer Mouse.

Brad Drink – Pepsi

Pepsi went on the market in 1893, about seven years after its peak competition, Coca-Cola. However, we did not know her with the name of now, but as ‘Brad Drink’ (Brad’s drink). This is because its inventor was the chemist Cabel Bradham, but he himself was the one who five years later decided to rename it as ‘Pepsi Cola’ for the ingredients of his recipe: the enzyme pepsin and cola nuts.

Cargo House – Starbucks

Even one of the creators, Gordon Bowker, acknowledged to The Seattle Times that it would have been a terrible mistake to name the coffee chain under the name of ‘Cargo House’.


Also published on Medium.

Published inStartups
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